The Andorran Issue: What happens to Andorra if Catalonia legally becomes independent?

The Principality of Andorra is a micro-nation nestled in the Pyrenees Mountains between France and Spain.

Its co-princes are the President of France and the Bishop of Urgell (this Catholic bishopric covers Andorra and some of Catalonia). The Co-Princes of Andorra are the Heads of State, not Government, meaning they lack executive control over Andorra’s affairs.

The French and Spanish governments do, however, have limited influence over Andorra’s defence and foreign affairs (as Urgell isn’t a sovereign state, it can neither have a military nor relations with other nations).

If Catalonia were to secede from Spain, this raises the issue of whether Spain or Catalonia would exert these (admittedly very minor) powers on behalf of Andorra.

Here are arguments for Spain, for Catalonia, and then against Catalonia. Whilst I don’t personally have a preference, I am interested to see what decision would be made and why that course of action was decided upon.

On the one hand, Spain already has a stable position in the global community in terms of foreign relations and military power, so if Andorra wanted the most capable nations to help them, Spain would be the obvious choice. Further, if Spain retains these powers, this won’t create the instability that powers changing hands would create.

On the other hand, the Bishop of Urgell would reside in Catalonia, so it would be reasonable for Catalonia to gain these responsibilities over Andorra. After all, the Spanish government is doing this on behalf of the bishop, so if the bishop isn’t even in Spain, what right does Spain have to continue this?

However, for Catalonia to have any role with Andorran defence and foreign affairs, Catalonia has to fund (and develop) these from scratch. Yes, Catalonia would have spare money from the taxes they won’t be paying Spain, but this money would be insufficient to give Catalonia a recognised position in the world. This would, of course, change with time, but Andorrans may not perceive this wait as worth it.

So, which one: Spain (who has everything sorted already) or Catalonia (the sovereign state in which the co-prince actually resides)?

Choosing one would without doubt pollute future relations with the other. However, I think this decision would be decided in negotiations between Spain and Catalonia without any input from Andorra. This would shamefully disrespectable to the sovereign nation of Andorra

Andorrans may not even see this as an issue because Andorra not only has its own identity on the global stage but, if need be, it could rely singlehandedly on France. Who knows, maybe this could spark a debate on whether Andorrans want two princes, one prince, or no prince at all!

If Catalonia does achieve its long sort-after independence in the future, the Andorran Issue is the one I look forward most to being resolved.