A letter. The E. thus, in capital letters. And a fine. Capital for some if we consider that it is about paying 200 euros for covering a letter. Because that is the sanction that those who cover in Catalonia are receiving—the letter E of the registration of their cars. The same that identifies the plaque with Spain.
A lyric. And what lyric is it? The E. of “Spain”, “State”, and “confrontation”, to give only some examples. At least for those who consider that this letter in their enrollment is an act of submission to the Spanish State, and therefore, is a cause for political confrontation.
That letter that some Catalan independence supporters disappear from their tuition to replace it with the CAT letters, next to a SENYERA, as a political claim or small subversive act before what they consider the submission of Spain in the region.
It is not new. The Confidential collects the return of this way of acting by some Catalan independence supporters. But this act of protest is not much less new. At the end of 2024, a Catalan was fined for this reason when considering the Mossos d’Esquadra that he had manipulated the registration, which is considered a serious infraction that entails a sanction of 200 euros.
But these attempts to replace the license plates have persued since then. Already in the last decade, one can find some publications that point out this way of acting by some drivers. In some cases, the European Union flag was maintained. However, it has been in the last two or three years that the most noise has been generated.
The Galician case. The phenomenon took special relevance in the last three years. In 2024, a driver complained on social networks about receiving the aforementioned fine. In the replies, many argued that carrying the CAT on the registration was not illegal.
The origin must be found in Galicia. There, Bieito Lobeira, Secretary of Organization of the Galician Independence Party BNG, was fined for covering the E of Spain with a GZ in reference to “Galiza”. After various appeals, Lobeira won the case because it was pointed out that the small modification did not prevent the correct reading of the registration.
To this argument, those who act in this way attach themselves, such as David Miñana (ANC leader) or Jordi Cabré (writer). The matter is slippery because Article 49.4 of the General Vehicle Regulations specifies:
“It is prohibited that the registration plates be placed, registered or painted with ornaments, signs or other characters other than those indicated in Annex XVIII, including advertising inside them (…) It is prohibited that unauthorized complementary plates be affixed to the anterior and posterior parts of the vehicles.”
However, in the Traffic Law, where the serious sanctions (200 euros) are reflected, it is specified that the following compliance is sanctioned:
“Failure to comply with the obligation of any driver to verify that vehicle registration plates do not present obstacles that prevent or hinder their reading and identification.”
Lobeira won his case because the judge understood that the GZ letters did not hinder the reading and identification of the registration.
25 years. The newspaper Ara points out that this fight for the letters of the registration has been ongoing for a quarter of a century. In 2000, the Spanish registration plates changed. They adapted to the obligation to carry the letter E and the flag of the European Union for the identification of vehicles outside their country of origin.
However, the government of José María Aznar also eliminated the references to regions. Before the year 2000, Spanish registrations consisted of one or two letters referring to the province, four numbers, and two additional letters. Even then, nationalist parties and the United Left complained about the absence of autonomic badges.
Even at that time, some media and independence groups encouraged this little protest action by distributing stickers to incorporate into registrations.
And in Europe? The truth is that in Europe there is a good handful of countries that have maintained regional badges despite having to change the registration plates to comply with European regulations. In France, Germany, or Italy, shields, letters, or any badge that specifies the region of origin of a vehicle are still maintained.
Photo | Wikinight2, Logan Armstrong, and Oriol20
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