Catalonia to press on with independence referendum despite Spanish parliament's No vote
Despite parliament's rejection of Catalonia's bid to stage an independence referendum, Spanish region's leader to keep seeking way to hold vote
The authorities in Spain's Catalonia region vowed to fight on after parliament shot down a Catalan petition to call a referendum on secession, setting the stage for a bitter sovereignty struggle between the government and the country's economic engine.
"I defend that Catalonia should remain in Spain because I can't conceive of Spain without Catalonia nor of Catalonia outside of Spain and Europe," Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy told the assembly before the vote on Tuesday.
His conservative Popular Party, the main opposition Socialists and the centrist Union for Progress and Democracy were determined to block the petition and the outcome of the vote was never in doubt.
After a seven-hour debate, 299 members of parliament voted against the request by the Catalonia region to be granted the right to call a referendum, while 47 supported the petition and one abstained.
I can’t conceive of Spain without Catalonia nor of Catalonia outside of Spain
The northeastern region, which has its own language and a long history of fighting for greater autonomy from Spain, had sought permission from the Spanish parliament to hold a referendum on November 9. Rajoy repeated his argument that the vote would be illegal, since under Spain's constitution referendums on sovereignty must be held nationally and not regionally.