European Union: Catalonia referendum ‘not legal

Catalan President Carles Puigdemont said he would like an “international mediation” with Madrid on the Catalan referendum crisis.

Catalonia’s independence referendum was “not legal” under Spanish law, a European Commission spokesperson has said.

The Spanish government is refusing to recognise its legality, deeming it unconstitutional. President Emmanuel Macron spoke to Rajoy on Monday, with the French presidential office issuing a statement afterward in support of Spain’s “constitutional unity” and no comment on the violence of the Spanish police.

On Sunday, 90.9% of votes cast in the banned referendum were in favor of Catalan independence, and 7.87% were against, according to Puigdemont’s regional administration.

Rajoy thanked officers and said the state “did what [it] had to do”.

Protestors, many of them students, waved the Catalan independence flag Monday and held up signs demanding more democracy outside the headquarters of the Spanish police in Barcelona. Opinion polls in the run-up to the vote had put support for independence at only around 40 per cent.

“There is no possibility of dialogue now with the government”. He was part of sides that won the World Cup in 2010 and European Cup in 2012 and, despite already announcing he will retire from worldwide football after the 2018 World Cup, said recent events might force him to do so sooner.

The closed meeting was held to discuss the next steps in its plan to declare independence from Spain following a disputed referendum marred by violence. Madrid says the constitution prohibits secession and is non-negotiable. He said the area’s parliament will be asked to declare independence in the next few days after final voting results are announced.

Officials say almost 2 million Catalonians out of 2.3 million eligible voters opted to separate from Spain.

Some analysts said the images of the crackdown may help boost global support for the secessionists.

The European Union saw the referendum as a violation of the Spanish constitution and privately anxious about other secessionist movements in Europe. He said Brussels had been timid and lacked courage on the matter.

“The news of the suspension would last only one minute”, Bartomeu said.

Photo Catalan nationalists blocked a street in a clash with the police in Spain on Sunday.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will meet with ruling and opposition party leaders before seeking a parliamentary session to discuss how to confront the country’s most serious crisis in decades.

The EU has refused to heed Catalan pleas for recognition, contending that the matter is a domestic one for Spain and that an independent Catalonia would be outside the bloc. Financial markets were rattled. Spain’s main stock index also fell 1.3 percent, underperforming its European peers, which were modestly higher.

I am proud of the behavior of the people of Catalonia. At the same time, we anticipate that Catalonia will remain part of Spain. Although it already has extensive autonomy, its tax revenues are crucial to Spain’s state budget.

The pact calls for SGR to support ongoing communications efforts between the governments and business communities of Catalonia and the US.

Catalonia is far from obtaining independence for other reasons, as well.