MADRID (Sputnik) – The Spanish government believes the resolution passed by the Catalonian Parliament to secede from Spain to have no legal basis and will challenge the resolution in the country’s Constitutional Court, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Monday.
“This resolution has no [legal] value and will not have any effect,” Rajoy said after signing a request addressed to the State Council on the illegitimacy of the resolution passed earlier on Monday by the Catalonian Parliament to begin the process of seceding from Spain. After receiving remarks from the State Council, the government will convene to make a decision on turning to the country’s Constitutional Court.
The initiative was backed by 72 out of 135 votes in parliament.
The process of gaining independence from Spain consists of forming a government and other state structures, as well as drawing up a constitution. Once a new constitution is accepted, Catalonia will declare its independence. According to supporters of Catalonia’s secession from Spain, the process should take approximately 18 months.
