PACE May Discuss Situation in Catalonia at Next Week's Session - Source

A PACE source told Sputnik that the organization was planning to hold a discussion on the situation in Catalonia next week.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has received a proposal to discuss the situation in Spain's autonomous region of Catalonia at next week's session and possibly adopt a resolution, a source in the organization told Sputnik on Friday.

The source said that there was a proposal to hold urgent debates with a possible adoption of a resolution on the necessity to find a political solution to the crisis in Catalonia.

According to the source, the decision on the inclusion of this proposal in the agenda of the session will be made on Monday.

The proposal is to be considered by the Bureau of the Assembly, then PACE will vote on the entirety of the agenda.

PACE Senior Vice-President Sir Roger Gale said on Monday that it was not the organization's business to interfere in the domestic affairs of a state, but PACE had to ensure that its member states adhered to the European Convention on Human Rights.

Daniel Holtgen, a spokesperson of PACE Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland, told Sputnik on Monday that PACE's Committee of Ministers would discuss the situation in Catalonia on Wednesday.

Spain's autonomous region is locked in a standoff with Madrid, which does not recognize the independence referendum that was held in Catalonia on Sunday. According to the Catalan authorities, slightly more than 2 million people out of 5.3 million of those eligible to vote cast their ballots, and 90 percent of them backed independence. Almost 900 people had to seek medical help because of the clashes between referendum supporters and the police on the day of the vote.