MADRID (Sputnik) — The resolution was suspended for the response time to review the protest of the Spanish government, which considers the resolution to be unconstitutional. The Court also warned Catalan politicians involved in the process that they were prohibited from taking any actions, contradicting the ruling, otherwise, they could face potential liabilities, including at a penal level.
Catalonia, a Spanish province with autonomous status, has long sought independence from Spain, but Madrid has repeatedly declined Catalonia’s quest for independence.
In late September, President of Catalonia Carles Puigdemont pledged to work for an agreement on independence from Spain. Shortly afterwards, the Catalan parliament voted in favor of two resolutions which called on the regional government to hold the independence referendum in fall 2017, as well as to coordinate its conduct with the central Spanish authorities.
According to latest polls, the number of independence advocates and its opponents is almost similar, with 45.1 percent of Catalans supporting secession and 44.9 percent seeking for Catalonia to remain an autonomous region within Spain.
