Catalan leaders approve secession plan
BARCELONA, Spain — The regional parliament of Catalonia launched a plan Monday to set up a road map for independence from Spain by 2017, defying warnings from the central government in Madrid that it is violating the nation’s Constitution.
The groups together obtained a parliamentary majority in regional elections in September that they presented as a stand-in plebiscite on independence after the central government in Madrid refused to allow an official referendum.
In a nationally televised address, Rajoy said his government will appeal the decision at the Constitutional Court, which has in the past blocked moves toward independence.
The Constitutional Court is expected to rule the law illegal, but the resolution orders the regional government not to heed the decision of Spain’s highest court.