MOSCOW, September 26 (RIA Novosti) - Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will address the Council of Ministers on Monday in order to discuss and appeal against the Catalonia independence referendum decree, which is due to be signed tomorrow by the leader of Catalonia region, Artur Mas, Spanish news agency EFE reported Friday.
On September 19, the Catalan parliament approved a law authorizing the regional president to conduct a non-binding independence "consultation".
The Spanish government has made a request to the Constitutional Court to issue an injunction to halt the vote. If the court agrees to hear the case, Catalonia will not be allowed to proceed with the vote until a final decision is made.
Catalonia is a Spanish region with a high level of cultural and political autonomy and its own regional parliament. Separatist tendencies have been fueled by the economic crisis in Europe, as this region recovered faster than the rest of the country and even helped the central government.
Despite Madrid's calls to cancel the voting, a referendum date has already been set for November 9, 2014. Spanish government has repeatedly stressed that it will not recognize the results of the vote, which it considers illegal.
