Catalan declaration of independence
On 27 October 2017, a resolution based on the "Declaration of the representatives of Catalonia" declaring the independence of Catalonia was voted in the Parliament and was approved with 70 votes in favor, 10 against, and 2 blank votes. Fifty-three MPs from the opposition refused to be present during the voting after the legal services of the Catalan Parliament advised that the voting could not take place, as the law on which it was based had been suspended by the Spanish Constitutional Court. The two pro-independence parties, JxSí and CUP, had 72 seats, and the vote in favour of independence obtained 70.
Reactions to the Catalan independence referendum, 2017
MEP from Catalonia Jordi Solé i Ferrando said: "The European Union so far is making a huge mistake, because we are not mainly talking right now on whether Catalonia has the right to become an independent state or not. It is up to the Catalans to decide. But we are talking about basic fundamental democratic rights being attacked in the European Union, in 2017. We Catalans are citizens of the European Union. The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union also applies in our country, so the European Union and European institutions should be concerned about what has been going on in Catalonia in recent days. They shouldn’t be only talking about law and constitution, about the rule of law, they should start talking about fundamental democratic rights."