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.
Declaration of the Initiation of the Process of Independence of Catalonia
On 9 June 2017, the Catalan government announced the date of the independence referendum. It was declared illegal on 6 September 2017 and suspended by the Constitutional Court of Spain because it breached the Spanish Constitution of 1978. It was held on 1 October the same year, using a disputed voting process, resulting in a 90% majority of votes favouring independence with a turnout of 42.58%. Subsequently the European Commission agreed that the referendum was illegal.