Tag: Artur Mas

• Thursday, April 10th 2014 - 06:02 UTC

  Mas defies Madrid: Catalonia will go ahead with the independence referendum

  

  Catalonia President Artur Mas said he would forge ahead with his region's plans to hold a referendum on independence in November after Spain's parliament overwhelmingly rejected the petition. After a seven-hour debate in Madrid, and despite heavy support for the separatist movement in the wealthy northeastern region, 299 lawmakers voted against, 47 voted for and one abstained.

• Saturday, January 18th 2014 - 04:58 UTC

  Catalonia lawmakers have asked Madrid for a referendum on the region's future

  

  Lawmakers from the Spanish region of Catalonia voted to seek a referendum on breaking away from Spain on Thursday, setting themselves up for a battle with an implacably opposed central government in Madrid. The Catalan Parliament in Barcelona voted 87 to 43, with 3 abstentions, to send a petition to the national parliament seeking the power to call a popular vote on the region’s future.

• Friday, January 3rd 2014 - 06:02 UTC

  Catalonia president takes vote on independence case to EU heads of government

  

  Catalonia's president has called on European Union prime ministers for support as the region seeks a vote on independence in November this year, the source of an increasingly bitter fight with Spain's central government.

• Friday, December 13th 2013 - 13:14 UTC

  Madrid vows to block any independence referendum in Catalonia

  

  The Spanish government has vowed to block plans by parties in Catalonia to hold a referendum on independence on 9 November of next year. “The poll will not be held,” Justice Minister Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon told journalists moments after Catalonia's President, Artur Mas, announced a deal.

• Monday, November 26th 2012 - 04:39 UTC

  Separatists win Catalonia regional election but independence referendum delayed

  

  Separatists in Spain's Catalonia won regional elections on Sunday but failed to get a resounding mandate for a referendum on independence, which had threatened to pile political uncertainty on top of Spain's economic woes.

• Wednesday, October 10th 2012 - 09:25 UTC

  Spanish parliament blocks Catalonia referendum on independence

  

  Spain's parliament voted to block the northern region of Catalonia from holding a referendum on independence, the latest step in a growing political battle between Barcelona and Madrid in the midst of a deepening economic downturn.

• Wednesday, September 26th 2012 - 07:21 UTC

  Spain’s rich Catalonia region calls snap election demanding “self determination”

  

  The region of Catalonia announced on Tuesday it was calling a snap election over its drive for greater independence, deepening Spain’s crisis as its government struggles to avoid a full-blown bailout.

• Wednesday, September 12th 2012 - 01:23 UTC

  Spanish bankruptcy spurs separatism: Catalonia the main tax contributor takes to the streets

  

  Hundreds of thousands of Catalans took to the streets of Barcelona in an unprecedented show of mass support for autonomy from Madrid, blaming Spain's economic crisis for dragging their wealthy region down.

• Friday, May 25th 2012 - 16:07 UTC

  Spain’s richest region closer to default without central government aid

  

  Spain's wealthiest autonomous region, Catalonia, needs financing help from the central government because it is running out of options for refinancing debt this year, Catalan President Artur Mas admitted on Friday.