Spanish PM to hold all-party meetings in response to Catalan separatism

Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy said on Wednesday he would hold meetings with opposition leaders, Pedro Sanchez (Spanish Socialist Workers Party) and Albert Rivera (Citizens) to coordinate a united response to the threat of a unilateral declaration of independence from the Catalan region.

Rajoy made his declaration on radio station Cadena Ser the day after Catalan pro-independence parties Junts Pel Si and CUP, which won a majority of seats (although not of votes) in the Catalan regional parliament on Sept. 27, confirmed they would pass a resolution in that Assembly to announce the formal start of steps to separate from Spain and form a Catalan Republic.

When asked about the motion, Rajoy, who on Tuesday had made a statement assuring that Catalan independence would not happen, repeated his words.

"What this document announces, will not take place," he insisted, adding the Spanish government "knows very well what it must do... We will apply the law and we will not get into the details."

He added that any response from the Spanish government must be "given with prudence and proportionality."

The move by the Junts Pel Si and CUP comes at a difficult time for Rajoy, given that the next general election will be held on Dec. 20 and the current session of Congress was dissolved last week until the new Congress is decided by voters.

With no parliamentary debate on how to deal with the issue, Rajoy needs to find an agreement with Sanchez and Ribera, both of whom have also strongly criticized the Catalan plan, in order to present a united front at a moment of constitutional uncertainty. Endit