Spanish Constitutional Court annuls Catalan independence motion

The Spanish Constitutional Court on Wednesday rejected a resolution approved by Catalonia's regional parliament on Nov. 9 that sets a roadmap for its independence from Spain by 2017.

The court ruling said the resolution violates norms of the Spanish Constitution, stressing that "the democratic principle cannot be separated from the unconditional primacy of the Constitution."

The ruling came in record time, given that the Court had five months to make a decision.

It added that the Catalan regional parliament had no right to believe itself above "the legitimacy of the institutions of the (Spanish) state," and it "infringed the Constitutional rules which establish the sovereignty of the Spanish people and confirm the unity of the nation."

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy welcomed the decision, saying it made those "who believe in Spain, national sovereignty and the equality of Spaniards, very happy."

Meanwhile in Catalonia, leader of the Republican Left party Oriol Junqueras said that the "Constitutional Court, acting on the orders of a political party (Spain's ruling People's Party) would not prevent the Catalan people from following a mandate won in the ballot box."

Pro-secession parties, who pushed the resolution, hold a slim majority in the Catalan regional parliament following the September regional elections. But the region, with a population of 7.5 million, is evenly divided over splitting with the rest of Spain.

Catalonia represents nearly a fifth of Spain's economic output. Pro-independence sentiment began to swell some four years ago at the height of Spain's economic crisis with secessionist parties claiming Catalonia could do better on its own. Endi