All news

Spanish Council of Ministers to hold emergency session on Wednesday

The Council of Ministers will convene at 9:00 local time

MADRID, October 11. /TASS/. The Spanish government will convoke an emergency session of the Council of Ministers on Wednesday after Catalonia signed its declaration of independence on Tuesday.

"I would like to inform you that Spain’s prime minister [Mariano Rajoy] has just scheduled the emergency session of the Council of Ministers at 9:00 local time [10:00 Moscow time] tomorrow," Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said.

"Today, [Catalonia’s head Carles] Puigdemont brought his autonomous region to the biggest uncertainty in its history," she added.

The signing of the declaration took place in the Catalan government following the official address by the head of the region’s autonomous government to lawmakers, in which he officially declared the results of the October 1 independence vote.

Puigdemont earlier said that based on the results of the referendum on secession from Spain, Catalonia has earned the right to become an independent republic. However, he added, the region would suspend the process of declaring independence in a bid to establish a constructive dialogue with Madrid.

According to the Catalan government, as many as 90.18% of voters supported the idea of Catalonia’s independence. In all, 2.28 million Catalans, or 43% out of 5.3 million eligible voters, took part in the referendum. The Spanish authorities however regard this referendum illegal and refuse to recognize its results.