Catalonia vows it will hold independence referendum in September

peinado puigdemont e — Carles Puigdemont

THE President of Catalonia has vowed it will hold an independence referendum this September.

Carles Puigdemont made the promise to a packed Brussels auditorium yesterday, confirming it will go ahead with or without Madrid’s consent.

It comes after the latest polls show 47% of Catalans support independence, giving Puigdemont a mandate for the referendum.

“This year, the citizens of Catalonia will have the opportunity to finally decide on their future,” he said.

“We have maintained and continue to maintain that the referendum is legally viable.

“The problem consists in a lack of political will.”

Mariano Rajoy ruled out any plans for the referendum yesterday, describing it as non-negotiable.

He added that the Catalan separatists ‘would do much better if they looked for that outstretched hand instead of continuing to embrace radicalism and being handcuffed by extremism.’

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Laurence Dollimore

Laurence Dollimore is a Spanish-speaking, NCTJ-trained journalist with almost a decade’s worth of experience.
The London native has a BA in International Relations from the University of Leeds and and an MA in the same subject from Queen Mary University London.
He earned his gold star diploma in multimedia journalism at the prestigious News Associates in London in 2016, before immediately joining the Olive Press at their offices on the Costa del Sol.
After a five-year stint, Laurence returned to the UK to work as a senior reporter at the Mail Online, where he remained for two years before coming back to the Olive Press as Digital Editor in 2023.
He continues to work for the biggest newspapers in the UK, who hire him to investigate and report on stories in Spain.
These include the Daily Mail, Telegraph, Mail Online, Mail on Sunday and The Sun and Sun Online.
He has broken world exclusives on everything from the Madeleine McCann case to the anti-tourism movement in Tenerife.

GOT A STORY? Contact newsdesk@theolivepress.es or call +34 951 273 575 Twitter: @olivepress

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