Institutional statement by Government Spokesperson following response from Carles Puigdemont

"A very good day to you all,

The Government of Spain verified, on Thursday morning, the refusal of the President of the Regional Government of Catalonia to attend to the official demand sent to him on 11 October. This demand called for him to clearly and precisely inform as to whether or not any public authority in Catalonia had actually declared the independence of this autonomous region.

In light of the his response not adhering to these clear and precise terms, the government considers that this official demand has not been answered, and accordingly, will continue to implement the procedures established in Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution with the aim of restoring legality in Catalonia.

The President of the Government has called an extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers to be held on Saturday, 21 October. This meeting will be used to approve the measures to be submitted for the approval of the Upper House of Parliament with the aim of protecting the general interests of the Spanish people, including the citizens of Catalonia, indeed all of the citizens of Catalonia, and of restoring constitutional order in the autonomous region.

The government expresses its gratitude to the various political formations with which it has been in talks over recent weeks to agree on a common response to the secessionist challenge. Furthermore, it strongly regrets the attitude adopted by those responsible for the Regional Government of Catalonia of deliberately and systematically seeking institutional confrontation despite the harm that this is causing to peaceful co-existence in this autonomous region.

The government wishes to stress and regret the flagrant violation of the Constitution and of the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia at the sittings of the regional parliament on 6 and 7 September. Just 48 hours ago, the Plenary Session of the Constitutional Court unanimously declared the so-called Regional Referendum Act to be unconstitutional.

Rest assured that the government will use all those instruments in its power to restore legality and constitutional order as soon as possible, in order to recover peaceful-co-existence among citizens and halt the deterioration that legal and political uncertainty are causing in Catalonia, which are solely attributable to the leaders of the Regional Government of Catalonia, with a clear economic and social cost for all its citizens.

Thank you very much".

Non official translation