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In brief

Citizens’ initiative to declare independence accepted for proceeding in Catalan Parliament

Proposal needs 50,000 signatures to progress to Parliament’s plenary sitting

 
The sitting of the Board of the Catalan Parliament on the citizens' initiative.
The sitting of the Board of the Catalan Parliament on the citizens' initiative. Author: Parlament de Catalunya
The Board of the Parliament of Catalonia has accepted a citizens’ initiative proposal promoted by Solidaritat Catalana per la Independència (SI) which seeks to bring to the Parliament plenary a proposal for a law declaring the independence of Catalonia. The procedure received three votes in favour of the Board, two against, and one abstention.

Once the initiative’s control commission greenlights it, the collection of signatures can begin. Promoters will have 120 working days and must collect at least 50,000 signatures.

If that number is reached, the initiative’s control committee will notify the Board so that the parliamentary processing of the bill can begin, at which point the parliamentary groups can introduce amendments to the whole.

SI has said that the Board’s decision—which PSC, PP, Vox and Cs want it to reconsider—“respects international legality, the right to self-determination of peoples, and honours the First of October,” the date Catalonia held a referendum on independence in 2017.