Catalan Separatists Schedule Vote on Independence for Next November, Spain Government Insists Its Illegal
Catalonia's president says referendum will have to happen
Barcelona, the capital of the region of Catalonia, has become the focus of a legal battle with the Spanish government.
Separatist parties have agreed a date and two questions to put to Catalonians on independence for the region.
The poll is scheduled for November 9 next year when voters will be asked if they want Catalonia to be a state and if they want it to be independent.
"There will come a time for the institutions of the state of Spain to negotiate with Catalan institutions how to carry out this referendum within the existing legal frameworks, which are many," explained Artur Mas, President of Catalonia.