Madrid Assembly passes motion calling for banning of 'separatist parties'

The Madrid Assembly passed a non-binding motion on Thursday calling on the Spanish government to ban "separatist parties that threaten the unity of the nation with the legal tools at their disposal or those deriving from legal reforms they might have passed."

In a clear reference to the independence bid organized by the Catalan government in 2017, the motion was put before the assembly for the autonomous community of Madrid by the far-right Vox party, and passed with the votes of the unionist PP and Cs parties.

The motion also urges the EU to include the pro-independence Committees for the Defense of the Republic (CDR) protest group on its "its list of criminal and terrorist organizations," and included data from the investigation into seven CDR activists arrested on September 23.  

Spanish executive expresses surprise

However on Friday, acting Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez said that his government is looking into challenging the motion in Spain's Constitutional Court: "We will study the matter, because we're beginning to witness some very worrying things," he said.

Talking to the Cadena Ser radio station, Sánchez said that the far-right "has a name in European history," and added that "yesterday, we were all very surprised by this matter," warning that regional assemblies "cannot exceed" their devolved powers.

Later, in an interview with the TVE television channel, the acting president said his government, which has challenged a number of initiatives from the Catalan parliament, will be "just as forceful" with other assemblies when they pass unlawful resolutions.

When asked about the matter, Sánchez's party colleague and head of the Catalan Socialists, Miquel Iceta, replied that "Political problems require political solutions. You can’t turn a blind eye to reality or take those who don’t think like you off the map."