Parliament calls on government to agree referendum with Madrid

The Catalan Parliament has called on the government to agree on a binding referendum with Madrid without setting any deadline.

In a motion at the end of the annual general policy debate, the ruling Junts per Catalunya and ERC voted in favor of urging the executive to "continue exploring the paths of dialogue and negotiation to guarantee the right to self-determination" along with Catalunya en Comú-Podem, non-aligned in the Catalan issue.

According to the motion, the referendum has to be "agreed, binding and internationally recognized."

Dialogue and bilateral negotiation with Madrid are also in the motion, rejected by unionist parties and also far-left pro-independence CUP.

Yet the chamber rejected condemning the King of Spain as expected due to the loss of pro-independence majority resulting from the ruling parties' disagreements on how to react to the suspension of MPs ruled by the Spanish Supreme Court.

As the parliament bureau did not let the four suspended Junts per Catalunya MPs continue voting by proxy, now pro-independence parties can only cast 65 votes, which was not enough for this motion to succeed.

This has occurred on several occasions, and it might also happen in the coming months for the 2019 budget. The pro-independence parties will not be enough to pass it.

The chamber also rejected other motions, including that of the People's Party, calling for the suspension of Catalonia's self-rule again.

The country was under direct rule from Madrid from October 2017 to June 2018.