Referendum won't 'fix the problem,' says Spanish minister

The Spanish Public Administration Minister, Meritxell Batet, said on Thursday that the Spanish government cannot agree on an independence referendum with the Catalan authorities.

In an interview with radio RAC1, Batet, who is Catalan, said that the Spanish legal framework does not allow for such a vote.

She also claimed that no other countries nearby would allow it, referring to Italy and Germany.

When asked about the Scottish referendum, she said that it is a different case, as the United Kingdom has no "written constitution."

Yet according to Batet, even if the Spanish law allowed such a vote, it would not "fix the problem."

"We need to find what binds us, something representing the 80 or 90% of the people," she added.  

Batet said that people have had their say in elections several times in the past few years and in two "illegal referendums" and the issue has not been solved.

For her, "there are political forces afraid of finding a consensus."

Motion on "dialogue" in Spanish Congress

She also commented on the motion for dialogue "without impositions" agreed between the Spanish Socialist party and the pro-independence PDeCAT, finally withdrawn by the Catalan force after ally ERC did not back it and a senior Socialist MP said everything could be tackled in talks "except independence."

"We can talk about it, because they constantly talk about it in the Congress. But there cannot be an agreement on independence," claimed Batet.