Spanish politicians are preparing to vote on whether to allow Catalonia's regional assembly to hold a referendum on independence from Spain.
But for many the outcome is a foregone conclusion; Spain's ruling Popular Party strongly opposes the motion, leaving it likely to be rejected.
"I think those things are best resolved through talking," said Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. "And not through taking decisions unilaterally, then putting them in front of the rest of us afterwards."
Officials in the north eastern region have vowed to vote on the issue in November, regardless of Tuesday's result.
"I'm not going to participate in this debate. It is a decision taken in the Catalonian Parliament and I'm the President of the Government of Catalonia," Artur Mas told euronews. "My government didn't send the draft law to the Spanish Parliament to obtain the right to organise the referendum."
Catalonia has seen hundreds of thousands of people rally for independence. But last month Spain's Constitutional Court ruled that a move by Catalan leaders to unilaterally hold a referendum would be unconstitutional.
Source: EuroNews
