Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy delivers a year-end news conference at Moncloa palace in Madrid, Spain December 30, 2016. REUTERS/Andrea Comas
MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Friday flatly rejected the possibility of a referendum in the northeastern region of Catalonia on a split from Spain, telling pro-independence politicians to desist from attempts to hold one next year.
The regional Catalan government has said it will hold a referendum on secession before September 2017, with or without consent from the central government, although they would prefer a consensual vote like the one Scotland held in 2014. Scots voted to remain part of the United Kingdom.
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