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The Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, stated on Wednesday that he "will not join absurd debates" and will not "participate in the game" to negotiate Catalonia's self-determination vote since "the referendum is illegal and will not take place". Ironically, Rajoy accepted the request of the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, to meet, but he has specifically rejected to talk about the purpose of the interview: the self-determination vote. In addition, the Spanish PM has downplayed the agreement backed by a two-third majority of the Catalan Parliament, which was answering a mandate resulting from the 2012 Catalan elections. On the same day the Spanish Finance Minister, Cristóbal Montoro, rejected "reinventing Spain" to better fit Catalans and therefore ruled out a deep Constitutional Reform. In addition, he also rejected setting up a new fiscal scheme for Catalonia, similar to the one that the Basque Country already has.

The future Law on Consultation Votes, which should enable the organisation of a self-determination vote in Catalonia on the 9^th of November, has been approved by the parliamentary committee in charge of drafting it and sending to the plenary for the final approval in late September or early October. It has passed with the support from all the parties – including the Socialists (PSC) – except the Spanish nationalist People's Party (PP) and Ciutadans (C's), which only hold 20% of the Catalan Parliament's seats. Since the Spanish authorities are not authorising a binding referendum on independence, Catalonia is developing its own legal framework. This law was already foreseen in the Catalan Statute of Autonomy, which is Catalonia's main law and was approved by the Spanish Parliament and the Catalan people through a binding referendum in 2006.

Before meeting with the Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, the President of the Catalan Government and leader of the Centre-Right pro-Catalan State Coalition CiU, Artur Mas, contacted the other parties that agreed to organise a self-determination vote on the 9^th of November in order to explain to them how he envisages the talks that will take place in Madrid. Mas guaranteed them that they would be consulted on any possible change regarding the question wording or the date on which the vote would be held so that a consenus could be reached between them. Yesterday, and on several other occasions, the Catalan President stressed that he is open to negotiate with Rajoy about alternative questions and dates for the self-determination referendum. However, what is non- negotiable for Mas, and the majority of Catalan parties, is that Catalans have to vote very soon on their own political future and on their relationship with Spain.

Catalan parties welcomed the new King in a cold manner, and some were even directly absent from the coronation and participated instead in events in favour of a republican regime. However, after a few days of uncertainty, the President of the Catalan Government and leader of the Centre-Right pro-Catalan State CiU, Artur Mas, attended the ceremony in Madrid. Despite the fact that CiU did not give its explicit support to the King's succession, the CiU representatives were all present at the ceremony, although without showing enthusiasm. In addition, Mas insisted that he continues with his "wait and see" attitude, as the King's speech "did not offer anything new". Meanwhile, representatives from the Left-Wing Catalan Independence Party (ERC) did not attend the ceremonies, neither did representatives from the Catalan Green Socialist Coalition (ICV-EUiA), who participated in a small pro-republic demonstration in Barcelona at the exact same time the new King was swearing the Constitution.

Catalan parties, business associations and other institutions have reacted  to the abdication of King Juan Carlos announced this Monday morning. All the left-wing parties except the Catalan Socialist Party (PSC) – which is part of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) – have called for a referendum on the monarchy's continuity and the instauration of a Republic. In fact, a series of demonstrations were held in several Catalan cities demanding a new Republic. The other widespread reaction came from those not questioning the monarchy, although all of them ask for a "modern King." Instead, most of them ask Crown Prince Felipe to be sensitive to the Catalans' will to self-determination and they expect he will act as a mediator to enable a negotiated way out to the current political conflict.

The Catalan Parliament has finally approved the legal framework allowing the construction and the activities of the BCN World mega-resort, to be located next to PortAventura amusement park in the Costa Daurada. Now, the company Veremonte has the final green light to start construction, after it already had announced the first investors some months ago. Casino giant Melco, hotel brand Melià, US Hard Rock, Value Retail shopping malls and Investindustrial, which owns PortAventura, will participate in the $6 billion project. Furthermore, Ferrari announced it will build its first theme park in Europe there. BCN World involves 6 mega-casinos, large-size hotels, shopping malls, convention centres, theatres, golf courses, parks, a beach club, technology institutes and smart city developments.

Parties supporting self-determination have won the European Parliament elections in Catalonia by a clear margin; elections which have seen turnout increase from 36.9% in 2009 to 47.4% this time around, spurred by the independence debate. The Left-Wing Catalan Independence Party (ERC) obtained 23.7% of the votes, whereas in 2009 it secured only 9.2%. The Centre-Right pro-Catalan State Coalition (CiU), which has been in government in Catalonia since 2010, has more or less kept the same percentage of the vote, going from 22.4% to 21.9%, despite austerity measures adopted in the past few years. Support for Spain's two main parties, the People's Party (PP) – currently in government – and the Socialists (PSOE), has plummeted in Catalonia.  The Catalan Socialist Party (PSC), part of the PSOE, retained only a third of its 2009 share of the vote, going from 36% to 14.3%. The PP now becomes the 5^th most popular party, decreasing from 18% of the vote to 9.8%. Meanwhile, the Catalan Green Socialist and post-Communist Coalition (ICV-EUiA), which also supports self-determination, increased its percentage of the vote from 6% to 10.3%. The anti-Catalan nationalism and populist party Ciutadans (C's) also polled well, increasing its share of the vote from 0.3% to 6.3%.

The 2014 European parliamentary elections are likely to become a milestone for Catalan people for three main reasons, which taken together send a strong message to the international community, the EU institutions and Member State governments, including that of Spain. Firstly, political parties and civil society organisations supporting self-determination have called citizens to vote in these elections as a way to push for a referendum on independence to take place on the 9^th of November of this year. This may significantly increase turnout from the low 36.94% registered in 2009. Secondly, the two main self-determination parties are likely to be the most voted parties in Catalonia. In addition, the Left-Wing Independence Party (ERC) may go from 4^th place in the 2009 poll to 1^st place this time around. Thirdly, support for the two main parties behind the EU austerity measures that turned into drastic budget cuts in southern Europe – the People’s Party and the Socialist Party – is likely to plummet in Catalonia.

In the first debate ever among the official candidates to chair the European Commission, Catalonia's self-determination process, the referendum and the EU membership of a hypothetical Catalan independent state was discussed. After a question from the debate's host, Italian journalist Monica Maggioni, about Scotland and Catalonia, each of the five candidates shared their views on the issue. Juncker (People's Party) and Schultz (Socialist) called for respect for constitutional frameworks and insisted that Scotland and Catalonia are internal matters for the UK and Spain. Verhofstadt (Liberals) emphasised that the EU has to listen to the citizens and that it cannot intervene in a negative way, as it has done so far in this issue. Keller (Greens) promised that if Scots and Catalans vote for independence, she will work for an automatic membership. Tsipras (Alternative Left) recognised the right to self-determination but suggested greater autonomy within their respective countries as the best solution for Catalonia and Scotland.

According to an opinion poll released by the Centre of Opinion Studies (CEO), run by the Catalan Government, 47.1% of Catalans would vote for independence in the referendum to be held on the 9^th of November 2014. At the same time, 19.3% would vote to keep the current status quo and 8.6% would support the creation of a Catalan state but oppose its independence from Spain, which means that 27.9% would vote against independence. The figures are particularly revealing because they have not been modified using statistical formulas and they reflect direct voting intention. In addition, 11.2% of the citizens do not know or do not answer what they would vote and 11.1% would not go to the polling station. All combined, it means that support for independence would be "around 56%" in the referendum, in line with previous polls, stated CEO's Director, Jordi Argelaguet.

On Tuesday evening the Spanish Parliament rejected a motion to transfer to the Catalan Government the power to organise a specific non-binding self-determination referendum, using Article 150.2 of the Constitution. 86% of all Spanish MPs rejected a motion presented by the Catalan Parliament to this effect, which was backed by some two-thirds of Barcelona’s Chamber. The Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy rejected the petition using his own interpretation of the Constitution, stating that Catalans could not possibly hold a vote on this issue within the current legal framework and therefore he could not authorise it. However, he pointed out that the Constitution could be reformed, although at the same time he has been blocking this way in recent years and has refused to talk about it. The Catalan representatives argued that allowing a self-determination vote was only a matter of political will.

Spain's Constitutional Court has reached a unanimous decision against the Catalan Parliament's 'Declaration of Sovereignty', approved in January 2013 and appealed by the Spanish Government. In May 2013 the Constitutional Court put the Declaration on hold, temporarily stopping its implementation while it was reaching a definitive decision, which has happened this Tuesday evening. In the end the Court has declared the first part of the text, which stated that "the people of Catalonia is, for reasons of democratic legitimacy, a sovereign political and legal subject", "unconstitutional and void". However, it adds that the people of Catalonia have "the right to decide" but not "to self-determination", and it points out that the Constitution can be reformed. After months of internal debate and previous failed attempts to reach a consensus, the decision arrived a few hours after the Catalan Parliament had approved a motion to disqualify 3 of the 12 members of the Constitutional Court of not being impartial on this issue.

On Wednesday, the parties supporting the petitions to transfer to the Catalan Government the powers to organise referendums, using Article 150.2 of the Constitution, welcomed the Spanish Parliament's decision to fix the debate as early as possible, particularly before the summer break. The Catalan Parliament had approved a motion urging the Spanish Government for such a transfer in order to organise a self-determination vote. However, the Spanish Parliament might have scheduled the corresponding parliamentary debate in September or October. For this reason, the Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Coalition (CiU), the Left-Wing Catalan Independence Party (ERC) and the Catalan Green Socialist Party (ICV) filed their own petitions using their MPs in Madrid in order to speed up the debate. Finally, the Spanish Parliament's Board, controlled by the People's Party (PP), decided to group all the petitions and to hold a single debate on the issue in April.

The Catalan Parliament held on Wednesday a monographic session on poverty, which has increased over the past few years, spurred by the financial crisis. According to a report published by the Red Cross this week, there are 200,000 families in Catalonia which live below the poverty line and since the crisis started, 88 Catalans a day have crossed such a line. With a population of some 7.5 million and a GDP per capita of around €28,000 (similar to the UK's) Catalonia posts a 22.3% unemployment rate and a 26.4% child poverty rate. Opposition parties asked for greater efforts and further measures to fight the poverty increase. The Catalan Government emphasised budget figures and detailed several actions in different areas to show they are tackling the issue. In this vein, the Executive criticised that child poverty stood at 22% in 2006, in prosperity years. Furthermore, they complained about the limited fiscal powers on taxation and public deficit, which seriously reduce spending possibilities.

The Greens' candidate to chair the European Commission in next May’s elections, Ska Keller, committed herself to working for Catalonia's right to self-determination. The German politician said on Monday in Barcelona that "the Greens defend radical democracy and in Catalonia there is a citizen demand in favour of a [self-determination] referendum". "For this reason I want to make the personal commitment that, if I am elected Commission President, I will support Catalonia in allowing a consultation vote on its political future and its relationship with Spain", promised the European Greens' top candidate. Keller, who has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2009, urged the Spanish Government to launch a negotiation process to make this vote possible.