The Constitutional Tribunal (TC) has agreed to consider separate appeals presented by the government and the opposition against Basque regional president Juan José Ibarretxe's plan to hold a public referendum concerning Basque sovereignty next October.

While the court has five months to reach a conclusion, a final ruling is expected some time during August.

Notwithstanding, the planned referendum cannot now be held as article 161.2 of the Spanish Constitution stipulates that once an appeal of this type has been accepted by the court for consideration, the legislation will remain frozen until a resolution has been reached.

Zapatero meets Ibarretxe to scotch referendum plans
By: thinkSPAIN
Tuesday, October 16, 2007

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero met Basque regional president, Juan José Ibarretxe, at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid this morning to discuss plans to hold a public referendum about Basque sovereignty in 2010.

At a press conference following the encounter, Mr Zapatero said: "I reminded (Ibarretxe) of the responsibilities of a regional president and a national government and told him that political proposals have only one path; that of legality and the Constitution. What can't be done, won't be done and is not going to be done."

Mr Zapatero also said that he was not surprised by Mr Ibarretxe's intentions "because he's been talking about the same thing since 2001. I get the impression that we're talking about the second part of the Ibarretxe Plan, the fate of which will be the same as Ibarretxe Plan One."

Basque leader isolated over referendum plans
By: thinkSPAIN
Saturday, September 29, 2007

Not even all members of his own party (PNV) applauded when Basque president (el lehendakari), Juan José Ibarretxe, announced plans to hold a public referendum next year about the region's future yesterday.

For his part, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, who was speaking at a press conference in Sochi following trade development talks with Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, stressed that "nothing will be done that does not respect the Constitution," and that "I'll listen to the lehendakari, but he'll also have to listen to me."

Speaking after the weekly cabinet meeting, government first vice-president, María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, said she had just three words to say to the lehendakari Ibarretxe: "Constitution, Constitution and Constitution." Ms de la Vega also said that Mr Ibarretxe was heading for a "second failure" if he tried to act outside the Spanish Magna Carta after the controversial Ibarretxe Plan for Basque independence was overwhelmingly rejected by the national parliament in February 2005.

PP opposition leader, Mariano Rajoy, showed less restraint when he described the lehendakari's plans to hold a referendum as: "illegal, blackmail and anti-constitutional," adding that the underlying intention was to "take away the right of the Spanish people to decide what is Spain."

Basque socialist leader, Patxi López, said "it would not be legal because it does not unite the country but divides it, and because only a minority of Basque society would support it."