Spanish parliament rejects Catalan independence vote Tuesday April 08,2014

Spanish MPs have voted overwhelmingly to reject a request by the Catalan authorities to hold a referendum on independence on November 09,2014

After seven hours of debate, 299 MPs voted against the motion, with 47 votes in favour and one abstention.

All of the major Spanish parties, including Mariano Rajoy's conservative Popular Party and the Socialist opposition, opposed the petition, with Catalan and Basque nationalist parties voting in favour.

Spanish Prime Minister Rajoy repeated his argument that a referendum would be considered illegal because, under Spanish law, referendums on sovereignty must be held nationally and not regionally.

"Together we all win, but separate, we all lose. This isn't just a question of law, but of sentiment... I can't imagine Spain without Catalonia, or Catalonia out of Europe." he told parliamentarians in a debate prior to the vote.
But, speaking after the votes were counted, Catalan President Artur Mas said his regional government would press ahead with the plan to hold a referendum in November 2014

Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy earlier warned a referendum would be "an economic disaster" for both Spain and Catalonia.

Catalonia already enjoys a wide degree of autonomy but the recent economic crisis in Spain has fuelled Catalan nationalism.

Note
The Catalonian  regional government faces strong pressure to push ahead with the referendum.
The Catalan National Assembly, a powerful pressure group, has gathered tens of thousands of signatures on a petition urging local leaders to "exhaust all of the paths" to a referendum.
The group on Saturday unveiled a "roadmap", which calls for the region to declare independence from Spain by April 23, 2015 -- the feast day of Saint George, the patron saint of Catalonia.

Last year on September 11, Catalonia's national day, hundreds of thousands of people formed a human chain across the region to demand independence in a rally organised by the group.