(Reuters) - Catalonia's parliament will meet on Monday in defiance of a legal process to clamp down on those who want independence for the region, the Catalan head of foreign affairs said on Friday.
In a deepening standoff between those who support independence for the wealthy northeastern region and the Spanish central government, Raul Romeva told the BBC that Catalonia's regional parliament would make a decision on independence.
On Thursday, Spain's Constitutional Court suspended the session of the Catalan parliament scheduled for Monday, in which local leaders were expected to declare Catalonia's unilateral independence from Spain following a banned referendum on secession at the weekend.
"Parliament will discuss, parliament will meet. It will be a debate and this is important," Romeva told the BBC, after being asked what would happen on Monday. He said the crisis would be resolved with politics, not via judicial means.
(Reporting by Elisabeth O'Leary and Costas Pitas; Editing by Alistair Smout)
