The Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Catalunya president Artur Mas came away from talks in Madrid on Wednesday saying no deal had been reached on resolving a bitter dispute over Catalunya’s plans to hold a referendum on independence in November.<br /><br />Rajoy considers any referendum illegal and violating Spain’s Constitution, drawn up in 1978.<br /><br />Mas said the Spanish PM was unable to address Catalans’ concerns they aren’t getting a fair deal out of Spain.<br /><br />“There is no proposal from the state’s side to resolve this political conflict, other than reminding us that, according to them, the consultation is illegal. But I reiterate that there is the possibility to turn it into a legal consultation, if there is sufficient political will to do so. But today on this issue, there has been no agreement,” Mas said in a statement after the meeting.<br /><br />Pro-independence sentiment in Catalonia has grown greatly in recent years, with many Catalans feeling they deserves better economic and political treatment from Madrid.<br /><br />The meeting came hot on the heels of revelations that the former president of Catalunya and founder of modern Catalan nationalism, held a fortune in undeclared money in secret foreign bank accounts for decades.
