Spain's central government takes control of Catalonia's finances to block referendum

Madrid

SPAIN has taken control of Catalonia's finances to prevent funds being used for an independence referendum that it deems illegal, a move that limits the region's autonomy and puts in doubt the payment of thousands of public workers' salaries.

"It is a total irresponsibility. They are leading us to an administrative collapse," Catalonia's Vice-President Oriol Junqueras said on Monday, adding that the measure was "unprecedented".

Spain's conservative government announced last Friday that it would take over the payment of essential services and public workers' salaries in Catalonia to prevent it from spending money on the referendum slated for Oct 1.

Catalonia's pro-separatist government challenged the measure in Spain's Supreme Court but a court spokeswoman told AFP that it was "in force" and would not be sus…