After weeks of heated debate, Catalonia's parliament approved a new statute for the northeastern region of Spain, controversially declaring it a nation within the nation of Spain .
Legal experts have questioned whether the declaration is constitutional, while conservatives warn it will push Spain towards a US- or German-style federal system.
The Socialist government, which prides itself on negotiating everything with everyone, has said the new statute on autonomy is unacceptable and that Catalonia must act within the constitution.
The opposition conservative Popular Party demanded that the Catalan statute be treated as a constitutional reform when it is submitted to the national parliament for approval.
If not, it said, Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero should call a general election so that citizens could give their opinion on the "constitutional break" that the Catalan statute would lead to.
"Spaniards must be consulted before Parliament takes irreversible decisions. This affects all of us, it's a process of territorial separation, a process that means that Catalonia is a state," Popular Party Secretary General Angel Acebes said in a statement.
Catalonia, a region of 7 million people bordering France and the Mediterranean, has long tested relations with the central government in Madrid, whose authority many Catalans dislike.
"We will form several Spains ... We all love these Spains so much that we want to change them a bit," Catalan President Pasqual Maragall said yesterday.
The new statute states that Catalonia will in future collect all its own taxes and then pay the central government its share, the reverse of the current system.
A similar arrangement in the restless Basque Country, another of Spain 's 17 autonomous regions, leads to regular disagreements about how much the region owes Madrid and refusals to pay.
Catalans account for 16 per cent of Spain 's population and 18 per cent of the economy, making it one of the wealthiest regions, with a tradition of manufacturing and, more recently, design and technology.
The other contentious element in the new statute is the section giving Catalonia power over its own courts and establishing the regional high court as the highest judicial authority instead of the constitutional court in Madrid.
Yesterday's statute needs clearance from the national parliament in Madrid to be legally valid. Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega made it clear on Friday there would have to be changes to the text.
"We need to analyse the Catalan proposal ... debate and negotiate it within the framework of the constitution," she told a news conference after the weekly cabinet meeting.