Catalan lawmakers are due to vote on Wednesday on laws approving the referendum and the legal framework to set up an independent state.
The parliamentary session opened with an intense debate between pro-independence and pro-unity parties.
Catalonia is expected to approve plans for an October 1st referendum on whether to declare independence from Spain, a vote the government says is illegal and has promised to stop.
The laws will likely be approved because pro-independence parties have a majority in the regional parliament.
Reuters
