Vitoria, Spain - Basque authorities will appeal to European tribunals against a ruling by Spain's Constitutional Court which blocked a planned referendum on the self-determination of the northern region, Basque regional Prime Minister Juan Jose Ibarretxe said Friday.
The Basque government "respected" the ruling, but regarded it as undemocratic and would not "resign," Ibarretxe said.
The Basque parliament had previously authorized the referendum-like vote to be staged on October 25. The Spanish government lodged a complaint at the Constitutional Court, the country's highest court alongside the Supreme Court.