Spain tightens control of Catalonia spending: budget minister

Spain will tighten its control over Catalonia's spending to prevent the region from using funds to organise an independence referendum, Spanish Budget Minister Cristobal Montoro said today.

"We are guaranteeing that no payment from that administration goes towards an illegal activity," he told a news conference in a reference to an October 1 secession referendum in Catalonia which Madrid argues violates the constitution.