Government spokesman Zoltán Kovács declined to say whether Hungary would recognize Catalan independence if the breakaway referendum were successful | Sandra Montanez/Getty Images Hungary to ‘respect’ will of people in Catalonia vote ‘This is called democracy,’ Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s spokesman says.

Hungary will "respect the will of the people" if Catalonia goes ahead with a referendum on independence on October 1, the Hungarian government said on Monday.

“The will of the people is always what matters, that's the position,” Zoltán Kovács, spokesman for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's administration, told a press conference in Brussels when asked if Hungary had a position on Catalonia.

“That's the internal issue for the Spanish and Catalonian people and it should be their decision, we all have to respect the will of the people, this is called democracy,” he added.

Pro-independence leaders in Catalonia are pressing ahead with their plan for a referendum even though the Spanish government, with the backing of the Constitutional Court, says that the vote is illegal.

Kovács did not say whether Hungary would recognize Catalan independence if the disputed referendum produced a result in favor of breaking away from Spain.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has vowed to do everything necessary to stop the referendum going ahead. Last week, Spain’s public prosecutor ordered an investigation into 712 Catalan mayors who have vowed to provide logistical support for the vote in defiance of a ban by the Constitutional Court.

In recent days, armed police have raided print works and newspaper offices in Catalonia to search for voting papers, ballot boxes and leaflets.