A Basque pro-independence coalition says it has submitted a bill to the local parliament, demanding permission for citizens to decide on the "future" of the autonomous region in northern Spain.

"The aim is to be able to legally ask citizens" in Basque "what political, economic and social future they want,” Hasier Arraiz, the EH Bildu coalition's spokesman, said in a statement published on Tuesday.

Under the measure, the head of the Basque government and local mayors would have the power to consult their citizens over the future of the region, which could also include independence.

The EH Bildu coalition has called on lawmakers from the Basque Nationalist Party, which has the majority in the 75-seat Basque legislature, to support the bill.

The proposal needs to be approved for debate in the local parliament before it can go any further.

"It's time to confront (the Spanish state) democratically, they are doing it in Catalonia and we want to do it in” Basque, Arraiz added.

Basque has its own distinct language and culture as well as autonomy in policing and taxation.

In 2007, the Basque regional government put forward plans to hold a referendum on its citizens' right to "self-determination", but the Spanish Constitutional Court ruled the move illegal.

The development comes as an independence drive by Catalonia, another autonomous Spanish region, has gained momentum in recent years.

In November 2014, the Catalan president staged a symbolic independence referendum after the government in Madrid blocked his bid to hold an official referendum. Nearly 80 percent of the 2.2 million people who took part in the vote backed secession, though the turnout was slightly more than 40 percent.