Experts of the Council of Europe for constitutional law have said that the referendum in Crimea on the peninsula's joining Russia which the Crimean authorities plan to hold on March 16 is illegal and it is not in line with the Constitution of Ukraine.

"I can confirm that the Venice Commission has passed a draft opinion, which, as Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said, states that the proposed referendum in Crimea is not democratic and it is not in line with the Constitution of Ukraine," Daniel Höltgen, Director of Communication at the Council of Europe, said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

He said that the draft will be finally approved by the Venice Commission on March 21.