Spain and Catalonia reach point of no return

The unilateral declaration of independence was adopted by just over a half of the region's deputies, as three opposition parties - the centre-right Popular Party and Ciudadanos and the Socialist Party - left the house in protest before the vote.

In a tense atmosphere, with thousands of independence supporters outside the parliament, and some remaining deputies displaying Catalan and Spanish flags on the parliament's benches, the vote was called as a secret ballot at the last minute.

The resolution declaring independence was adopted by 70 votes, 10 against and two blank votes - 135 deputies usually sit in the parliament.

"Today, the parliament of our country, legitimate and issued from the elections of the 27 September [2015], has taken a step that was widely awaited and fought for," Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont said after the vote.

He insisted that Catalan should maintain "peace, civility and dignity", even if the showdown with the Spanish government is set to escalate on Saturday.

On Friday, minutes after the vote in the Catalan parliament, the Spanish senate approved the measures proposed by the government to "restore legality in Catalonia" under article 155 of the constitution.

The measures, which will enter into force on Saturday, include the dismissal of Puigdemont and other regional officials, the dissolution of the Catalan parliament to call new elections, and control over the region's finances and police forces.

"Exceptional measures should only be adopted when no other remedy is possible," Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy told senators on Friday morning.

'No alternative'

He said that there was "no alternative" after Puigdemont refused on Thursday to organise fresh elections as a way to solve the crisis.

"The only thing that can be done and should be done is to accept and comply with the law," Rajoy insisted.

Rajoy called an extraordinary meeting of his cabinet at 6PM, to discuss the next steps.


In a message on Twitter, he called on "all Spaniards" to stay "calm".

In Brussels, European Council president Donald Tusk said also on Twitter that the declaration of independence changed "nothing" for the EU and that Spain "remains [its] only interlocutor."

But he warned the Rajoy against the use of force, saying that his government should favour "the force of argument".

"As you know, Catalans always favour the force of arguments," Puigdemont replied on social media.

The European Commission did not react officially but a spokeswoman said that it had "nothing to add" to its usual position saying that the crisis is a Spanish internal issue.

Earlier this week, the EU executive chief Jean-Claude Juncker said however that Catalans were "not being oppressed by Spain" and that "nationalism is a poison that prevents Europe from acting together."

The German government said that it does not recognise Catalonia's independence, which it says "violates" the principle of sovereignty and territorial integrity. It said that "all existing possibilities for dialogue and de-escalation" should be used.

Rajoy "has my full support," French president Emmanuel Macron said in French Guyana.

Belgian prime minister Charles Michel called on the crisis to be "solved through dialogue."

In a statement, the US said that "Catalonia is an integral part of Spain" and that it "supports the Spanish government's constitutional measures to keep Spain strong and united."

'A disaster'

In Catalonia, critical voices were raised.

 Barcelona's mayor Ada Colau said that she opposed article 155 but was also against the declaration of independence. "It's a disaster," she said on Twitter.

In a post on Facebook, she said that she wanted to defend "social cohesion and the prosperity" of Barcelona and Catalonia and participate in the creation of a "new, more democratic, stage for autonomy."

In Madrid, the leader of the Socialist Party, Pedro Sanchez, condemned the "separatist drift" and said that Puigdemont and his deputy Oriol Junqueras were "the main persons responsible for the breakup in the Catalan society."

Pablo Iglesias, from the radical left Podemos party, said that the declaration of independence was "illegitimate" and that it "favours the strategy" of Rajoy's Popular Party, which he does not support.