Spain calls emergency meeting after Catalonia declares independence
The region's leader signs a document declaring independence, but delays implementation to allow for talks with Madrid.
Wednesday 11 October 2017 00:13, UK
Spain's government has called an emergency meeting after Catalonia's leader signed a document declaring the region's independence.
But in a bid to put the ball in Madrid's court and defuse tensions, Carles Puigdemont immediately delayed the declaration's implementation to allow for talks.
It is unclear if the document signed by Mr Puigdemont and his allies has any legal basis.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has called an emergency cabinet meeting for Wednesday morning, when Madrid will decide how to respond.
In a sign the Spanish government is in no mood to talk, deputy prime minister Saenz de Santamaria said Mr Puigdemont "doesn't know where he is, where he is going and with whom he wants to go".
One of the options open to Mr Rajoy is the unprecedented step of dissolving Catalonia's parliament and taking direct control of the region under Article 155 of the Spanish constitution, something that has been referred to as the "nuclear option".
Madrid could also ask the courts to strike down the declaration of independence as unconstitutional.
In a highly anticipated speech earlier, Mr Puigdemont told the regional parliament in Barcelona he accepted the "mandate of the people" of Catalonia for a split.
However, he asked the Catalan parliament to "suspend the effects of the independence declaration to initiate dialogue in the coming weeks".
Mr Puigdemont criticised the Spanish government's response to the region's disputed independence referendum, but said Catalans have nothing against Spain or Spaniards.
He said: "We're not criminals, we're not mad. We're normal people who want to vote."
Although Mr Puigdemont stopped short of seeking the explicit support of the chamber for the declaration in a formal vote, his gambit plunges Spain into the unknown.
Voters in Catalonia backed independence in a referendum last weekend, a poll that was declared illegal by Madrid even before it took place.
Although 92% of those who voted backed secession, only 43% of Catalans cast a ballot.
The Spanish government was the subject of international condemnation for its response to the vote, which saw rubber bullets fired and batons used on crowds.
Responding to Mr Puigdemont's speech, a Spanish government official said Madrid did not accept Catalonia's "implicit" independence declaration, while the opposition leader in Catalonia's parliament accused Mr Puigdemont of a "coup".
Madrid has previously promised action to "restore law and democracy" if Catalonia presses ahead with independence.
Tuesday's proclamation makes a negotiated settlement more difficult, as Mr Rajoy has said he would not talk to Catalan leaders until they drop plans for secession.
European leaders have also come out against an independence declaration, amid concerns about Spain's biggest constitutional crisis since its transition to democracy in the wake of the death of military dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.