Spain split seems unstoppable now

Catalonia will move on Monday to declare independence from Spain following October 1 banned referendum as the European Union nation nears a rupture that threatens the foundations of its young democracy.

Mireia Boya, a Catalan lawmaker from the pro-independence Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP) party, said on Twitter that a declaration of independence would follow a parliamentary session on Monday to evaluate the results of the vote to break away.

"We know that there may be disbarments, arrests ... But we are prepared, and in no case will it be stopped," she said.

Catalan President Carles Puigdemont earlier said he would ask the region's parliament to declare independence following the poll, which Spain's government and constitutional court say was illegal and in which only a minority of Catalans voted.

"This will probably finish once we get all the votes in from abroad at the end of the week and therefore we shall probably act over the weekend or early next week," he told the BBC.
EU again calls for dialogue

1-Catalonia will declare independence 'in a matter of days', the region's leader Carles Puigdemont told the BBC

2-The move is set to intensify the standoff with the central government

3-Madrid has the power to suspend the semi-autonomous status that Catalonia currently enjoys under Spain's system of regional governments

4-A judge placed Catalonia's police chief under investigation for sedition. The force has been accused of failing to rein in pro-independence protesters

5-Spain's King Felipe VI in an address to the nation sternly denounced the bid by Catalan leaders to make the region independent, add- ing fuel to fire

6-The EU called on the Spanish government and the Catalan authorities to open dialogue to defuse the tensions

Source: Khaleej Times