Spanish parliament approves direct rule over Catalonia

World
Europe

‍The upper house of Spain's parliament on Friday authorized Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s government to rule Catalonia directly from Madrid, shortly after the Catalonia regional parliament voted to declare independence from Spain.

The measures allowing the Spanish government to trigger Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution were approved with 214 votes in favor, 47 against and one abstention.

Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy delivers his speech during a debate at the upper house of the Senate in Madrid, Spain, October 27, 2017. /Reuters Photo

The Article, which has not been used before, empowers the government to take "all measures necessary to compel" a region in case of a crisis.

Catalan parliament declares independence

On the same day, the Catalan regional parliament voted in favor of making a formal declaration of independence from Spain.

The independence motion was passed in the 135-strong assembly with 70 votes in favor, 10 against and 2 blank ballots, the assembly's speaker said.

"I ask for calm from all Spaniards. The rule of law will restore legality in Catalonia," Rajoy wrote in a Twitter post.

Shares in Catalan banks fell sharply after the vote, dragging the entire stock market with them.

CaixaBank, Spain's third largest lender, fell by around five percent while Sabadell, the country's fifth biggest bank, fell roughly six percent, according to AFP.

Tusk: For EU, nothing changes

The Catalan parliament's declaration of independence has changed nothing and the European Union will only deal with the central government in Madrid, the president of the European Council Donald Tusk said on Friday.

Twitter Photo

What happened

Spain is in the worst political crisis in decades after Catalonia held an independence referendum on October 1, which the Spanish government declared illegal.

The next day, Catalan leader Puigdemont said 90 percent of voters opted for independence on a 43 percent turnout.

Here are the key events since the October 1 vote:

CGTN Photo