Spain’s national unity suffered a decisive blow on Friday afternoon when Catalan MPs in the 135-seat regional parliament voted for independence by a margin of 70 votes to 10. Catalonia: how will Spain impose direct rule and will it work? The European Union, the UK, Germany and the United States all said they would not recognise Catalan independence and expressed support for Madrid’s to preserve Spanish unity. “This is a happy day.”The independence declaration met with an unambiguous response from Donald Tusk, the president of the European council. Theresa May’s spokesperson said: “The UK does not and will not recognise the unilateral declaration of independence made by the Catalan regional parliament.

Source: The Guardian October 27, 2017 09:46 UTC