The Parliament of the Spanish region of Catalonia has voted to declare independence from Spain in a landmark move which is set to ratchet up tensions.
After its citizens voted for Independence in a recent referendum, the Catalan President laid the motion before Parliament, and MPs overwhelmingly approved.
70 MPs voted for Independence with 10 against, although the vote was boycotted en masse by the opposition.
In response to the Independence vote, the Spanish government approved a measure to impose ‘direct rule’ over Catalonia.
According to the BBC, direct rule could potentially lead to “the firing of Catalan leaders and the Spanish government taking control of the region’s finances, police and publicly owned media.”
There would be a cabinet meeting to decide exactly which measures to take, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said.
“Spain is a serious country, it is a great nation and we are not prepared in any way to allow some people to liquidate our constitution.” he said.