He addressed a campaign event on his first visit there since imposing direct rule on the region a fortnight ago.

Defending his decision in Barcelona, he said he had “exhausted all roads” after the Catalan government’s unilateral declaration of independence last month.

Several key Catalan leaders are currently being detained over the move.

Some 750,000 people protested in Barcelona on Saturday against the arrests, local police estimated.

The crisis was sparked by a disputed referendum held in Catalonia in October, which had been barred by the Spanish courts.

Catalan officials said the independence campaign won 92% of the vote, from a turnout of 43%. Many of those who were against independence did not cast votes, refusing to recognise the legitimacy of the referendum.

The Catalan government subsequently declared independence. In response, the Spanish government dissolved the region’s parliament, imposed direct rule, and called a snap regional election on 21 December.

Speaking at a campaign event in Barcelona for his Popular Party (PP) on Sunday, Mr Rajoy called on the participation of the “silent majority” to “convert their voice into a vote”.

“We must reclaim Catalonia from the havoc of separatism,” he added, saying: “With democracy, we want to reclaim Catalonia for everyone.”

He told PP supporters that the right result would boost Spain’s economic growth next year to above 3%.

He called on companies not to leave the region, after hundreds of firms moved their headquarters away amid uncertainty over the region – which accounts for a fifth of Spain’s economy. He also urged people in Spain to continue buying Catalan products.

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Source: BBC

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Alfonso Dastis has told the BBC a nationwide vote on the issue could be held.

The move is in recognition of the events in Catalonia, where the regional government was deposed after a unilateral declaration of independence.

Protests were held against the detention of the region’s ex-leaders.

Meanwhile, Spain’s constitutional court has ruled that the declaration of independence was “unconstitutional and void”.

What has the foreign minister said?

“We have created a committee in parliament to explore the possibility of amending the constitution to be able to accommodate better the aspirations of some of the Catalan people,” Mr Dastis told the BBC.

“We acknowledge there is a political situation that deserves to be looked at but, in any case, it’s clear that the decision will be taken, will have to be taken by all Spaniards.”

He also said he was sorry if people got hurt during the banned referendum last month, but that there was no disproportionate use of force.

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Source: BBC

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