SPAIN THREATENS DIRECT RULE.

Spain has told Catalonia to clarify whether or not it has declared independence by next Monday, as it threatened direct rule over the region.

Mariano Rajoy, the prime minister, initiated a neverbefore-used constitutional mechanism that would allow the government to take control, as he called for “certainty” for Spanish citizens.

His comments came following a cabinet meeting after Carles Puigdemont, the Catalan president, proclaimed the region's right to secede but stopped short of declaring independence.

Rajoy said that, unless Puigdemont “expresses his will to respect legality,” the government would adopt measures under Article 155 of Spain's constitution. Dubbed the “nuclear button,” the article allows the central government to take some or total control of any of its 17 regions if they don't comply with their legal obligations.

“There is no mediation possible between democratic law and disobedience, illegality,” Rajoy told Spain's parliament yesterday afternoon, dismissing Puigdemont's independence plan as a “fairy tale.”

Rajoy has gained the backing of the main opposition Socialist party (PSOE) to deploy Article 155.

But the government also agreed to the creation of an inter-party commission to propose a territorial reform package within six months. The object is to find longterm solutions for “Catalonia's place within the Spanish state,” Pedro Sanchez, the leader of the opposition said.

Experts warn, however, that the conflict resulting from what Puigdemont calls a “mandate” for independence, based on an Oct. 1 referendum declared illegal by Spanish courts, is unlikely to be resolved in a quick and simple manner.

“The ball is now in Mr Puigdemont's court, but he is likely to say 'no,' we haven't declared independence but laid down a basis for dialogue,” said Dr. Simon Toubeau, an assistant professor in politics and international relations at the University of Nottingham.

The anti-capitalist CUP party, which props up Catalonia's government, said that a time limit should be imposed on the suspension of independence if no substantive negotiations begin.

“The Catalan government will say they are the ones who want dialogue, to make the application of Article 155 be seen as something restrictive and authoritarian,” said Pablo Simon, a political expert from Madrid's Carlos III University.

Yesterday Puigdemont urged Spain's government to enter “dialogue without conditions.”

The European Union has so far refused to be dragged into the conflict. A senior EU official told The Daily Telegraph that the EU is treading carefully to avoid upsetting the legitimate government of a member state.

“Could the U.K. imagine a situation where the EU was mediating between London and Scotland? We still trust in the democracy of Spain.”