Catalonia debates when it can break free from Spanish rule

BARCELONA, Spain — Catalonia’s regional government on Wednesday mulled when to declare the region’s independence from Spain, with some lawmakers saying it would happen Monday.

Catalan President Carles Puigdemont again urged the government to accept mediation in the political deadlock between Spain’s authorities and the leaders of the wealthy northeastern region of some 7.5 million.

The yearslong tension peaked Sunday when police used force to disperse voters in a referendum that Spain’s Constitutional Court had ordered shelved while assessing its legality.

Politicians in other parts of Spain and a handful of civil groups have offered to try to bridge the divide between the sides, but Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy says no dialogue can take place outside of the country’s constitution, which doesn’t include provisions for a region to secede.

European leaders have sided with Spain and, amid fears that Catalonia’s secession bid could find echoes elsewhere on the continent, the European Union has so far refused to step in.

European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans stressed Wednesday the need for Spain and Catalonia to talk with each other, but said there is a “general consensus that regional government of Catalonia has chosen to ignore the law when organizing the referendum.”

Meanwhile, Spain’s high court launched a criminal investigation against the Catalan police chief and organizers of the disputed referendum Wednesday.

The summons to appear before the court this week came after King Felipe VI on Tuesday night charged that the Barcelona separatists were acting “outside the law and outside democracy.”