The MEPs decided to discuss the situation in Catalonia on Wednesday, where police violence marked yesterday's referendum on independence. That topic will be the topic of discussion on Wednesday afternoon in Strasbourg, said the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, after the vote on it organized at the opening of the EP plenary session. At the suggestion of the three main political groups in Parliament, conservatives, socialists and liberals, the topic of discussion will be "Constitution, rule of law and fundamental rights in Spain in the light of recent events in Catalonia". The topic was approved by the deputies by a show of hands. The discussion topic proposed by the Greens, which was more critical of the central authorities in Madrid, was not accepted: "Police violence against peaceful citizens in Catalonia". The European Parliament's decision to change the agenda and include the discussion on Catalonia followed after the European Commission today cautiously deviated from its reserved attitude towards the Catalan crisis. European Commission spokesman Margaritis Skinjas said that although Sunday's referendum was not "legal" according to the Spanish Constitution, "violence can never be an instrument of politics." "We call on all involved actors to quickly move from confrontation to dialogue," said Skinjas today. The Catalan regional parliament could in the following days declare the independence of that rich region in the north-east of Spain after a referendum in which 90 percent of those who came out voted for independence, with a turnout of 42,3 percent. The referendum that Madrid tried to prevent plunged the country into one of the most difficult crises since the return of democracy.
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