Spanish constitution, European Commission confirms

The European Commission has confirmed that the Catalan independence referendum was “not legal” under Spanish law.

It described the vote, which saw police beat protesters and shut down polling stations, as an “internal matter” and suggested it would not heed calls to intervene.

“This is an internal matter for Spain that has to be dealt with in line with the constitutional order of Spain,” a spokesperson said.

“Beyond the purely legal aspects of this matter, the Commission believes that these are times for unity and stability, not divisiveness and fragmentation.”

The European Commission, which is the executive of the EU, called for all sides to “move very swiftly from confrontation to dialogue”.