Earlier the Spanish goverment held a special Cabinet meeting where Madrid took steps to trigger Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution, thereby abolishing Catalonia's autonomy from the central government.
The move was ordered by the country's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. However, the cabinet’s decision needs to be approved by the Senate.
On October 10, Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont announced that the results of the referendum held on October 1, enabling a declaration of independence. However, the Catalan leader called on the regional parliament to suspend the proclamation in order to make way for dialogue with Madrid, but signed the declaration anyway.
Following the move, Madrid asked the Catalan authorities to clarify whether independence had been declared or not. Puigdemont failed to meet the deadline, which expired on Thursday.
