Spain, Eurozone’s fourth-largest economy, is facing more turmoil as Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez calls an election just nine months after taking office.

SPAIN, Feb 15: Mariano Rajoy's central government is preparing to implement a new round of measures in Catalonia because the Prime Minister's plan to have a new regional executive installed this winter has failed, El País reported on Thursday.

Many foreign observers have misread the impasse between Catalan secessionists and the Spanish government

BARCELONA, Oct 28: Spain took formal direct control of Catalonia on Saturday, on paper firing the region’s defiant separatist government a day after lawmakers passed a declaration of independence for the prosperous northeastern region.

BARCELONA, SPAIN, Oct 28: In one of the most momentous days in recent Spanish history, Spain fired Catalonia’s regional government and dissolved its parliament Friday after a defiant Catalan declaration of independence that flouted the country’s constitution.

The motion passed in the regional parliament in Barcelona -- which was boycotted by opposition parties -- said Catalonia constituted an independent, sovereign and social democratic state. It called on other countries and institutions to recognise it.

MADRID, Oct 11: Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy demanded on Wednesday that the Catalan leader clarify whether he has declared independence, issuing a veiled threat that the central government could limit or rescind the region’s autonomy if he has.

Catalonia’s parliament will defy a Spanish court ban and go ahead with a debate that could lead to a declaration of independence, a regional government official said, as Spain’s worst political crisis in decades looked set to deepen. Secessionist Catalan politicians have pledged to unilaterally declare independence at Monday’s session after staging an independence referendum last Sunday. Madrid had banned the vote and sought to thwart it by sending in riot police who use batons and rubber bullets on voters.

BARCELONA, Oct 3: Catalan separatists called for international mediation with the Spanish government as they pushed ahead Monday with plans to declare unilateral independence this week after a violent police crackdown scarred a disputed secession referendum.

BARCELONA, SPAIN, Oct 2: The Latest on Catalonia’s referendum Sunday on breaking away from Spain