Brussels — The European Commission called on Spain to open dialogue with Catalonia on Monday, saying violence was no solution but also calling for unity and backing Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s leadership in what was an "internal matter". Spain’s justice minister, meanwhile, praised the actions of police in the referendum, and said the government would consider using all means at its disposal to uphold the law in Catalonia. "We have always said that we would use all the force of the law and all the mechanisms that the constitution and laws grant to the government," Rafael Catala told broadcaster TVE in an interview. While images of police violence provoked alarmed reactions from some European government officials, Catala praised the security force for their "measured" response. The EU executive’s chief spokesperson Margaritis Schinas, said: "We call on all relevant players to now move very swiftly from confrontation to dialogue. Violence can never be an instrument in polit...
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