THE European Council president last night ruled out taking action in Catalonia.

Speaking at a news conference along with EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, Donald Tusk said there was no room for any intervention, despite the “concerning” situation in the autonomous region.

“There is no room, no space for any kind of mediation or international initiative or action,” said Tusk.

“I am of course for many reasons in permanent contact with (Spain’s) Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

“There is no hiding that the situation in Spain is concerning, but our position ... is clear.”

The remarks come as Catalonia’s Parliament intends to vote on a formal declaration of independence which had been suspended after the October 1 referendum that was marred by state police brutality.

In a letter to Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, Catalan President Carles Puigdemont said the vote would proceed if the state government “persists in blocking dialogue and the repression continues”.

More than 42 per cent – 2.26 million – of the Catalan electorate managed to cast their votes as paramilitary officers blockaded sites used as polling stations and savagely beat would-be voters with riot batons. Despite this, officials said more than 90 per cent had voted to secede from Spain.

Puigdemont wrote to Rajoy minutes before a deadline imposed by Madrid for him to backtrack on moves towards independence.

Rajoy announced a special cabinet session for Saturday that would trigger the process to activate Article 155 of Spain’s constitution – the so-called nuclear option, which has never been used in the four decades since democracy was restored at the end of Francisco Franco’s dictatorship.

It allows for central government to take over the devolved powers of any of the country’s 17 semi-autonomous regions. The meeting will “approve the measures that will be sent to the Senate to protect the general interest of all Spaniards”, the statement said.

Spain’s government must outline the exact measures it wants to apply in Catalonia and submit them for a vote in the Senate.

The ruling Popular Party’s majority in the top chamber would be enough to approve the measure, but Rajoy has held discussions with opposition leaders to rally further support.

The main opposition Socialist Party backed his moves but wants the Article 155 measures to be limited in scope and time. Senior EU officials have so far insisted that the issue is matter for Spain, despite calls from Catalonia for them to intervene.

Puigdemont addressed the regional parliament on October 10, saying he had the mandate under a banned October 1 referendum to declare independence from Spain, but he immediately suspended the implementation of the secession proclamation and called for talks with Spain and international mediators.

Madrid responded by setting two deadlines for Puigdemont – a Monday one for him to say a simple “yes” or “no” to whether he had declared independence, and a second one for Thursday morning for him to fall in line with Spain’s laws. Spain’s government says Puigdemont has not offered any clarity in his replies.

Catalans would consider the implementation of Article 155 an “invasion” of the ability of the region to self-govern.