World reacts as Catalonia calls for independence

Leaders from Europe and elsewhere
have largely rallied behind Spain's
central government after the Catalan
parliament voted in favour of splitting
from Madrid and establishing an
independent republic.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy
on Friday announced the dissolution
of the Catalan parliament and called
for snap regional elections in a swift
response to the Catalan MPs'
declaration for independence.
The standoff began when Catalans
voted to secede from Spain in an
October 1 referendum that had been
declared illegal by Spanish authorities.
The events in Barcelona and Madrid
have gripped Spain, marking a major
development in the country's worst
political crisis in decades.
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The political uncertainty is also closely
watched by the international
community, and especially the
European Union, as a potential
Catalan independence would represent
the greatest threat to the bloc's unity
since Britain's decision to leave in July
2016.
Here's how the world reacted to
Friday's events:
European Union
In line with the European Union's
long-held position that the standoff in
Catalonia is an internal matter for
Spain, Donald Tusk, the president of
the European Council, said that
the Catalan parliament's declaration
had changed nothing.