Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy says his government is firing the Catalonia's regional government, dissolving its parliament and calling for a new regional election on Dec. 21.
He also says it is firing the head of Catalan regional police, shutting down Catalonia's foreign affairs department and dismissing its delegates in Brussels and Madrid.
Rajoy spoke after a special Cabinet meeting to discuss what measures to take after the Catalan parliament voted Friday to declare the northeastern region independent.
Rajoy's moves are likely to meet fierce opposition in Catalonia, where thousands have been celebrating the independence declaration.
Rajoy says "we never wanted to come to this point.'' He says the aim is "to return (Catalonia) to normality and legality as soon as possible.''
The Catalan regional parliament in Barcelona passed a motion Friday unilaterally establishing a new country. The motion was approved by the votes of pro-independence lawmakers, with 70 out of 135 votes in favour of secession. The Catalan regional government supported the breakaway bid.
Not all Catalans are keen on breaking away from Spain, however, with polls showing they are roughly evenly split. The issue has been simmering for years and boiled over when a plan to grant Catalonia, with its population of 7.5 million people, greater powers of self-government was ruled illegal by the constitutional Court.
The national government rejects Catalan independence, noting the constitution says Spain is "indivisible.''
The government deployed large numbers of police to Catalonia to stop an Oct. 1 regional independence referendum, which the constitutional Court ruled illegal. Some heavy-handed policing caused outrage among Catalans.
The Senate on Friday granted the government extraordinary powers to end the Catalan secession drive. The government can now dismiss the Catalan regional government, dissolve its parliament and call a snap election, as well as seize control of the Catalan police force and publicly-owned media outlets.
The Catalan parliament's vote for independence was symbolic. The Spanish government intends to fire pro-independence leaders and officials, who also risk being arrested and sent to prison.
Such steps, however, will likely trigger a Catalan backlash. Resistance from public servants and regional police is probable, as are large street protests, which will keep the issue alive.
Regional elections in 2015 returned a slim majority of pro-independence lawmakers, who took this as a mandate to push ahead with the independence drive. Analysts predict a similar outcome in the upcoming ballot.