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Representatives from many parties and countries in the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly have put out a call for dialogue and intervention from the international community in the political situation in Catalonia. They made the demand during a debate this Thursday held by the Europe-wide human rights body, entitled "The need for a political solution to the crisis in Catalonia". The majority of parliamentarians also condemned the police repression of the Catalan independence referendum on October 1st and remarked that violence is not the correct path. However, the MPs from the Spanish state, except for those of the Podemos party, criticized the actions of the Catalan government, accusing it of breaking the law.

Speaking of the solution required, some representatives, such as the Swiss MP Manuel Tornare, claimed that the only way forward is a road map leading to mediation, either national or international. Some British members of the Assembly advocated the Scottish formula, under which both sides would agree to a referendum, as occurred in the United Kingdom. The creation of a federal system like that of Switzerland was also proposed. Belgian MP Pettra de Sutter criticized Prime Minister Rajoy's continued use of threats and said that his possible application of Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution, cancelling Catalonia's home rule, would be the worst action he could take. Other MPs referred to the need to resolve the situation, but within the "framework of territorial integrity".

The Council of Europe is a European-wide human rights organization with 47 member states, and is not part of the European Union. The Council's secretary general, Thorbjørn Jagland, had rejected the idea of international mediation in an earlier debate this week but did offer the Council's help in the field of constitutional law. In answer to questions from members of the Assembly on Tuesday, Jagland emphasized the importance of solving the conflict within the Spanish constitutional framework "or a modified version" of the Constitution.