THE vice-president of the European Commission led criticism of the Catalan authorities over Sunday’s independence ballot yesterday – but made no mention of violence against voters.

Frans Timmermans was one of several senior EU figures to rally behind Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy yesterday.

Speaking at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, he said: “There is a general consensus that the regional government of Catalonia has chosen to ignore the law. Respect for the rule of law is not optional, it is fundamental. You cannot ignore the law.”

Almost 900 people were injured when Spanish police moved against citizens at polling stations and on the streets during the vote. Images of elderly people bleeding from their wounds shocked the world and sparked calls to enact tough rules against states who breach the human rights of their own people by using force against them. Catalonia has also appealed to Europe to act as a mediator.

But yesterday EU representatives called for the two sides to talk and did not agree to help.

However, the issue divided the plenary, with a Catalan flag removed at the demand of one Spanish member, and some parliamentarians displaying signs supporting the referendum or calling for Rajoy to resign. Urging the pro-European region’s representatives and Rajoy’s government to come to the negotiating table, Timmermans said: “All lines of communication must stay open. It’s time to talk, to find a way out of the impasse.”

The head of the biggest political group in the parliament, Manfred Weber – an ally of Rajoy – said he was “very sorry for all those who were hurt”, including both Catalan citizens and police officers, and underlined that demonstrations cannot replace democratic processes.

Rejecting the suggestion of a mediation role for Europe, he said: “The EU has neither the will nor the right to intervene in a true liberal democracy such as Spain.”

Weber also had another warning for pro-European Catalonia telling it: “Please keep in mind, who leaves Spain, leaves the European Union.”

Greens group leader Ska Keller was one of the few to condemn the police crackdown, which was captured in photographs and video clips. She said: “This was massive police violence against people and that was beyond any proportionality.

“Violence so disproportionate cannot be justified. No buts and no excuses, whatever you think about the referendum.”

She added that Rajoy’s strategy of using justice and police in an attempt to thwart the poll rather than dialogue has failed.

Keller accused the EU Commission of sitting on the fence and failing in its duty as the enforcer of EU laws.