At least 893 people and 33 police officers were hurt on Sunday after riot police stormed the polling stations to try to stop people from voting in the controversial referendum.
In the vote on Sunday, 90 per cent of the 2.3 million ballots cast were in favour of independence for Catalonia.
Today the region in the North of Spain is at a standstill after thousands of protesters took to the streets during a mass strike to protest the Spanish government’s violent crackdown.
The Catalan government said it wanted to avoid a “traumatic break” from Spain and appealed to the EU to help mediate with Madrid.
The President of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont said: “There is no button to push for independence, it does not exist.
“It is not a domestic matter. It’s obvious that we need mediation.
“We don’t want a traumatic break. We want a new understanding with the Spanish state.”
However, Spain’s European Affairs Minister Jorge Toledo told Politico that there would be no third-party mediator in the crisis talks and the talks must be bilateral.
Mr Toledo said: “You can change the law, you can oppose it, but you cannot disobey it.”
Before the vote, Mr Toledo described the vote as an “evil illegal vote” that undermines 500 years of shared history, 60 years of European integration and 40 years of Spanish democracy.
Madrid blames the independence referendum, which they claim was illegal on the Catalan government.
The European Commission has called for “all relevant players to now move very swiftly from confrontation to dialogue”.
The European Council President Donald Tusk appealed for “finding ways to avoid further escalation and use of force”.
The Catalan parliament had promised independence within 48 hours of a Yes vote.
Madrid claims the constitution prohibits secession and is not negotiable.