Centre-right EU parliament leader Manfred Weber accused the regional government of being divisive over its controversial independence referendum.
Mr Weber, head of the centre-right EPP block in the European parliament, branded the vote illegal and said: “The irresponsible Catalan government is splitting the country.”
In a speech to the parliament, he said: “A Catalonian government without a majority of votes in the last election is using all means for this escalation.
“We cannot accept such behaviour. Europe is built on the rule of law. Spain is built on the rule of law.”
He said he saw no future for Catalan nationalism, adding: “The times in Europe in which division trumped compromise, patriot won over corporation and egoism beat solidarity, are long gone.”
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He said: “The European way of life does not need division but unity in diversity. The European way of life needs not more nationalism but more co-operation. The European way of life needs not more egoism but solidarity and the willingness to compromise.”
However he warned: “Populism and extremism, we have to address these issues. The battle against them will be difficult.”
The referendum on independence for Catalonia, a province of Spain, has threatened to tear the country apart.
The Spanish government sent in police to put a stop to voting in the referendum, which it calls illegal saying regional authorities did not follow due process in calling the vote.
Mr Weber, an ally of Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, agreed the vote was illegal.
He used the example of his Bavarian origins, where there is a particularly strong regional identity, to argue this did not have to result in breaking up states.
He also expressed sadness at seeing images of police clubbing women trying to cast their ballots.
Mr Weber said: “European history has shown us that violence is never an answer.”
However he said there was little the EU parliament could do in resolving the issue.
He called for dialogue between Catalan authorities and the Spanish government in finding a solution to the political conflict.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is struggling to secure support from across the traditional political divide in his battle to stop Catalonia breaking away – a lack of consensus that could compound Spain’s worst political crisis for decades.
Rajoy is mulling the unprecedented step of invoking the constitution to dissolve the Catalan parliament and trigger regional elections, ruling party lawmakers say.
Participants in the referendum opted overwhelmingly for independence, but turnout was only about 43 percent given that Catalans who favour remaining part of Spain mainly boycotted the ballot.