Spain's government on Friday urged Catalonia to hold a regional election to settle the political crisis sparked by Catalan separatist leaders' drive for independence.
"It would be good to start mending this fracture ... through regional elections," government spokesman Ignacio Mendez de Vigo told a news conference.
Earlier in the day, Spain passed a decree making it easier for businesses to shift their legal domiciles out of Catalonia, pressuring the region as Madrid resists its drive for independence.
The economy ministry said in a statement the measure was in response to demand from the business sector "in the face of difficulties that have arisen for the normal running of their activities in part of the national territory."
Spain apologizes over violence
Spain apologized for a violent police crackdown on Catalonia's independence referendum, in a conciliatory gesture as both sides looked for a way out of the nation's worst political crisis since it became a democracy four decades ago.
Spain's representative in northeast Catalonia, which accounts for a fifth of the national economy, made the apology just as Catalonia's secessionist leader appeared to inch away from the independence plan.
"When I see these images, and more so when I know people have been hit, pushed and even one person who was hospitalised, I can't help but regret it and apologize on behalf of the officers that intervened," Enric Millo said in a television interview.
Catalonia parliament to meet on Tuesday
Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont has put off until Tuesday an appearance in the regional parliament, a government spokesman said Friday.
"Puigdemont has requested to appear before parliament on Tuesday to discuss the current political situation," the spokesman said.
The announcement comes a day after Spain's Constitutional Court ordered the suspension of the session which was scheduled to begin on Monday.
Switzerland offers to mediate
Switzerland said Friday it was "in contact" with both sides in Spain's political crisis in Catalonia but stressed that formal mediation could not begin until both camps were ready.
Catalan President Carles Puigdemont has asked for international mediation, defying Madrid and the national courts.
In a statement, the Swiss foreign ministry said the Catalonia question was a matter of "Spanish domestic policy."
While Switzerland takes no position on the issues, it believes in "peaceful resolution through dialogue," the statement said.
"Switzerland is in contact with both sides, but the conditions for facilitation do not exist at the moment," it added, noting it "can only take place if both sides request it."
