A Spanish opposition politician has said her Socialist party and Spain's government have reached an agreement to hold a regional election in Catalonia in January to help resolve the country's deepest political crisis in decades.
Spain's central government is planning to take control of some of Catalonia's powers by activating Article 155 of the Constitution to crush an independence bid by regional leaders.
One of the possibilities being floated is to dissolve the regional parliament and call a new election.
Opposition Socialist party official Carmen Calvo has announced a deal with Spain to this end.
A special Cabinet meeting on Saturday in Madrid is expected to trigger Article 155, which would pave the way for the central government's intervention in Catalonia.