AP Explains: How Spain-Catalonia standoff has evolved

Belgium members of the European Parliament, Anneleen Van Bossuyt, left, Mark Demesmaeker and Helga Stevens, right, display a Catalan flag in support of the disputed independence vote Sunday in Catalonia during a session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017. European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans says there is a “general consensus that regional government of Catalonia has chosen to ignore the law when organizing the referendum.” (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)