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FC Barcelona kept up their push for the league title on Sunday evening with a 4-1 win at Granada, with goals from Luis Suárez, Paco Alcácer, Ivan Rakitic and Neymar Jr. Without Leo Messi through suspension, it was up to his fellow forwards to step up and guide the team to victory, and so they did. It took fair while for the game to really get going after a timid start from both sides, but the first half soon became a one-on-one battle between Luis Suárez and Granada goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa. Sunday’s 4-1 win at Granada for FC Barcelona made it 11 wins from 12 matches against the Andalusian club since their return to the top flight in 2011. In the last three seasons with Luis Enrique, Barça have won on three successive occasions in the Nuevo Los Cármenes stadium.

Lord Norman Tebbit, who served in Margaret Thatcher’s cabinet from 1981 to 1987, criticised Spain’s lobbing over Gibraltar and warned the Spanish executive  “is playing with fire”. On an article published this Sunday at the ‘Daily Telegraph’, Tebbit opposes “Spain’s vanity” with Catalans attitude, which he described as “an outward-looking Atlanticist people who were trading with Cornwall and Wales a thousand years ago”. “Were I in No 10 I think I would let it be known in Madrid that I was thinking of inviting leaders of the Catalan independence movement to London, or even to raising their desire for independence at the United Nations”, he added. Under the title ‘Spain's vanity has led politicians to play with fire and they must learn its dangers’, Lord Tebbit remembers that Gibraltar “is not a colony” but “a British Overseas Territory” and noted that “96% of its 30,000 citizens voted recently in favour of staying that way”.

Catalonia and the Balearic Islands are the guests of honor at this year’s Bologna Children’s Book Fair, the world’s most important event in the sector. Around 80 authors, illustrators, publishers, and booksellers will represent Catalan children’s and young adult literature in addition to 40 activities and two major exhibitions which will take place at the fair under the motto ‘Sharing a Future: Books in Catalan’. Being the guests of honor at the Bologna’s Children’s Book Fair will help promote translations, as well as the internationalization of Catalan and Balearic illustrators and the consolidation of Catalan contemporary illustration. From the 3rd to the 6th of April, more than 1,200 exhibitors from 75 countries and 26,000 professionals will attend the fair, which last year registered more than 60,000 visitors and sold more than 15,000 books. 

The Catalan budget for 2017, which includes an allocation of €5.8 million to carry out the referendum on independence which the Government committed to call next September, has been taken before the court. The Parliament’s legal services already warned on the day the bill was passed that by doing so the chamber could be ignoring the TC. Indeed, the Spanish body called to impede or block any initiative emerged from the pro-independence declaration of the 9-N, which was already suspended.  The pro-independence parties in the Parliament, governing cross-party ‘Junts Pel Sí’ and radical left CUP backed the bill, which besides considering the referendum, it allocates €17.8 billion to social expenditure. The main parties in the opposition, Spanish Unionist Ciutadans, Catalan People’s Party (PP) and Catalan Socialist Party (PSC) announced this Friday that they will join the Spanish Government’s initiative and present an appeal to the bill.

Hong Kong-based multinational Thunder Power, which specializes in electric vehicles, is planning to open an R&D center in Catalonia. The center will become operational in 2018, involve an initial investment of €80 million, and create 200 jobs, a company statement revealed last Thursday. The group is also considering building a plant in Catalonia for assembly and distribution. This project will be ready by 2020, will create 1,000 jobs, and could produce up to 50,000 vehicles per year. The agreement was signed during the unveiling event of the first running prototype at the prestigious Eaton House in Hong Kong. Over 250 business professionals from Barcelona, Catalonia, and Hong Kong participated in the showcase, including the Catalan Minister for Business and Knowledge, Jordi Baiget, and the Second Deputy Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni.

Latest polls say 50.3% of Catalans want to call a referendum on independence regardless of whether the Spanish Government agrees. Indeed, if both parts fail to reach an agreement and the consultation takes place anyway, 43.3% would vote ‘yes’ to Catalonia’s independence. Another 22.2% would vote ‘no’ and 20.7% would abstain, according to the latest poll by the Center for Opinion Studies (CEO). In response to whether they would like to simply like referendum to be held in Catalonia, 73.3% of the surveyed answered ‘yes’. The CEO also noted that governing coalition Junts Pel Sí would win the Catalan elections again if they were held today. However, their influence in the parliament would decline from the 62 current MPs to 58 or 60. The other main pro-independence party in the chamber, the radical-left CUP, would also lose 2 MPS.

US congressman, Carlos Curbelo, expressed his interest in Catalonia’s political situation and met this Wednesday with Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, in Washington DC. Shortly afterwards, the Republican representative for Florida stressed the importance of the “right to self-determination” and drew parallels with Cuba, where he is originally from. “I call for dialogue. It is fundamental in all countries in the world and this is what all governments do,” he said. “Dialogue is the only way to tackle differences and reach common agreements”. On Tuesday, Puigdemont met with three other congressional representatives to discuss Catalonia’s independence during his official trip to the United States. On Monday, he addressed the Center for European Studies (CES) at the Harvard Kennedy School and gave the conference ‘Catalonia, Today and Tomorrow’, his analysis of Catalonia’s current political situation and its place within the EU.

Former Catalan Minister for Presidency and Catalan European Democratic Party (PDeCAT), Francesc Homs, left his seat in the Spanish Parliament this Wednesday in compliance with the Spanish Supreme Court sentence which bans himfrom public office for 18 months. The magistrates found him guilty of disobedience for allowing a symbolic vote on independence to take place on November 9, 2014, despite a Spanish Constitutional Court (TC) suspension. On a press conference right after having received the notice, Homs said that it was not only and MP who was banned from the Spanish Parliament “but thousands of citizens who trust a person through democratic means”. Former Catalan President, Artur Mas and former Catalan Ministers Irene Rigau and Joana Ortega were also fined and banned from public office for the same case.

Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, held informal meetings with three US congressmen this Tuesday in Washington DC, during his official trip to the East Coast. Although Puigdemont refused to give details on the content of the conversations, he admitted being “satisfied” with having the chance to “explain himself” and “answer the congressmen’s questions and doubts. He denied having asked for their support in the event of Catalonia’s independence but he assured that the information he gave them will allow them to “take a stance” in the conflict between Catalonia and Spain. Earlier this week, Puigdemont addressed the Center for European Studies (CES) at the Harvard Kennedy School and gave the conference ‘Catalonia, Today and Tomorrow’, his analysis of Catalonia’s current political situation and its place within the EU.

The Catalan Government spokeswoman, Neus Munté, has commented on the promise by Spanish President, Mariano Rajoy to invest €4.2 billion in infrastructures in Catalonia. She expressed the Government’s “immense skepticism” regarding Rajoy’s promises and advised him to add a “clause to avoid its breach”, bearing in mind previous experiences. “If there is anybody who believes that what happens in Catalonia is only an economic problem, then he is really confused,” she added. Moreover, Munté considered Rajoy’s announcement a strategy “to hide the fact that the so-called ‘operation dialogue’ never existed at all”.

Barcelona’s Passeig de Gràcia, one of the most iconic streets in the Catalan capital, filled with grand pianos for any passer-by to play them. This initiative sets the fire gun for the International Maria Canals Music Contest, which celebrates its 63th Edition in 2017. The festival, which is on at the Palau de la Música Catalana from March 25 to April 7, features 81 young pianists from 30 countries. Thanks to their 'El Passeig de Gràcia Porta Cua' initiative, in which the Friends of Passeig de Gràcia Association also collaborates, this emblematic Barcelona street sees ten grand pianos dotted along it for anyone who wants to step up to the bench and play. Universal classics, together with TV theme songs and famous soundtracks such as ‘Titanic’, ‘Amélie’ or HBO series ‘Game of Thrones’ have echoed in Barcelona’s centre.

Spanish President, Mariano Rajoy, announced that his Government plans to invest €4.2 billion by 2020 to improve Catalonia’s infrastructures. The most important part would go to the short-distance train network, operated by Spanish Public Train operator, RENFE. Indeed, this piece of infrastructure has been one of the historic demands of Catalan citizens, after years of underinvestment and continuous incidents. According to Rajoy, €1.9 billion would be invested during this term of office and €2 billion more by 2025. In a speech he gave within the seminar ‘Connected to the future’, held this Tuesday in Barcelona, Rajoy expressed his “personal commitment” to turn the short-distance train network into a “realistic, viable and verifiable” piece of infrastructure. Earlier this week, the Catalan Government already expressed that they had “few expectations” regarding Rajoy’s promises and pointed out that previous investment plans haven’t been fulfilled for decades.

Catalonia’s aim for independence is related to the US civil rights movement. This is one of the main ideas which Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, set forth this Monday in a conference at Harvard University. “Our struggle is a reflection of the fight for American civil rights,” he said during the conference “Catalonia, Today, Tomorrow”, but lamented that, in contrast with American institutions which “have respected democracy and the will of its people to adapt over time”,  Spain's refuses to open a dialogue over Catalonia's pro-independence aspirations and the will of its citizens to hold a referendum. “We are convinced that this is the best option,” he said but pointed out that “up to now it has been impossible, due to the Spanish Government’s constant, absolute refusal to discuss it”. However, he warned, “Catalonia will hold the referendum in any case.”

Spanish President, Mariano Rajoy, will visit Catalonia this Tuesday “to discuss infrastructures”, Spanish governing People’s Party (PP) confirmed last week. However, left wing pro-independence ERC already admitted having “few expectations” regarding the visit and the measures Rajoy may announce. “If he expects to buy us off through promises that won't be kept, he better think twice,” said ERC’s spokesman, Sergi Sabrià. According to ERC, one of the main parties within the governing coalition ‘Junts Pel Sí’, the only solution to “the Catalan problem” will come by putting out the ballot boxes in a referendum. “There is no other option,” stated Sabrià. However, ERC’s spokesman insisted that they will listen to Rajoy’s offer, as they have “always done” but insisted that the party “won’t give up on anything” either.

The so-called Mediterranean Railway Corridor, a long-awaited piece of infrastructure which is set to transport freight and passengers non-stop from Gibraltar to Central Europe along the Mediterranean coastline, is one of the most representative examples of Spain’s lack of investment in Catalonia. Despite being essential not only for the Spanish economy but for the entire European economy as well, its construction has been repeatedly delayed. Even the European Commission has called for “cooperation between administrations” to implement the Corridor, which is regarded as a key infrastructure for Europe. Moreover, the delays in the construction of the Corridor are affecting private investment, the Catalan Government has warned. According to Catalan Minister for Planning and Sustainability, Josep Rull, the pending business investments are worth €300 million, of which €20 million corresponds to an investment from the German multinational Basf, which announced it will expand one of its plants in Tarragona.