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Carbon dioxide emissions by Catalan companies subject to EU regulation grew by 4% between 2013 and 2014, according to the report entitled “The Situation of the Worldwide Emissions of CO2”, and published by the Business and Climate Foundation, an organisation that works for an entrepreneur agreement on the fight against climate change. The figure is lower than the Spanish one, which increased by 7.2%. It is the first year that CO2 emissions have grown after many years of declining figures in Catalonia and one of the explanations given for the phenomenon by the author of the report, Arturo De las Heras, is the “reactivation of the economy after the closure of companies during recent years and the associated decrease in production”. Catalan companies emitted 13.5 million tons of CO2, which puts Catalonia in fourth place in the ranking among other Spanish regions, after Andalusia, Asturias and Galicia. 

Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont considers pro-independence radical left CUP’s veto on the bill for 2016 to “mark a turning point” and assumes that the stability agreement reached between pro-independence forces CUP and cross-party list ‘Junts Pel Sí’ is now broken. However, Puigdemont nuanced that this doesn’t mean that the current term of office is over but assured that from now on ‘Junts Pel Sí’ will rule in minority, with the 62 MPs they have in the 135-seat Catalan Parliament. During a meeting with the Catalan executive held this morning, right before the debate over the budget, Puigdemont stated that the bill for 2016 won’t be passed “at any price” and that the Government’s project is not “for sale” as the main goal continues to be achieving independence

The stability of the parliamentary term in office and the relationship between the Catalan Government and the radical left-wing party CUP are at risk after the latter decided on Tuesday to maintain its total opposition to the 2016 draft budget bill. The Catalan Vice President and Catalan Minister for Tax Office, Oriol Junqueras, said that the decision will have “extremely severe consequences” and that “social services” will be particularly affected. The Catalan Government spokeswoman, Neus Munté, warned that the stability of the current term was “hit” and regretted that CUP didn’t respect the agreement with the pro-independence cross-party list ‘Junts Pel Sí’, the main party in the Parliament, through which they committed to “guarantee parliamentarian stability”. Munté also warned that CUP’s veto “will have consequences” but emphasised the government’s aim to “continue working to put Catalonia at the gates of independence”. CUP’s rejection of the bill, which they considered insufficient and still too “autonomic”, forces the Catalan Government to extend the 2015 budget.

 The quality of Catalan beaches and ports has increased. This year the International Jury awarded Catalonia 9 more flags than last year and the area now has 98 distinctions for beaches and 24 for ports. The province with the most awards is Tarragona with over 40 flags, followed by Girona with 30 and Barcelona with 28. Barcelona has recorded the biggest increase and has won 8 more flags for its beaches than last year. The President of the Environmental Education Association (ADEAC), José Ramón Sánchez, praised the increase of Blue Flags, assuring that in Catalonia there is "an excellent situation regarding education and environmental information". Indeed, Spain is at the forefront of the world rankings with eight more blue flags than in 2015.

The Catalan Ministry for Foreign Affairs wants to open ten new offices abroad before summer 2017. The aim is to have delegations of the Catalan Government in Denmark, Poland, Switzerland, Croatia, Vatican City, Portugal, Morocco, South Korea, Mexico and Argentina. This will be added to those currently existing in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Austria and the United States. However, the deployment of the plan depends on pro-independence radical left CUP’s support for the draft budget for 2016 presented by the Catalan Government. So far, the anti-capitalists have kept their veto on the bill on account of it being “too autonomic” and “not reflecting” the pro-independence proposal approved by the Parliament on the 9^th of November. 

Spain’s Constitutional Court (TC) has approved the appeals presented by Spanish Unionist ‘Ciutadans’, the Catalan Socialist Party (PSC) and the Conservative Catalan People’s Party (PPC) in November in relation to the pro-independence declaration approved by the Parliament. The three parties presented writs of protection and considered that the pro-independence forces’ agreed declaration to start building a new country violated citizens’ right of participation and that of the parliamentary representatives, as the Spokesperson Bureau was convened before PPC constituted themselves as a parliamentary group. This Tuesday, the magistrates in the TC partially upheld the appeals. The content of the pro-independence forces’ agreed declaration was already suspended by the TC in December, and declared it unconstitutional and, therefore, invalid. 

Exports in high technology from Catalonia have increased by 4.2% year-on-year, according to the data of a report published by the Catalan Institute of Statistics (Idescat) on Monday. Sales of high-level technology (10.4% of foreign sales) and medium-level technology have also increased in the first quarter of 2016. However, according to Idescat, other levels have decreased in terms of foreign sales. Industrial products of medium-low technological level and those of low technological level both fell in the first quarter of 2016. Geographically, EU-28 exports show a positive performance in high- and medium-high-level technology, while other levels decreased. As for imports, medium-high technology is creating the highest numbers with a 7.2% year-on-year increase, followed by low-technology imports and high-technology imports; imports of technology of medium level have however decreased. 

The largest cruise ship in the whole world, the ‘Harmony of the Seas’, has set sail in the Mediterranean from the Port of Barcelona. Indeed, the Royal Caribbean cruise company has selected the Catalan capital as the base for its Mediterranean cruise ships. Thus, Barcelona is now the only city in the world to have served as a turnaround port for Royal Caribbean’s three biggest ships. The ‘Harmony of the Seas’ is gargantuan: a capacity of 9,000 people, weighing more than 200,000 tons, and offering access to two surf simulators, a natural park and the highest slide possible. This all helps to contribute to the success of the Port of Barcelona: this 2016, the record from 2011 is expected to be equalled, with 2.6 million passengers welcomed at the Port, through 750 stopovers from the 40 cruise companies that operate at the infrastructure. Indeed, 30 million euros are forecast to be added to the economy of the Catalan capital. 

Two days after the 15^th edition of Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona closed its doors with a record 200,000 attendants, half of them international fans, Catalonia is getting ready for a vibrant summer of music festivals, attracting all types of music lovers. In Barcelona and the Costa Brava, both mass and boutique festivals are held. Mass festivals are the big, open air, hipster festivals, such as Sónar Festival, the largest electronic music festival in Europe, and Cruïlla, to name a few. Boutique festivals, on the other hand, focus not only on the music, but also on offering high-quality gastronomy and a classier atmosphere that targets a public with a higher income. In these cases, the venue is sometimes as important as the artists, which may be a castle on the Costa Brava or a cosy stage near the sea. Here is a list of some of most important events from both worlds

Catalan Vice President and Catalan Minister for Economy and Tax Office, Oriol Junqueras “totally” rejected the idea that Catalonia will face new elections if pro-independence radical left CUP reject the draft budget for 2016 presented by the Government. In an interview with Catalunya Radio, he urged pro-independence cross-party list ‘Junts Pel Sí’ and CUP to “make the most of the 72 seats majority in the Parliament” rather than thinking about potential new elections. Junqueras also refused to start negotiating with other groups in the Catalan Chamber if CUP keeps up their veto on the bill, as it would mean “renouncing the pro-independence roadmap”.

A year’s extension for Spain on its allotted time to meet the public deficit target has been deemed illegal by the lawyers at the European Council. This ruling comes after current Spanish President Mariano Rajoy sent a letter asking for an extension to the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. A legal report to the Council was commissioned by the presidency of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Ecofin), after Germany’s complaints of having saved Mariano Rajoy from a sanction during the Spanish electoral campaign. However, the Ministers of Economy and Finance of the EU will not be able to approve this extra year until the European Commission decides whether or not it is punishable by a fine of up to 2 billion euros due to breach of the public deficit target. Despite the ruling, Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría has stated that there is “no doubt” that no fine will be issued for missing the deficit in 2015.

The Timetable Reform Initiative is a Catalan organisation created to achieve more reasonable working hours and greater reconciliation between work and family. Last year, a Catalan Parliamentary commission studied this reform, and this year, the legislative changes will create a timetable law.Last week, the General Secretary of the Commerce Confederation of Catalonia (CCC), Miquel Àngel Fraile, said that Catalan trade is willing to join a “D-Day” to mark the start of the time reform in Catalonia. For the past few weeks, the village of Prats de Lluçanès, in Barcelona region, has been at the forefront of time reform in the hospitality sector with a pilot programme that proposes that restaurant owners advance the opening hours of their establishments.

The first bone marrow transplant in Spain was performed in Barcelona, by doctors from Sant Pau Hospital. It was on the 22^nd of May 1976 and the patient was a 13-year-old girl who suffered from acute leukaemia. Since then, 2,939 operations of this type have been carried out in Catalonia. Director of the Haematology Service at Sant Pau, Jordi Sierra, stated that 500 bone marrow transplants take place in Catalonia each year and that Sant Pau alone performed 130 operations of this kind in 2015, 23 of them on children. Bone marrow transplant survival rate varies from 70% in a young patient who is in an early stage of the disease and receives a donation from a relative, to 30% in the case of a patient over 60 years old and in an advanced stage who has a transplant from an unrelated donor, explained Sierra. However, thanks to new therapies, transplants might not be necessary for cancerous diseases in the future.

Barcelona Hotel Terrace Week begins this Friday, inviting Barcelona residents to the signature opening weeks of summer. In this week-long event, a record-breaking 66 roof terraces will open their doors for free, offering a total of 234 activities from the 3^rd until the 12^th of June. Some of the variety of activities that each hotel has to offer include culture, entertainment, music, family fun and leisure. A newcomer to this list of activities is gastronomy, celebrating Barcelona’s place as European Region of Gastronomy 2016. Specifically, some of the things one can see while visiting the myriad of terraces are wine and cheese tastings, magic shows, mojitos and tapas tastings, Cuban dancing, various concerts of almost every type of music imaginable, and even the classic synchronised swimming display. 

The draft budget for 2016 presented by Catalan Vice President and Catalan Minister for Economy and Tax Office, Oriol Junqueras, doesn’t have enough support to be passed by the Parliament. Although Junqueras described the budget as “realistic”and “socially committed”, pro-independence radical left CUP considered it insufficient and still too “autonomic”, and claimed that the draft didn’t “reflect the pro-independence declaration proposal”approved by the Catalan Chamber on the 9^th of November. Thus, CUP presented their veto and urged the Catalan Government to present a new draft which would include the anti-capitalists’ proposals, such as disobeying the deficit target imposed by the Spanish executive and carrying out a deeper reform of the tax system. Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, warned that in order to “complete the task”and put Catalonia “at the gates of independence”the Parliament should at least be allowed to process the budget. This Friday, Puigdemont accused CUP of being “destroyers”if they continue to be carried along by “ideological prejudices”and maintain their veto on the bill.