Search: null

Catalan exports totalled €15.66 billion for the period January-March 2015, a 6.6% growth on figures from the 1^st quarter of 2014. This represents a new historic high, setting a new record for Catalonia’s export sector, which has been growing strongly over the last few years. As well as this, exports in March increased by 15.4%, reaching the highest amount ever recorded for a single month. Exports from Catalonia during the first quarter of 2015 represent 25.7% of Spain’s total exports. Regarding Catalonia’s imports, they totalled €18.48 billion, a 4.4% increase. Catalonia’s trade deficit reached €2.82 billion, representing a 6.3% drop on figures from the previous quarter.

The Catalan Government and the regional governments of Sicily and Provence are promoting a manifesto requesting the European Union to meet the challenge of the humanitarian crisis taking place at the Mediterranean Sea. ‘We are all Mediterranean’ aims to strengthen the commitment at regional level to face and solve this crisis, since the EU and the Member State governments “are not up to the challenge”. In addition, the Catalan Government also confirmed the organisation of a summit of Mediterranean regions to be held in July in Barcelona “to work together and see in which way the regions can give a more comprehensive answer” to the drama suffered by so many refugees crossing the sea on fragile boats. In Strasbourg, the Vice President of the Catalan Government, Joana Ortega, invited the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, as well as those of Sicily, Provence-Alps-Cote d’Azur and Western Greece, Rosario Crocetta, Michel Vauzelle and Apostolos Katsifaras, and Lampedusa’s Mayor, Giusi Nicolini, to attend the summit.

On Tuesday, ahead of the United Nations conference on Climate Change to be held in Paris this autumn, Catalonia signed a 'Memorandum of Understanding' in Sacramento (California), together with 11 other US states, Mexican states, Canadian provinces and regional governments. By taking this step, the Catalan Government and the other signatories commit to cut total greenhouse emissions to 80%-95% below 1990 levels by 2050 or to cut per capita emissions to below 2 metric tons during the same timeframe. The 12 founding signatories to the agreement span seven countries and three continents, with a total population of 100 million people and about $4.5 trillion in combined GDP. Apart from Catalonia, the signatories include: California, Vermont, Oregon and Washington (USA); Acre (Brazil); Baden-Württemberg (Germany); Baja California and Jalisco (Mexico); Ontario and British Columbia (Canada); and Wales (UK). More states, nations and cities are expected to join the agreement in the coming months.

The 19^th edition of Barcelona’s International Building & Construction Show opened its doors on Tuesday, rebranded as 'Beyond Building Barcelona-Construmat'. The event – which is held every two years – will be on until Saturday 23 May, hosting around 300 exhibitors from 15 different countries. For the first time after 7 years of continuous decline for the construction sector, Construmat – the most important trade fair for this industry in Spain – kicks off at a time of gradual recovery for this sector, according to the figures of the last few months. For Josep Miarnau, Chairman of the show, this year represents a turning point and the end of a cycle. Held in the Gran Via venue of Fira de Barcelona, the show is organised around 4 main thematic pillars: Innovation, Design, Renovation and Sustainability. Moreover, internationalisation will play an important role as well, with 145 projects from all over the world at the tendering stage.

The Parliament of Denmark approved on Tuesday a proposal debated a week ago requesting Spain and Catalonia to hold "a peaceful and democratic dialogue" on "the question of Catalonia's independence". The motion was approved in the end with the support of 6 of the 8 parliamentary groups and the abstention of the other two, resulting in 64 votes in favour, 41 abstentions and 0 votes against. There have been rumours suggesting that Spanish Government pressure was the reason why the main opposition party, the Liberal Venstre, abstained despite last week announcing its support. The other group which abstained was the extreme-right Danish People's Party (Dansk Folkeparti). The proposal is the answer the Danish Foreign Affairs Minister, Martin Lidegaard, from the Danish Social Liberal Party, gave to a question filed by an MP from the Red-Green Alliance, Nikolaj Villumsen.

The 'Allure of the Seas' is going to be based in the Catalan capital for the entire summer season, from where it will start and end 25 trips. At 362 metres long, it is the world's largest cruise ship, and the equivalent to 4 football pitches. Measuring 66 metres across, it is able to transport more than 6,300 tourists and 2,380 staff. It has 16 docks and 2,700 cabins. This Tuesday, it is starting its first trip of the season from the Catalan capital. During the summer season, it is expected to transport 157,000 passengers, who will have an economic impact of €17 million on Barcelona's local economy, according to Royal Caribbean's General Manager for Spain and France, Belén Wangüement. Then, the boat will travel to the Caribbean Sea, where it will spend its winter season. The President of Barcelona's Port Authority, Sixte Cambra, hopes to improve last year's cruise liner figures and exceed the 2.5 million mark this year.

Jane Goodall, British anthropologist and primatologist, has been awarded the 27th Premi Internacional Catalunya, which is the most prestigious prize given by the Catalan Government and recognises outstanding people who have contributed to humankind’s development and progress through their careers. The award follows the decision of an independent jury formed of high-profile professionals from Catalonia and abroad. The jury has unanimously chosen Goodall from a list of 152 candidates for the prize from 52 different countries for her “scientific, empirical and committed work”. She is considered one of the most important experts in animal behaviour thanks to her more than 50 years research in Gombe Stream National Park, in Tanzania, studying the behaviour of chimpanzees. Previous awardees include Desmond Tutu, Lula da Silva, Haruki Murakami, Jimmy Carter, Karl Popper, Jacques Delors, Aung San Suu Kyi, Claude Lévi-Strauss, and Amartya Sen, among others. The award ceremony will take place in Barcelona on the 27th of July.

The Barcelona-based business schools IESE and ESADE have been ranked among the 10 best business schools in the world according to the Executive Education Ranking 2015 by the ‘Financial Times’. For the 17^th year, the British newspaper rated the best 85 customised programmes (tailor-made for corporate customers) and the top 75 open programmes (available to all working managers) in the world. With regard to the customised programme ranking, IESE came top worldwide while ESADE (part of the Ramon Llull University) is ranked 12^th. As for the classification of the open programmes for executives, IESE ranked 3^rd globally while ESADE was 7^th. Among the top 100 educational institutions in the ranking, one can find another Catalan business school as well: Barcelona’s EADA is in 61^st position for its customised programmes, and in 56^th for the open ones.

Jordi Sánchez, the new President of the civil society organisation Catalan National Assembly (ANC), which co-organised the massive pro-independence rallies, has ruled out the possibility of unilaterally declaring independence the day after the next Catalan Parliament elections, should a clear majority of pro-independence parties win. These elections are presented by the Catalan Government and by the parties supporting independence as a ‘de facto’ plebiscite on this issue, since it is the only option left to hold a legal self-determination vote after the unilateral veto and no-to-everything attitude of the Spanish Government during the last two-and-a-half years. However, even though Sánchez completely supports such a plebiscite, he stated that a unilateral declaration of independence on the day after “would not be possible” and “it is not the road to take”. “I will not send signals about things I believe will not happen”, added Sánchez, who on Saturday was elected to lead the ANC.

A brilliant goal from Leo Messi hands the blaugranes the win that they needed to claim their 23rd Spanish League title. A year ago, Atlético Madrid won the league title with a 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou and tonight Barça returned the favour and brought the trophy back home with a 0-1 win at the Vicente Calderón, as they took the first leg of their possible treble with a game to spare.As the second half ticked away, Real Madrid went one up against Espanyol, meaning Barça needed a goal to take the title this weekend and on 65 minutes, Alba worked the ball inside to Messi who played a one-two with Pedro and tucked it home with his left peg through a forest of legs. A brilliant goal fit for La Liga Champions! One down, two to go, as the Spanish Cup and the Champions League final await!

A major step forward in Catalonia's public research on technology has been made this month, with the official establishing of Eurecat on 1 May. The new integrated hub is a result of the merger of 5 advanced Catalan technology centres in the first phase. Last Wednesday, it incorporated a further 13 companies onto its Board. Eurecat is aimed at boosting technology research and its business applicability, particularly among private SMEs, which represent most of Catalonia's economy. Conceived as an engine for key technologies, it is a tool for implementing the Strategy for the Smart Specialisation of Catalonia (RIS3CAT). The latter was drafted by the Catalan Government following the EU Commission's decision to make 'smart specialisation' a prerequisite for attracting EU funds during the period 2014-2020. By the end of 2020, the centre is expected to have attracted funding from the EC's Horizon 2020 framework and the RIS3 to the tune of €200m.

The renowned Hispanicist Paul Preston, Professor of International History at the London School of Economics (LSE), received an honorary PhD from Tarragona’s Rovira i Virgili University (URV) on Friday. Before the ceremony, Preston seized the opportunity to state that comparing the Spanish language's current situation in Catalonia to that of the Catalan language during Franco's dictatorship "is ridiculous". "In 35 years no one told me anything for not speaking Catalan", he said in perfect Catalan. Preston's remarks follow controversial statements by the Spanish Minister for Education José Ignacio Wert on Wednesday. In particular, the Spanish Minister was recorded stating that "the situation of Spanish [language] in the education system of Catalonia, limited to being used as a non-tuition language, like any foreign language, is comparable to the situation of Catalan [language] in the times they like so much to remember", referring to Franco's dictatorship.

The Spanish Government have finally announced that construction work for the train shuttle connecting Terminal 1 of Barcelona El Prat Airport to the city centre will kick off "in a few weeks", after many years of delay. The statement was made on Thursday by Spanish Deputy Prime Minister, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, after the weekly Cabinet meeting. The new train shuttle will carry travellers between T1, the newest and busiest terminal, to Barcelona's Sants Station in 19 minutes, making a stop at Terminal 2. According to the Deputy PM, the Spanish Ministry of Transport plans "a more-than-€200 million" investment in the project. Santi Vila, the Catalan Minister for Planning and Sustainability, described the announcement as "excellent news". An estimated 7 to 9 million people are expected to use the train shuttle each year.

The main Electoral Authority in Spain (Junta Electoral Central) has ordered on Thursday the removal of all Catalan independence flags from all "public buildings and polling stations" in Catalonia during the electoral campaign for the Municipal Elections, which take place on 24 May. The order comes after a request from the main pro-Spanish unity civil society group, Societat Civil Catalana (SCC). According to SCC, there are pro-independence flags located in public spaces in 323 municipalities throughout Catalonia and this "violates political neutrality" during the electoral campaign. 710 of the 947 existing town councils in Catalonia have democratically voted to support independence and join the Municipalities for Independence Association (AMI). Many of them have flown pro-independence flags from town hall balconies or in public spaces.

The Spanish Minister for Education, José Ignacio Wert, has been recorded stating that "the situation of Spanish in the education system of Catalonia, limited to being used as a non-tuition language, like any foreign language, is comparable to the situation of Catalan in the times they like so much to remember", referring to Franco's dictatorship. Wert made the statement on Wednesday with a group of journalists and one of them recorded it. His words were immediately replied to by many Catalan parties, and Wert had to clarify a few hours later that he had expressed himself in a wrong way. He then said that Catalan was persecuted during Francoism "in a ruthless way" and that such persecution was "abominable". However, his previous statement is to be added to a long list, such as when in October 2012 he said that "Catalan pupils must be Hispanicised", defending the cultural homogenisation promoted by Spanish nationalism for the last centuries.