FC Barcelona and the European Commission join forces to help millions of Europeans to give up smoking. The campaign aims at helping 28 million people giving up tobacco. “With this joint action, we aim to help football fans all over Europe to retake control over their health and their lives, encouraging them to be as passionate and committed to their own health as they are to good football” explained FC Barcelona’s President, Sandro Rosell.
The Catalan Socialist Party (PSC) is against independence but supports claims for greater self-government and fiscal autonomy for Catalonia. The PSC’s Secretary General, Pere Navarro, proposes a “preferential bilateral relationship” between Catalonia and the Spanish Government, within an “asymmetrical” federal Spain. However, the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE), which is formed by federated territorial parties such as the PSC, seems to evade the question, at least for the time being. The PSOE’s Secretary General visited Catalonia for the first time after the 1.5 million strong demonstration for independence and did not mention the word “federalism” a single time.
The renovation work in Saint Mary’s Cathedral in Tarragona have revealed tens of polychromes on the walls of this temple of transition from Romanesque to Gothic. The grey painting layer that covered the walls of the building concealed these polychromes which date from the 14th to the 16th centuries. The Medieval artworks were mostly painted in shades of red and green. This is the fourth phase of the renovation work that started in 2010 and have cost €3 million, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Culture.
Barça brushed off any effects of a busy week of international games with a convincing 1-4 win at the always tricky Getafe with goals from Adriano, Messi (2) and Villa. Real Madrid lost against Sevilla and Barça are now 8 points ahead.
The Autonomous Communities are responsible for 18.7% of Spain’s global public debt, while they manage around 40% of the country’s public spending. The Spanish Government’s share represents 76.8% of Spain’s global debt, which reached €804.39 billion at the end of June. Spain’s debt is now 75.9% of the GDP. The Catalan Government has a debt of €43.95 billion. The day before, the Spanish Finance Minister announced that the Catalan Government had a 0.59% deficit for the first half of 2012. Furthermore, Catalonia suffers from a structural fiscal deficit due to Spain’s fiscal redistribution scheme, which annually takes away 8.5% of its GDP, a €17 billion annual solidarity contribution.
Three days after the 1.5 million strong demonstration for Catalonia’s independence, partially fuelled by the Spanish nationalism’s recentralisation attempts and the lack of respect to Catalonia’s self-government, language and culture, the Spanish Government is about to approve a reduction in Catalonia’s share in the definition of the school curriculum. Furthermore, the Spanish Education Minister wants to establish “homogenous evaluations” throughout Spain, although the Catalan Government exclusively manages such evaluations, as well as the school facilities and staff.
FC Barcelona’s Manager thinks winning all three points at the ever-difficult Coliseum Alfonso Pérez would be the best way to deal with the problem of so many absent international players being away this week. On the five-point lead over Real Madrid, Vilanova says “the important thing is that we’ve got nine points”.
By the end of the year, Catalonia must meet a 1.5% deficit target. According to the Spanish Finance Minister, Cristóbal Montoro, the Autonomous Community governments are heading “in the right direction” to honour the deficit objective for 2012. The Catalan Government had a 0.38% deficit at the end of July, according to its own sources. This represents a €767 million deficit, while at the end of July 2011 it had a 2.09 billion deficit, which represents a 63% deficit reduction.
At a conference in Madrid, the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, warned Spain about the “great mistake” of downplaying the massive demonstration for independence. No members of the Spanish Government or leaders of the Socialist Party (PSOE) attended the event, which is unusual. In front of a crowded audience with many foreign press, Catalan MPs and businesspeople, Mas explained that Catalonia “has been trying for decades to reform Spain to make it our state”. However, Catalans are now “tired” from “the lack of respect” and the “disloyalty”. “If Spain denies the fact of Catalonia being a nation”, “many issues will not be solved”. Then “it is logical for a people to solve their future “peacefully, democratically and in a strictly European way”.
The Mayor of Barcelona welcomed the company’s investments and commitment to efficiency at the Port of Barcelona. The Catalan harbour is significantly increasing its container traffic in the last few years. Barcelona’s Port aims to become the main logistical hub in Southern Europe, using the international standard rail gauge to directly connect to Central Europe and new freight terminals. The Catalan company TCB is expanding its freight railway station and its power substation, as well as enlarging the ship docking space. The improvements will increase the maximum number of shipping containers transported by TCB from 0.9 million to 2.3 million by the end of 2013.
“Listen, and listen carefully. Do not get angry if you don’t like what you see. And put solutions on the table, if you have them”, the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas told Spain the day after the 1.5 million strong demonstration for Catalonia’s independence. He also stated he will work to create “state structures”. The Spanish Government refused to comment directly on the event, stating it should be analysed “coldly”. However, it said Spain and Catalonia should have other priorities.
150 million bottles of Catalan Cava were exported last year. It is a historic record for Cava producers with Germany and the United Kingdom being the main importers. The Catalan sparkling wine has the perception of being inexpensive in these countries, which has worked to the Cava producers’ advantage at a time of economic crisis as demand for alternatives increases. Wine connoisseurs put high quality Cava on the same level as Champagne, yet many consumers still associate the Catalan drink with a cheap product. High quality Cava is starting to be discovered and has strong potential to grow in these markets.
In the largest demonstration Barcelona has ever seen, 1.5 million citizens according to the Catalan Police marched in Catalonia’s capital after the banner “Catalonia, Europe’s new state”. The Spanish Government reported a reduced number of 600,000 participants while organisers talked of 2 million participants. The Catalan President did not attend it because of his institutional position, but gave his support at a personal level. Most of the Catalan Government was present. Members from most of the Catalan political parties were also present, including the Socialists (PSC) but at a personal level. The only absentees were representatives from the People’s Party (PP) and anti-Catalan nationalism ‘Ciutadans’ (C’s). Many families gathered for the demonstration which ended with the petition to start the secession process.
However, the Commission also clarified Barroso’s words from late August. A Commission Spokesman said hours before the kick off of the independence demonstration that in the case of secession from Spain, Catalonia would no longer be part of the EU. A negotiation process to join the EU would be required. However, other EU sources stated that the hypothetical new state may have the same benefits of a “transitional” member. They also added that the accession process would be “faster and easier”. Catalan citizens have been net contributors to the EU for decades and are currently considered European Citizens, but this is “additional”, according to Barroso.