Catalan authorities turn down event with Spanish minister to protest 'lack of investment'

The secretary-general of the Catalan vice-presidency, digital policies, and territory department, Ricard Font, decided against attending an event on infrastructure in Vallès county with Spanish transport minister Raquel Sánchez on Friday to protest Spain's "lack of investment" in Catalonia.

An ongoing complaint in Catalonia, Font was expected alongside the mayors of Terrassa, Sabadell, and Castellar del Vallès, but chose not to go after the Spanish transport ministry referred to a supposed "agreement" with Catalan authorities regarding works on the B-40 highway.

Catalan president Pere Aragonès, who was in the Pyrenees to meet with local business leaders, said Sánchez's proposals did not stem from "any specific agreements" with Catalonia.

"We cannot get behind these proposals," he charged. "What people need are facts. What we need is for these investments to happen."

The Spanish minister, who spoke at the same event in the Pyrenees hours later, responded to Aragonès' remarks by saying she was "surprised" and called the infrastructure work "long overdue."

Spain did announce on Friday, however, that it would be building an additional lane on the AP-7 highway between l'Hospitalet de l'Infant and Amposta in southern Catalonia.