catalan parliament

Barcelona hosted its last bullfight on Sunday. As of January 1st 2012, bullfighting will be banned in Catalonia. The Catalan Parliament decided to forbid this activity in July 2010, with a law that generated a substantial amount of controversy. Bullfighting is associated with Spanish nationalism, and the ban has been interpreted by many as a political stance, in addition to defending animal rights. In Catalonia, over the last decades, bullfighting has lost most of its popular support and only one arena has remained open.

The Conference of the Regional Legislative Assemblies of the European Union (CALRE) has met in Barcelona to discuss their interaction with the European Commission. The association of regional parliaments with legislative powers, such as those in Catalonia, Scotland, North Rhine-Westphalia or Flanders, has asked to participate in the drafting process of European directives.

Heribert Barrera, who became the first president of the reinstituted Catalan Parliament after Franco, died last Saturday aged 94 years old. He was the oldest leader of Catalan independence movement and a respected figure within the entire political spectrum. The farewell ceremony took place this Monday at the Catalan Parliament.

The Catalan Parliament will also file a formal complaint regarding the violent protests that took place last Wednesday in Barcelona. Protesters tried to besiege the Parliament and impede the entrance of MPs, some of whom were insulted, threatened, pushed and sprayed. The Spanish Penal Code states that these type of actions are a felony and offenders could face between three and five years in person. Catalan Police had to protect the Parliament and the MPs, with a deployment of 600 police officers. All political parties condemned the violent acts by protesters and most of the opposition said that the deployment of security forces was too small.

The Catalan People’s Party (PPC) abstained and facilitated the rejection of the motions to substitute the budget bill presented by the Catalan Government, run by the Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Coalition CiU. The motions had been presented by four parliamentary groups for a range of reasons, but mainly because the Government’s budget proposal was cutting too much social spending while it did not make enough efforts to raise revenues.

The Catalan Parliament was under siege by the “indignats” protesters, who have been camping on Catalunya Square for the last month. They tried to impede MPs' access to the park where the Parliament is located. Some MPs arrived on foot and were insulted, pushed or sprayed. Others, including the Catalan President and the Parliament’s President, had to arrive via helicopter or inside police vans. The ‘indignats’ movement condemned “the isolated violent episodes”, but said they have the right to block the Parliament. Today the first voting on the budget was held, which reduces public spending by 10%. Despite the protests, the parliamentary debate took place.

After the presentation of the Catalan Government’s budget proposal at the Catalan Parliament, opposition parties criticised its content and the lack of debate on the subject. The Catalan Government needs support from opposition MPs or at least their abstention to approve the budget, which foresees a 2.66% deficit for 2011. The Spanish Vice President for Economy Elena Salgado insists that the mechanisms of deficit control “will be strictly implemented”.

The Catalan Finance Minister presented the Catalan Government’s budget for 2011, which totals 39,354 million euros. For the first time, the budget will see a decrease in comparison to the previous year. Public expenditure is reduced by 10%, brought to 2007 levels. The public deficit is also reduced, but only to 2.66%. The Catalan Minister states that if the Spanish Government wants Catalonia to reach the 1.3% objective, it needs to show institutional loyalty and transfer the money due for 2011 instead of delaying it and calculating smaller amounts.

Two earthquakes of 5.1 and 4.5 Richter degrees hit the Murcia Region (South-East Spain) on Wednesday afternoon causing at least 9 deaths and injuring 300 people. 30,000 people spent the night in the streets, fearing further shocks. All the Catalan parties suspended their electoral campaigning for 24 hours and a minute’s silence spread across Catalonia.

The budget austerity measures and the reduction of the public deficit have forced the restructuring of the Catalan Government’s offices abroad and have also impeded the opening of new ones. The Catalan Vice President Joana Ortega explained these changes to the Catalan Parliament’s External Action and European Union Committee.

The President of the Catalan Parliament Núria de Gispert presented the Chamber’s austerity plan today. Staff will be reduced by 10% within the next 4 years, official duty cars by 50% and the scheduled enlargement plan will be put on stand by.

The leader of the Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Coalition, Convergència i Unió (CiU), is invested President of the Catalan Government by the Catalan Parliament. He will take office next Monday, the 27th of December. The members of his government have not been announced yet. Mas was invested by votes from CiU MPs and the abstention from the Catalan Socialist Party’s MPs.

Artur Mas will become the 129th Catalan President tomorrow. The Catalan Socialist Party (PSC) will facilitate the investiture of the leader of the Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Coalition (CiU). PSC and CiU agreed that the Socialist would participate in the negotiations between Catalonia and Spain. The agreement would also involve the new Catalan Electoral Law.

The Catalan Parliament voted on Artur Mas’ investiture today, but an absolute majority was needed. Mas only received the 62 votes of his group MPs. The other 6 parties voted “no”. The next voting will be on Thursday, the 23rd of December, when only a simple majority will be needed. It is expected that some parties will abstain to facilitate Mas' investiture.

Mas affirmed the beginning of a “national transition” towards the right of Catalans to decide on their own future. A new economic agreement with Spain is a priority in this direction. In addition, the new Catalan President will implement an economic reactivation plan, agreed together with the Parliament and the social agents. The new government will also have 2 expert advisory councils on Economics and Health, organised free of cost by professional associations. Mas also promised that, once the budget improves after the crisis, social policies will represent 55% of the public expenditure.