catalan way

The Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister, José Manuel García-Margallo, states that the claim for Catalonia’s independence during the last FC Barcelona vs Real Madrid Clásico football game “damages Spain’s brand”. On the contrary, the Catalan President, Artur Mas, praised the demonstration for its peaceful and democratic nature, and for “projecting our identity to the world”. Furthermore, the Spokesperson for the Catalan Government, Francesc Homs, considered García-Margallo’s statements to be “undemocratic” for not accepting “the free and democratic expression of the people at Camp Nou”. Thousands of Catalan independence flags were shown at the match – many more than in any other game ever. Furthermore, on several occasions, a large part of the stadium shouted pro-independence chants.

By early 2013 the Airport of Lleida-Alguaire, located in Western Catalonia next to the border with Aragon, will have a maintenance centre with a capacity to host up to 50 airplanes like the Airbus model A320. The private company AirHoster will invest €3 million in building the initial facilities. 75 jobs will be created, as well as a school to train technicians. The Lleida-Alguaire Airport has received very few flights since it opened its doors in January 2010, most of them run by tour operators bringing skiers to the Pyrenees.

The Spanish Government states that the money will “start to arrive” next Tuesday. Over the past few weeks, the Catalan Finance Minister has warned about the urgency of receiving the requested €560 million from the Liquidity Fund for the Autonomous Communities (FLA) in order to face all September’s payments. However, the Spanish Government has sent €400 million to pay debt maturities but has not sent the remaining €560 million to pay private health, education and social centres that receive regular funds from the Catalan Executive. All direct salaries have been paid, but not other payments. In August, the Catalan Government requested €5.02 billion from the FLA for the entire year 2012 in order to face debt maturities and ordinary payments, since access to international markets is closed to the Autonomous Communities.

Based on a popular political satirical TV show of the Catalan Public Television Broadcaster, the veteran musical theatre company Dagoll Dagom presents ‘La Família Irreal’ (The Unroyal/Unreal Family). “It is a satire, a parody and a big joke […] about the Royal Family and the system that supports it”, explained Joan Lluís Bozzo, the show’s director. The musical is based on real events, such as elephant-hunting safaris, and it is portrayed by the same actors in the TV show ‘Polònia’. The Spanish King, the Queen, the Crown Prince, the Princess, the Infantas and their husbands will be singing 30 songs.

The ALDE and the Greens/EFA consider the statements made by Alejo Vidal-Quadras, Vice-President of the European Parliament and member of the People’s Party (PP), to be “a scandal”. Last week, three Catalan MEPs asked the EP President, Martin Schulz, either to push Vidal-Quadras to apologise or to adopt disciplinary measures against him. Schulz appealed to freedom of expression and said that Catalan voters should judge Vidal-Quadras, elected from a closed party list in a single Spanish constituency. Guy Verhofstadt (ALDE) and Daniel Cohn-Bendit (Greens/EFA) reject Schulz’s cold answer and ask for “a formal debate” on the issue. Now, Vidal-Quadras says he was being “ironical”.

As in the past, Catalonia will not receive the investment percentage it is legally entitled to by the current legislation. Instead of getting 19% of the foreseen investment in infrastructures made throughout Spain, in the Spanish Government’s budget for 2013 Catalonia will only receive 11.9%. Furthermore, essential infrastructures for Catalonia’s economy and Spain’s and Europe’s competitiveness are under-budgeted while the Spanish Government finds the money to build non-priority infrastructures, such as high-speed railways in Galicia. On top of this, only 35% of the public work initially foreseen in Catalonia by the Spanish budget for 2011 was executed, while in Madrid the work executed came to 111%. Besides, the Spanish Government has reduced its funds to Catalan cultural centres and festivals by 70% over two years.

The Catalan Education Minister reminds her Spanish peer that such measures are not legal and do not correspond to the current legislation. The Spanish Education Minister, José Ignacio Wert, is considering giving public funds to privately-owned schools teaching in Spanish, which would set up a de facto parallel public school system in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands. Wert stated earlier this week that he would work to end the current Catalan school model, which is based on the linguistic immersion principle and guarantees the knowledge of both Spanish and Catalan by all pupils, as results show.

The Spanish Education Minister, José Ignacio Wert, continues to target the Catalan school system. He is trying to pass a recentralising education reform “to eliminate the 17 school systems” in place in each Autonomous Community. In addition, he is “firmly decided” on making Spanish a school teaching language in Catalonia, going against the current legislation and two declarations of the Spanish Constitutional Court. The Catalan Government has reminded people that Catalan students have better results in Spanish language than the average throughout Spain, perfectly guaranteeing the knowledge of both Spanish and Catalan. The civil society organisation defending Catalan language accused Wert of “adding demagogical political tensions”.

Catalonia and the Autonomous Communities run by the Socialist Party (PSOE) were asking to make the Spanish Government’s deficit targets stricter and to proportionally relax those of the Autonomies. The Spanish Prime Minister Rajoy and the Autonomies run by the PP have opposed this redistribution, which would have transferred part of the flexibility allowed by Brussels to the Autonomies. In fact, when Brussels relaxed Spain’s deficit targets for 2012 and 2013, the Spanish Government did not share this flexibility with the Autonomies, which are responsible for almost 40% of the public spending and the managing of the Welfare State services. On the contrary, it made the Autonomies’ deficit targets stricter for 2013.

The old Fabra i Coats industrial complex in Barcelona hosts a new centre for Contemporary Art in Catalonia in one of its buildings. The industrial complex is also hosting the ‘Creation Factory’, a socialization space for artists, where they can work on new projects. The Contemporary Art centre was unveiled with the first exhibition called ‘Això no és una exposició d’art, tampoc’ (‘This is not an art exhibition, either’) based on ‘performance’. The whole project, which at the moment uses 600 square metres on the ground floor, will occupy a total of 2,450 square metres of exhibition space - three floors in the front wing of the old factory.

The President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, signed the dissolution of the Catalan Parliament calling for early elections on Monday. He stated that Catalans have “to vote without fear”, referring to Spain’s threats to veto Catalonia’s access to the EU or even with a military intervention. Mas sent a warning to Spain: “act as a mature and sensible state” and “watch out” as the world is looking. Furthermore, Mas guaranteed that Catalonia’s self-determination will be “a totally democratic and peaceful process”. Besides, European Commission’s Vice President Reding stated that Catalonia’s independence from Spain does not mean its exclusion from the EU. “International legislation does not say” that Catalonia would be excluded, she said in an interview with a newspaper from Seville.

Members of the European Parliament from Catalan parties have asked the European Commission “if it would suspend Spain’s rights as a Member State of the European Council in the case that force was used against the decisions of the Catalan Parliament”. They have also asked the President of the European Parliament (EP) “to adopt measures if Vidal-Quadras does not publicly apologise”. The Vice-President of the EP, the Catalan Alejo Vidal-Quadras, famous for his Spanish nationalist stance, said yesterday that the Spanish Government should “suspend Catalonia’s autonomy” and “send a general to lead the Guardia Civil” in order to take control. In the past few days, Spanish nationalists and retired army members have threatened a military intervention if Catalonia insists in its self-determination process.

However, CatalunyaBanc would need a maximum of €10.83 billion in the most stressed scenario. According to the independent audit by Oliver Wyman, with KPGM, Deloitte, PwC and Ernst & Young, the Spanish banking system would need a maximum of €53.75 billion in the worst case scenario. 4 banking groups would concentrate 86% of these additional funds. In total, 7 banking groups would need additional funds, while 7 groups would be strong enough, with their own resources, to resist a hypothetical scenario with a 6.5% recession between 2012 and 2014, 27% unemployment, a 85% drop in land prices and a 55% decrease in housing prices.

The Catalan capital hosts the largest and most modern container terminal of the Mediterranean Sea, a true gate for cargo ships, linking Europe with the Middle East, Northern Africa and Asia. BEST, which stands for Barcelona Europe South Terminal, represents a €515 million investment by Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH). This week it has unveiled the first part of the project: 100 hectares to store containers, 1.5 kilometres of docking space for cargo ships, 98 cranes and a provisional international-width railway connection to compete with northern European harbours. However, the Spanish Government has not started the definitive railway connection yet, despite many promises.

15% of the MPs oppose the decision, all members of Spanish nationalist parties. The Catalan Socialist Party (PSC) abstains, although one of its veteran MPs backs the citizen consultation. This was the last vote of the Catalan Parliament this term, as early elections have been called, on 25th November, which may turn into a plebiscite on the right to self-determination. The Spanish Government has stated it would immediately block such citizen vote by bringing it to the Constitutional Court, since it has to authorise any referendum in Spain. Furthermore, the day before it stated it will “calmly and firmly” oppose Catalonia’s independence process.