catalan

The Catalan government has decided this Tuesday to change the name of the Catalan Ministry for Foreign Affairs, amid the controversy with the Spanish executive and after the recent suspension of the department by the Spanish Constitutional Court (TC). The new name is to be the ‘Affairs and Institutional Relations and Foreign Affairs and Transparency’. “We have made this decision in order not to stop” stated Catalan Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Raül Romeva. The pro-independence party ‘Junts Pel Sí’s top member and former MEP also assured that the government “won’t stop doing” foreign action and insisted that “neither the functions nor the responsibilities” of the department have changed.

KT Corporation has chosen Barcelona to be the “importation gateway for its products and services” in Europe, stated the Catalan Ministry for Business and Knowledge, Jordi Baiget. The agreement with the Korean telecom giant was reached during the latest edition of the Mobile World Congress, which took place in Barcelona between the 22^nd and the 25^th of February, and established the setting up of a commercial office in Catalonia, as well as the creation of “jobs and investments” which are yet to be finalised. At the same time, the agreement foresees that KT will facilitate the distribution of Catalan products and technologies in the Korean market. 

The Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, received a representation from the Association of Liberal and Democrats of Europe (ALDE) group amid the controversy surrounding the recent suspension of the Catalan Ministry for Foreign Affairs by the Spanish Constitutional Court (TC). ALDE President and MEP Hans Van Baalen, who has repeatedly defended Catalonia’s right to decide its political future, was joined by ALDE’s general secretary, Jacob Moroza-Rasmussen and political adviser, Laura Laussade. They met President Puigdemont and the Catalan Minister for Foreign Affairs, former MEP Raül Romeva. Liberal party CDC’s spokeswoman and ALDE vice president, Marta Pascal, also attended the meeting, together with Spanish Parliament MP and the President of the Catalan foundation ‘Llibertat i Democràcia’, Jordi Xuclà.

The suspension of the Catalan Ministry for Foreign Affairs is “going to work against the aim of the Madrid government” and boost independence support, according to some foreign MEPs that have been following the political process in Catalonia. “It was just a kind of name change, not a legal change, but it has big emotional meaning for both sides”, said former Foreign Affairs Minister of Lithuania and now MEP Algirdas Saudargas. The President of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and also MEP Ian Hudghton said Scots are “fortunate” not to have “been treated in the way that Madrid seeks to treat Catalonia”. Flemish MEP Mark Demesmaeker argued that there is a “big contrast” between Spain and Belgium, while the Swedish Green MEP Bodil Valero defined as “very strange” the decision by the Spanish Constitutional Court to suspend the Catalan ministry.

Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) and anti-Catalan nationalism ‘Ciutadans’ have agreed to form “a reformist and progressive” government. The 66-page document, which both parties signed this Wednesday, includes the commitment to oppose “any attempt to hold a referendum with the objective of launching the auto-determination of any territory in Spain”, in clear reference to Catalonia’s push for independence. The document also aims to launch, during the first month of the term of office, an ‘express reform’ of the Spanish Constitution and start writing a new project at the beginning of 2017. Thus, ‘Ciutadans’ will support PSOE leader Pedro Sánchez’s investiture in the upcoming debate, which will take place on the 1^st of March. However, together both parties have only 130 seats, far from the 176 required to invest Sánchez in the first round.

Sharing Academy connects students with other peer tutors at different universities. Through the app, students can sort through a marketplace of tutors that can help them in various course subjects. According to Jordi Llonch, the CEO and creator of Sharing Academy, the idea for the app came from a personal struggle with one of his classes. After struggling to pass a course in university, Llonch sought the help of a friend studying the same course at a different school. Since the largest Mobile World Congress (MWC) to date opened its doors on Monday, much of the presenters at the event have focused on a few key topics. By 2020, industry leaders hope lead their users into a new generation of technology that can connect more devices at once, allowing for more advancement in other industry sectors outside of mobile such as health, automotive, and telecommunications technology.

The European Free Alliance (EFA) has strongly criticised the Spanish Constitutional Court’s decision to suspend the Catalan Ministry for Foreign Affairs. In a press communiqué released this Friday under the title ‘Spain’s attack on Catalan democracy’, EFA’s President, François Alfonsi, lamented the “disturbing anti-democratic trend in Spain that runs contrary to European values”. In the same vein, the President of EFA’s Euro parliamentary group, Catalan MEP Josep Maria Terricabras, noted that “the office of Foreign Minister is recognised in law and in Catalonia's statute of autonomy” and urged Spain to respect “democratic governance and human rights”. The EFA isthe group in the European Parliament which gathers together Catalan left-wing pro-independence ERC and other nationalist parties of the EU.

The Spanish Constitutional Court (TC) has accepted the appeal presented by the Spanish executive to suspend the new Catalan Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Thus, the department lead by pro-independence cross-party list ‘Junts Pel Sí’ top member, Raül Romeva will be suspended at first for five months, which is the period that the TC has to study whether the new Ministry is in line with the Spanish Constitution. Earlier this month, the current Spanish vice president, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, and current Spanish Minister for Justice, Rafael Catalá claimed that the Catalan government had exceeded the competences in matters of foreign action specified in the Catalan Statute of Autonomy. For his part, the Catalan President Carles Puigdemont assured that Catalonia “will continue to do foreign action”and defended the legitimacy of the new department. 

The first European date on ‘The River Tour 2016’ will be in Barcelona. The Boss will visit the Catalan capital on the 14^th of May to commemorate the 35^th anniversary of the release of his album ‘The River’ with a concert at Camp Nou. ‘The River Tour 2016’ started in Pittsburgh on the 16^th of January and The Boss performed the whole album, one of his most iconic works. Together with the E Street Band, Springsteen will offer two other shows in Spain; one in San Sebastian and the other in Madrid. Tickets for the Barcelona show will go on sale on the 1^st of March, with prices ranging from 80 euros to 115 euros for reserved seats. The last time The Boss visited Barcelona was in 2012, when he offered a double show during ‘The Wrecking ball’ tour.

Pro-independence cross-party list 'Junts Pel Sí' MP Muriel Casals died this Sunday at the age of 70. Former president of civil society association Òmnium Cultural, Muriel was one of the greatest exponents of the pro-independence movement in Catalonia. Recently, she was named president of the Study Committee for the Constitutive Process, responsible for setting the basis for Catalonia's roadmap towards independence. Together with Carme Forcadell, Parliament's President and former president of pro-independence grassroots organisation Catalan National Assembly, Muriel was responsible for the massive pro-independence rallies which have taken to the streets of Barcelona for the past six years. Casals had been in hospital since the 30^th of January, after being hit by a bicycle in Barcelona. She failed to recover from a traumatic brain injury.

Catalan President Carles Puigdemont warned diplomats stationed in the Catalan capital that they “will be busy in the coming months” even more than usual, since Catalonia “is walking towards independence”. Puigdemont made this statement during the traditional reception of the Barcelona-based consuls, together with the Catalan Minister for Foreign Affairs, Raül Romeva, and Catalan Minister for Business and Knowledge, Jordi Baiget. The Catalan President also asked the diplomatic community “to explain [Catalonia’s process] properly” to their countries and assured that he is at their disposal to address any concerns they may have. In the same vein, Romeva called on those present to find a “suitable framework” to deal with all their possible doubts in an in-depth manner. 

Hard Rock’s president Hamish Dodds and the company’s vice president, Nelson Parker, met this Wednesday with Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and the Catalan government’s vice president, Oriol Junqueras, in order to outline to them the multinational’s aim to set up a Tourist Integrated Centre in BCN World which would represent a 2.5-billion-euro investment. However, the BCN World project, which is set to be built on the 800 hectares surrounding the Port Aventura theme park (on the Costa Daurada, near Tarragona), is currently on ‘stand-by’. The government is trying to find the greatest consensus possible amongst the different parties and institutions involved and President Puigdemont announced this week that a consultation may be set up to get to know the locals’ opinions. 

The judicial process for alleged fiscal fraud and money laundering against family members of the President of Catalonia between 1980 and 2003 Jordi Pujol continues. This Wednesday, Pujol testified before Spain's High Court, 'La Audiencia Nacional', and gave further details on his father’s legacy, some €4 million which it is alleged was kept in Andorra for 34 years without informing tax authorities. He insisted that his father, Florenci, left the sum for Jordi Pujol’s wife and children, not for him, due to the risk of retaliation for his political activities in the years after Franco’s death. The founder of the centre-right Catalan nationalist coalition CiU in the 1970s also set himself apart from some of his sons’ businesses and denied being a corrupt politician. His wife, Marta Ferrusola, refused to answer any questions from either the judge or the prosecution.

The new Catalan Ministry for Foreign Affairs will be taken before the Spanish Constitutional Court (TC) after Spain’s executive considered it to be in a “conflict of jurisdiction” and beyond the competences in matters of foreign action specified in the Catalan Statute of Autonomy.Thus, the Spanish government aims to stop the “internationalisation of the Catalan process”, the launching of which the Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, defended  during his investiture ceremony. For his part, the Catalan Minister for Foreign Affairs, Raül Romeva, assured that Catalonia “has done, does and will continue to do foreign action”. Former MEP and pro-independence cross-party list ‘Junts Pel Sí’ leader Romeva also insisted on the “legitimacy” of the new department. In the same vein, the Catalan government’s spokeswoman, Neus Munté, assessed Spain’s announcement as typical of a “decadent” government.

The Catalan Ministry for Health has confirmed this Thursday two new cases of Zika virus infection in Catalonia. One of them is a pregnant woman, the first of this type of case detected in Catalonia. The woman is between 13 and 14 weeks pregnant and is said to have contracted the virus on a trip to Colombia. These new cases are to be added to the other four detected on Wednesday and there are thus now already six people, four men and two women, infected with the Zika virus. Zika is carried by mosquitoes and has been linked to thousands of babies being born with underdeveloped brains. It is spreading through the Americas and the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the disease linked to the virus a global public health emergency.