catalan

The poster ‘Keep Calm and Speak Catalan’ was created by Josep Maria Ganyet, expert in digital communication, in order to protest against the draft law proposed by the Spanish Minister of Education which puts at risk the school model of linguistic immersion in use in Catalonia since the end of Franco’s dictatorship. The poster, in its origin a tweet, came from the fields of social media and reached Congress as a symbol of passive resistance directed at those aiming to alter the Catalan school model. It refers to the historical poster ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’, which also became one of the most wide spread pop icons.

By the end of March, unemployment in the whole of Spain set a new historical record high with a rate of 27.16% and more than 6.2 million people being without a job and looking for a new one. This represented a quarterly increase of 237,400 individuals and a yearly growth of 563,200 people. In Catalonia, 902,300 people were unemployed by the end of March, 17,100 more individuals than three months previously and 65,300 more than a year ago. This sets a new historical record high for Catalonia too, breaking the previous one just set three months ago with a rate of 23.9% unemployment by the end of 2012. Unemployment increased throughout Catalonia except in the western Lleida province where it has been decreasing over the last year.

The European Commissioner for Education, Culture and Multilingualism, promised Catalan Euro MPs to ask the Spanish Government – chaired by Mariano Rajoy - about the Education Reform it is preparing, which goes against the linguistic immersion model of Catalonia’s school system. According to the Catalan MEPs, Androulla Vassiliou was “a bit perplexed” about the Spanish Government’s initiative and the recent judicial sentences obliging teaching to be in Spanish if a single pupil in the classroom asks for it. Besides, the Spanish State Council – the Spanish Government’s top advisory body – criticised the reform’s measure obliging the Catalan Executive to pay for private schools in Spanish for the pupils who do not want to attend public schools in Catalan. The Catalan Education Minister asked the Spanish Government “to paralyse” the reform.

Passenger traffic from the Catalan capital’s harbour increased by 18% in the period from January to March, and that of cruise passengers grew by 40%. In total, 9.8 million tonnes of goods were transported through the Port of Barcelona. The tonnes of goods transported via container increased by 0.8%. Regarding the transport of cars, which is one of the harbour’s main activities, 164,452 car units were transported through the port, a 1% increase compared to last year.

Victus, the historical novel by Albert Sánchez Piñol, has triumphed on the Catalan National Day of roses and books both in the Spanish and Catalan language. In the category of media-friendly writers, the biggest-selling book has been Brúixoles que busquen somriures perduts by Albert Espinosa, the scriptwriter known for his hit TV series Polseres Vermelles (‘The Red Band Society’). Barcelona’s streets were filled with bookstalls where the most popular authors signed their books in front of huge queues of excited fans. For bookshops it is also a great chance to bring in some much needed revenue as it is estimated that on Sant Jordi’s Day they invoice between 8% and 10% of the whole year’s profits, a figure of around 18 million euros.

IAG, the company resulting from the merger of British Airways and Iberia, improved its initial offer from €7 per share to €9.25 to buy 100% of the Catalan airline’s shares. Iberia already owned 45.85% of Vueling and the IAG offer aimed to buy the remaining 54.15%. However, IAG had already stated the operation would still be carried out if it could buy 4.16% of Vueling’s share, in order to own 50.01% of the airline. Finally, more than four fifths of the remaining shareholders decided to sell their stocks to IAG. The international airline will buy 44.66% of Vueling’s shares and then it will own 90.51% of the company based in Barcelona El Prat Airport. Vueling is one of the few European airlines that has made a profit in the last few years. It has a competitive business model, flying to more than 200 destinations.

The Catalan tradition of Sant Jordi (Saint George) dictates that men should buy a red rose to their beloved and women ought to give them a book in return. That's the theory, but in practice the crowd who fills the centre of Barcelona is buying many other things, such as earrings, T-shirts or even scarlet artichokes… April 23rd is a good day to be in Barcelona. The atmosphere is cheerful and roses tower over thousands of people who stroll down la Rambla, looking for a certain title at the bookstands or just being seduced by the cover of the latest bestseller.

47 foreign investment industrial projects, bringing in €331.88 million, landed in Catalonia last year through ‘Invest in Catalonia’, a programme from the Catalan Government. This represents 37% more investments than in 2011. The projects created 2,324 new jobs and they also allowed companies to keep 2,566 positions. Besides, the Spanish Ministry for the Economy stated that foreign investment in Spain dropped by 43% in total and by 14% in Catalonia. The Catalan Business Minister, Felip Puig, explained that the Spanish Ministry data includes financial investments. However, Puig emphasised that the Spanish Ministry’s report also states that industrial and manufacturing investments in Catalonia increased by 6.2% and 11% respectively.

In an official visit to Brussels where the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, met with three Commissioners, he recognised that the European Union institutions view Catalonia’s self-determination “with great respect” but they have “some concerns” about “the potential independence” from Spain. Mas emphasised that Catalonia is too significant and relevant “not to be taken into account”. Therefore, the EU “is interested in providing Catalonia with stability” and to “not turn their backs on the Catalans’ majority public opinion”. Mas celebrated that at an international level “instead of closing the door, they listen to us”, which “is different” to the Spanish Government’s attitude.

The new tax would not affect individual citizens neither would it be implemented in areas without housing demand. The tax aims to put apartments and houses, owned by banks and real estate companies that remain empty despite being in areas with a demand for housing, back on the market. The expected effect is an increase in the amount of housing on offer in those areas and to make renting cheaper. The Catalan Minister for Public Works, Santi Vila, announced the new tax on Monday morning. A few hours later, the Catalan President confirmed they are considering it, although no final decision has been made. The Left-Wing Catalan Independence Party (ERC) stated that the measure was part of the agreement reached with the Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Coalition (CiU).

Saint George (Sant Jordi in Catalan) is the patron saint of Catalonia. Every 23rd April the traditional red roses and all kinds of books invade the streets creating a unique atmosphere. Tradition says that the man gives a rose to his loved one and she offers a book to the man she loves. However, tradition has evolved and people also give books and roses to partners, family members and friends now. Despite the crisis six million roses and a million books are expected to be sold.

The 19th edition of the Latin American Film Festival in Lleida ended last weekend after showing 117 films from 14 different countries. Argentine film director Gustavo Garzón’s movie 'Por un tiempo' (‘For a time’) had its world premiere while honorary awards were delivered to Spanish actor José Coronado and Mexican actor Damián Alcazar. 'Porcelain horse' (Mejor no hablar de ciertas cosas), directed by Ecuador’s Javier Andrade, won the Best Film Award. The budget for this year’s edition had been reduced by 24% and the Festival was forced to remove documentary and retrospective sections from the programme.

On Wednesday it became known that the Catalan Banc Sabadell would acquire Banco Gallego from the Spanish Fund for Orderly Banking Restructuring (FROB). However, the details of the operation were still being discussed and no detailed information was disclosed. On Friday, it was stated that the FROB – owned by the Spanish Government and the Bank of Spain – will inject €245 million of public money into Banco Gallego. In exchange, Banc Sabadell will buy the financial entity for the symbolical price of 1 euro but will take care of all the potential future losses.

In a symbolical action, 11 town halls have handed in their monthly taxes to the Catalan Tax Agency and not to the equivalent Spanish entity. The Catalan Government’s body stated that it is legal, since later they will transfer the money to the Spanish Tax Agency. However, with this action, the town halls involved wanted to lend their support to “Catalonia collecting its own taxes”. In fact, the Catalan Government collecting all the taxes in Catalonia is widely asked for by a majority of the Catalan society. This week the Catalan Executive announced a programme supporting the development of its own Treasury, in order to provide the Catalan Tax Agency with muscle and experience. Furthermore the Association of Pro-Independence Town Halls asked its members to stop paying their taxes to the Spanish Tax Agency and switch to the Catalan one instead.

Tradebe’s new terminal for petrochemical products has 29 tanks for storing bulk liquids, with a total capacity of 450,000 cubic metres. The new facility represented a €65 million investment, occupying 60,000 square metres and creating 27 direct jobs. Tradebe is one of the leading companies in industrial waste management in Spain, with a significant presence in the United States and the United Kingdom as well as having subsidiary companies in France and Turkey. The President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, and the Spanish Minister for Public Works, Ana Pastor, participated in the unveiling ceremony. Mas asked Pastor to prioritise “productive” investments, such as Barcelona Port’s railway connections.