catalan

Catalan film director Neus Ballús presents ‘La Plaga’ at the Berlin International Film Festival

February 13, 2013 07:25 PM | CNA / Karina Reinhard

The 63rd International Film Festival in Berlin is taking place at the moment through to the 17th of February. This year a film made by Catalan production company El Kinògraf is on show: ‘La Plaga’ (‘The Plague’ in English), a film shot by Neus Ballús, had its world premiere in Berlin. It is a combination of reality and fiction, presenting five different characters living around Barcelona at the time of the economic crisis. Ballús explains that the film is based on true life stories, real emotions, situations and genuine characters.

House sales in Catalonia increased by 4% in December, just before the end of tax benefits

February 11, 2013 09:49 PM | CNA

The 2,885 housing units sold in Catalonia during December increased by 4% compared to the figures from a year ago. The main reason for this rise is that, in January, the Spanish Government’s tax benefits applied when purchasing a house – approved to reactivate this economic sector after the collapse of the real estate market – will no longer exist. 66% of the houses and apartments sold were second hand, while the other third were newly built. For the whole of Spain, housing sales increased by 2.3% in December. In 2012, house sales dropped by 11.3% over 2012.

Blur, Nick Cave, My Bloody Valentine, The Postal Service and Animal Collective will perform at Barcelona’s 2013 Primavera Sound

February 11, 2013 07:47 PM | CNA / Carlota Guerra

The music festival will celebrate its 13th anniversary with an impressive lineup and the participation of a long-list of prestigious artists. The Primavera Sound Music Festival, which takes place every year in late May in the city of Barcelona, is considered to be one of the best international music events in Southern Europe. It is also one of Barcelona’s musical highlights, along with the Sonar festival in June. This year’s Primavera Sound edition presented what is said to be the best list of participating artists since the beginning of the festival. Indie, rock and electronic music will be the mainstays of the festival.

Banc Sabadell posts €81.9 million profit in 2012, 64.7% less than last year

February 11, 2013 07:30 PM | CNA / Rosa Soto

The Catalan Banc Sabadell finished 2012 with positive results and net benefits of €81.9 million. Banc Sabadell has now reached 5th position among the Spanish financial entities in the last economic exercise due to its assets valued at €175 billion. However, this figure shows a 64.7% drop in benefits in comparison to 2011. The main reason for the decrease is the €2.54 billion for provisions, 142.2% more than 2011. The President of Banc Sabadell, Josep Oliu, emphasised the company’s solvency and spoke of its capacity to buy additional entities in the international market.

Tarragona’s chemical hub unveils its first intermodal station with international-standard width railway

February 9, 2013 05:41 PM | CNA / Anna Fortuny / Núria Torres

Tarragona’s intermodal freight station is located within the Bayer factory and it will serve all the companies located in the southern half of the chemical centre. Tarragona is host to Spain’s largest chemical hub, which will be connected by international-standard width railway to Central and Northern Europe once the Spanish Government has built the stretch between this economic centre and Greater Barcelona. This stretch is part of the strategic Mediterranean Railway Corridor, which the Spanish Government has been delaying for years. This main infrastructure will combine a high-speed passenger railway with goods transportation. Once completed, it will connect Gibraltar with Northern Europe via Spain’s Mediterranean ports and industrial centres, including València, Tarragona and Barcelona.

The Spanish Government is considering taking the Catalan declaration of sovereignty to the Constitutional Court

February 8, 2013 11:34 PM | CNA

Following a report by its own legal services, the Spanish Government is considering appealing against the ‘Declaration of sovereignty and the right to self-determination by the people of Catalonia’, approved by the Catalan Parliament two weeks ago. This declaration states that, following the historical rights and the free self-determination of the people, the people of Catalonia are sovereign and therefore able decide on their own future and organise a self-determination vote to decide on Catalonia’s hypothetical independence from Spain. The Catalan President stated that, before the self-determination right of the people, “there are no rules, laws, constitutions or possible interpretations”.

Catalonia’s industrial production dropped by 2.7% in 2012, while the Spanish index plummeted by 5.9%

February 7, 2013 09:56 PM | CNA

The economic recession has meant that Catalonia’s industrial production index decreased by 2.7% last year, according to the Spanish Statistics Institute (INE). In addition, the note indicated that the Catalan industrial sector has contracted for the last 10 consecutive months. However, Catalan industry had been less affected than the Spanish average, which plummeted by 5.9% in 2012. One severely affected sector was the production of long-life goods, in which car manufacturers are included, which decreased by 7.1% in December, accumulating 28 consecutive months in the red. Another sector with problems is the means of production, with a 7.3% decrease in December and 11 consecutive months of accumulated drops.

High-level meeting in Catalonia to improve the fight against corruption after the latest scandals

February 6, 2013 10:41 PM | CNA / Gaspar Pericay Coll

The President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, organised a summit with top representatives from all the public powers involved in the fight against corruption and fraud to exchange ideas and come up with a set of measures. Political parties were not invited and some of them have protested. After the meeting, Mas explained that the attendees agreed to transform the Transparency Agreement from 2001 regarding the funding of political parties into a law in order to enforce it. Furthermore, the Catalan Government will allocate more resources to the judicial powers investigating the main corruption cases. The attendees agreed to compile the initiatives discussed in a document and meet again in two weeks’ time.

Catalan economists want the Spanish Government “to talk without prejudgements” on Catalonia’s self-determination

February 5, 2013 10:52 PM | CNA

The Cercle d’Economia, the main Catalan economic forum open to businesspeople and academics, has published an opinion note on the political context following the last Catalan elections. In the note, the Cercle asks the Spanish Government “to talk” about the Catalan self-determination and “to reform” the Constitution accordingly. The Cercle does not explicitly back an independent Catalonia but it supports a deep reform of Spain’s territorial organisation and the finding of a negotiated solution for both parties, which may be reached through a legal referendum. In addition, the Cercle asks for a review of Spain’s internal distribution of the deficit targets among government levels and to increase those of the Autonomous Communities.

CaixaForum Girona received more than 131,000 visitors in 2012

February 5, 2013 08:29 PM | CNA / Carlota Guerra

CaixaForum Girona, the social and cultural centre of “La Caixa” savings bank in the Catalan city of Girona played host to 131,158 visitors in its second year of existence. Among the different activities that took place during last year, the exhibitions registered the biggest affluence of visitors, followed by educational activities, concerts, family activities, conferences and social projects. The exhibitions dedicated to Monet, Gauguin, Rusiñol and Sunyer, the maternity photographs of Bru Rovira and the Louvre’s Egyptian collection were the most popular activities.

‘The Impossible’ triumphs at Catalan ‘Gaudí’ Film Awards

February 4, 2013 11:36 PM | Clara Roig Medina

The Catalan ‘Gaudi’ Film Awards had a true international feel this year as ‘The Imposible’, directed by Barcelona-born moviemaker Juan Antonio Bayona, came out on top. Starring Ewan McGregor and Oscar-nominated Naomi Watts, the film won the six awards for which it was nominated, including Best Director and Best European Film. The Catalan-Spanish production ‘Blancanieves’, directed by Pablo Berger, was voted Best Catalan Film. Àlex Monner – famous for his ‘Red Band Society’ part – was recognised as Best Actor for the film ‘Els nens salvatges’ and Maria Molins won Best Actress for ‘El Bosc’.

Nissan will assemble its new saloon car model in Barcelona

February 4, 2013 11:12 PM | CNA / Gaspar Pericay Coll

After having reached an agreement on the measures to increase competitiveness with the trade unions last week, the Japanese multinational car manufacturer finally confirmed on Monday that its Barcelona plant will be building Nissan’s new saloon car model as of July 2014. The decision will bring in a direct investment of €130 million, creating 1,000 direct positions in the Nissan factory and 3,000 indirect jobs in the Catalan automobile parts supply industry. After seven months of talks, including a critical period when Barcelona seemed to be out of the race, the Nissan managers and trade unions finally reached an agreement early last week, based on a 20% salary reduction for new workers and guaranteeing the oldest jobs. The President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, emphasised that Nissan’s announcement confirms that Catalonia is “an attractive and reliable country”.

Samuel Aranda: “Being a photojournalist has taught me that not everything is what it seems”

February 4, 2013 04:03 PM | Laia Ros

CNA interviews Samuel Aranda, the Catalan photographer who eighteen months ago leapt to fame by winning the World Press Photo competition, the most important award in photojournalism thanks to a shot that would become the symbol of the Arab Spring: Fatima cradling her son Zayed, who was suffering from the effects of tear gas after participating in a demonstration in Yemen. However even after reaching such heady heights, Aranda hasn’t stopped working as his controversial photo essay for the New York Times about the extent of the Spanish economic crisis shows.