The Catalan company counterbalanced its fall in the Spanish market with benefits from international sales. Foreign market activity contributed 42% of the profit from the first quarter to Gas Natural Fenosa, in contrast to 36.6% in 2011.
PEN International has presented at the Catalan Government’s Palace in Barcelona the Girona Manifesto on Linguistic Rights. Catalonia’s President regretted that the Catalan language still “suffers from the intolerance or belligerence of some bodies of the [Spanish] State”. The manifesto, which had its origins in the World Conference on Linguistic Rights held in Girona in 1996, aims to defend linguistic diversity throughout the world. The Manifesto has already been approved by the PEN General Assembly. The 10 point document has already been translated into 18 languages.
Following the advice of the Catalan Council for Constitutional Guarantees (CGE), the Catalan Executive will appeal the Spanish Government’s decree to save €7 billion in healthcare this year. However, it will continue implementing the decree until a judicial decision is made. According to the CGE, the decree violates 3 Spanish Constitution articles and 3 others from the Catalan Statute of Autonomy. The decree does not guarantee equality among all citizens, since it limits access to public healthcare. In addition, it invades the Catalan Government’s powers. Left-wing Catalan parties were the first to ask for CGE’s opinion, since they consider the new decree violates basic social rights.
There were 630,932 people registered as unemployed with the Catalan Public Employment Service. It is the third consecutive month with an unemployment drop. In Spain, unemployment decreased by 30,113 in May, leaving the total number of people without a job and looking for a new position at 4,714,122. In absolute terms, Catalonia is among the Autonomous Communities where unemployment decreased the most in May.
A selection of wines and cellars from Catalonia have travelled to New York to find new distributors. The event is being held on Tuesday June 5th at The Carriage House, from the Gabarrón Foundation. After New York, the Catalan red, white and cava wines will be displayed in Seattle (October 2012), Dallas (February 2013), and Los Angeles (June 2013).
The Spanish Finance Minister, Cristóbal Montoro, presented the budget data from January to March 2012. The Autonomous Community Governments together had a 0% deficit in this period. Among them, Catalonia’s had a 0.45% budget surplus, while in the same period of 2011 it had a 0.65% deficit. Montoro emphasised that the data shows “the big effort” the Autonomies are making.
After 13 years, the Constitutional Court has denied the appeal presented by the Spanish Government in 1999 against a Catalan Parliament Law that allowed the Catalan sports federation to compete internationally. However, the Court states that Catalan teams cannot compete “in sports where no Spanish federation exists”. According to the Catalan Government, this sentence is “a first step” on the road to the international recognition of “all sports federations”. In addition, the Platform for Catalan said that Spanish legislation does not apply internationally and that International Federations are private organisations; it is thus their decision, as the CAS confirmed in 2008. They also mentioned the case of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Savall is awarded the world’s most prestigious prize, offered by the Léonie Sonning Music Foundation in Denmark, for his entire artistic career. The jury recognised Savall as “one of the most important forces behind the renaissance of early music and the discovery of forgotten music”. The Catalan musician is one of the world’s most important researchers of ancient music and interpreters of viol. He developed his career with his wife, the soprano Montserrat Figueras, with whom he founded several ensembles and carried out research. Savall dedicated the prize to her, who passed away in November. Savall told ACN: “When I’m performing at a concert it’s when I am at my most happy”.
Top Catalan chef Carme Ruscalleda and her husband Toni Balam run the Sant Pau restaurant in Sant Pol de Mar –near Barcelona- awarded with three Michelin stars. They also own the Sant Pau in Tokyo and the Moments in Barcelona each awarded with one Michelin star. Ruscalleda was raised in a family of farmers and began cooking as a girl. Although she has succeeded in the world of gastronomy, cooking was not her dream as a teenager. In this exclusive interview with CNA Ruscalleda’s eyes shine when she explains how cooking has become her philosophy of life.
The President of the Catalan Government has organised a summit with all the parties at the Catalan Parliament to discuss a new fiscal scheme for Catalonia. According to official studies, Catalonia gives 8.5% of its GDP each year to pay for investments and services in the rest of Spain, an amount that represents more than €17 billion per year. Some parties state that the current model is unsustainable for Catalonia and represents a plundering of its finances. Others have a more moderate opinion. Nonetheless, all political parties in Catalonia now believe that this amount is excessive and that the fiscal scheme between Catalonia and the rest of Spain should be reviewed. However, they significantly disagree on the formula and the timing.
Josep Oliu, President of Banc Sabadell, thinks that if somebody is to be made responsible for the current crisis, a thorough analysis of the decisions of sector managers during the 2003-2007 period should be made, and not among those currently in charge. Oliu, who has been a banker “all his life”, feels he is a “victim” of a situation provoked by managers who were “not acting as bankers”. The Catalan banker recognised that the Spanish banking system can still face the new requirements on its own but it is getting “closer to the limit of its own economic capacity”. Besides, Oliu was very satisfied with the European Commission’s green light for CAM’s integration into Banc Sabadell’s business.
The Catalan Government’s finances corresponding to the first four months of 2012 showed a €535 million budget surplus. Spending has been reduced by €240 million in comparison to the same period last year, when the Catalan Government’s budget had a deficit of €1.13 billion. The budget surplus is mostly due to the transfers made by the Spanish Government, which partially correspond to payments from 2010.
Catalan universities are present at the Annual Conference and Expo of the Association of International Educators (NAFSA), which is the world’s largest event of its kind. The conference is organised in the United States and this year’s edition is being held in Houston (Texas) until Friday June 1st. The website www.studyincatalonia.com has been presented and aims to promote the studies offered by Catalan public and private universities worldwide. The presence of foreign students in postgraduate and master courses at Catalan universities increased by 34% in the last school year (2010-2011).
The death of a Guinean intern in the Immigrant Internment Centre (CIE) in Barcelona last January, plus the recent prohibition by the Spanish Government’s Delegate in Catalonia to allow the Catalan Ombudsman to visit the facilities of the centre, a month ago, has increased the feeling of distrust towards this type of institutions where immigrants without their residence permit are preventively held until they are sent back to their original countries.
Teachers, administrative staff, students and parents have protested against budget cuts by the Spanish and Catalan Governments affecting primary, secondary and university education. The protest was organised throughout Spain. In Barcelona, 25,000 people according to the police and 150,000 people according to the organisers demonstrated through the city centre. Protests were also organised in other Catalan cities, such as Girona, Lleida and Tarragona.