commission

Central Europe will be better connected by rail with Spain’s Mediterranean ports, industrial centres and tourist destinations

October 19, 2011 10:59 PM | CNA / Gaspar Pericay Coll

The European Commission has included the Mediterranean Railway Corridor for freight and passengers among the next EU transport priorities. The EU might pay between 10% and 20% of the construction costs if it is finished before 2030. The ports of Barcelona, Tarragona, Valencia, Almería and Algeciras will become true European gateways to North Africa and Asia. In addition, high-speed trains will travel along the Spanish Mediterranean coast to France. Catalan politicians and business people have unanimously celebrated the good news but believe it comes too late and fear the Spanish Government could still prioritise other corridors. In fact, the EC also included other corridors, which pass through Madrid. Therefore Spain’s traditional radial model may still persist.

The European Parliament considers the Mediterranean Railway Corridor to be "absolutely imperative and crucial"

October 10, 2011 11:45 PM | CNA / Albert Segura

The Chairman of the EP’s Transport Committee, the British MEP Brian Simpson, has stated that building the Mediterranean Railway Corridor for freight and passengers is “absolutely imperative and crucial” for the European economy. On the contrary, the third corridor going through the Central Pyrenees, linking Zaragoza and Toulouse is “not-viable and not-needed”. “Drilling mountains is very very expensive”, he warned. The Mediterranean Railway Corridor would link Central and Northern Europe with Spain’s Mediterranean ports by international-width tracks. In addition, it would include a high-speed train service for passengers.

The European Commission would include the Mediterranean Railway Corridor as an EU transport priority

October 5, 2011 09:19 PM | CNA / Gaspar Pericay Coll

According to some MEPs, the international-width high-speed railway corridor for freight and passengers along Spain’s Mediterranean coast that connects ports, industrial centres and tourist resorts would be included in the next priority map of European transport networks. The necessary infrastructural project for the EU economy would link Central and Northern Europe with Spain’s ports that trade directly with North Africa and Asia, enabling trains going non-stop on international-width railway. The EU would pay for 25% of its cost. The Central Corridor passing through Madrid, Zaragoza and the Central Pyrenees would fall from the list, as economic criteria are decisive in times of economic difficulties. However, the definitive list will be released on October 19th.

Catalonia received 73% more funding from the last EU research programme than from the previous one

September 23, 2011 11:03 PM | CNA

Between 2007 and 2010, Catalan research centres and private companies participated in a total of 1,047 projects funded by the Seventh Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development of the European Union. In total, Catalan researchers have received 384 million euros from the EU in the last four years, which represents a 73% increase in relation to the previous programme, which ran from mid 2002 to 2006.

Political leaders and business people from Catalonia, Valencia, Murcia, and Balearic Islands push the EU for the Mediterranean Railway Corridor

September 22, 2011 12:06 AM | CNA / Albert Segura / Gaspar Pericay Coll

The Catalan President Artur Mas has asked the European Union “not to forget about a land that feels European and needs deeper and closer ties with Europe” in the ‘FERRMED Trans-European Cluster Conference’ in Brussels. Previously he has met with the Vice President of the European Commission, responsible for Industry and Entrepreneurship, Antonio Tajani. The Mediterranean Railway Corridor would directly link Central and Northern Europe with Spanish ports and subsequently North Africa.

Catalonia, Valencia and Murcia combine forces for the Mediterranean Railway Corridor to be included as a European priority

September 16, 2011 11:16 PM | CNA / Gaspar Pericay Coll

The presidents of Catalonia, the Valencian Community and the Region of Murcia met in Barcelona to ask the Spanish Government to prioritise the construction and inclusion of the Mediterranean Railway Corridor in the European Transport network. This infrastructure is essential for both the Spanish and European economies, as it would transport freight and passengers non-stop from Gibraltar to Stockholm, passing through Valencia, Barcelona and Lyon. In times of public deficit, there is not enough money to build a railway corridor passing through Madrid, and the Spanish Government has to prioritise the Mediterranean Corridor, which links the main export and industrial centres in the country with Europe.

The European Commission recognises Catalonia’s “budget cuts of unprecedented proportions” to reduce the deficit

June 9, 2011 05:41 PM | CNA / Albert Segura / Gaspar Pericay Coll

The European Commission also recognised "a different effort" to the rest of Spain’s Autonomous Communities. Brussels said so when on Tuesday it asked Spain “to strictly control” the public “deficit and debt of regional governments”, the day after Moody’s rating agency warned about Catalonia’s expected deficit for 2011. The Spanish Government took note from this particular recommendation but not the other made by Brussels, which included increasing energy taxes and VAT. The Catalan Government criticised Moody’s for “creating alarm” with assessments that do not take into account the whole situation. In addition, it denounced how the Spanish Government has reduced its own deficit by transferring it to the Autonomous Communities.

European Council President Van Rompuy meets with the Catalan President Artur Mas

June 7, 2011 12:36 AM | CNA / Albert Segura / Gaspar Pericay Coll

The President of the Catalan Government detailed his plan to Herman Van Rompuy to balance the Catalan budget and reduce the public deficit. Artur Mas stressed the importance of the Mediterranean Railway Corridor for the European economy and he also outlined the benefits of an effective Union for the Mediterranean, in this moment in particular. Mas was joined by Josep Antoni Duran i Lleida, his electoral ally and leader of the Catalan Christian Democrats. They also met with Competition’s Commissioner, Joaquín Almunia.

The European Commission recognises ‘Barcelona Activa’ as the best European initiative developing entrepreneurship

May 26, 2011 02:31 PM | CNA / Gaspar Pericay Coll

‘Barcelona Activa’ is Barcelona City Council’s agency for local development. Its main activities are promoting business and employment creation. ‘Barcelona Activa’ wins the Grand Jury Prize of the 2011 European Enterprise Awards, organised by the European Commission, the European Presidency and the Committee of the Regions.