european

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.

Thousands of Erasmus students choose Catalonia each year as their exchange destination. The students, from across Europe, started either their work or study placements, last week. The CNA interviewed two of the new arrivals about their reasons for this choice and what they hope to gain from their experiences.

The Conference of the Regional Legislative Assemblies of the European Union (CALRE) has met in Barcelona to discuss their interaction with the European Commission. The association of regional parliaments with legislative powers, such as those in Catalonia, Scotland, North Rhine-Westphalia or Flanders, has asked to participate in the drafting process of European directives.

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.

Brussels believes it is "unlikely" to relapse into a second recession but warned that the possibility "can not be excluded". The European Commission has not lowered its growth forecast for Spain or the whole of the Euro area despite the financial turbulences of the last weeks.

The spokesman for Education at the European Commission warns that "monolinguals are potentially at a disadvantage" in terms of finding work. “From very young children should speak their mother tongue and two other languages”, he says.

The chairman of the committee on Education, Doris Pack, defends the Catalan model of education and says that people coming from outside Catalonia have to make an effort to learn the language of their new home: "It's like immigration in Germany, we do not have Turkish schools, newcomers need to get used to speak the language", she argued in an interview with the CNA.

The programme will be trialled at CaixaBank cash machines to analyse the effectiveness of user interface and help to develop a long term option to help the disabled overcome barriers.

FC Barcelona lifted the European Super Cup for the fourth time in their history with a 2-0 win over Porto in Monaco. Goals in each half from Messi and Cesc proved enough for Guardiola’s team to take their 12th title under his stewardship.

FC Barcelona and Porto meet this evening (20.45h CET) in a very special European Super Cup. It’s the last to be played at the Louis II in Monaco. Piqué, Puyol and Afellay are all out through injury.

Barça player Gerard Piqué got injured in training and will be out for three weeks. Piqué tore fibres in his left calf muscle and will not play the European Super Cup match in Monaco against Porto next Friday evening.

László T?kés, from the Hungarian minority in Romania and member of the European People’s Party, supports the “linguistic rights” of minorities in front of a European Union “sometimes too ignorant”. “I don’t like integration being replaced by assimilation”, he stated.

The Spanish Minister for Public Works, Jose Blanco, attended the end of the drilling works of the High-Speed Train tunnel that will cross Girona, part of the line that will connect with the French border. The Mediterranean Railway Corridor is a long running issues for Catalonia, Valencia, Murcia and Andalucía. It would link the Straights of Gibraltar, the harbours of Barcelona and Valencia, and Central and Northern Europe, allowing a freight train to go from Algeciras or Barcelona directly to Hamburg or Stockholm.

A product labelled only in Estonian could be sold in Catalonia, but not a product labelled only in Catalan. The new rule authorises the Spanish Government to force all products in Spain to be labelled in at least one official language of the EU, and therefore ban products only labelled in Catalan from being sold within Catalonia. The new European rule aims to authorise Member States to prevent products from being labelled only in a non EU language, such as Chinese or Arabic, but it has consequences at local level. Three Catalan MEPs pushed for an amendment, but it was rejected.

Red Eléctrica, the corporation that operates the electricity transmission system and electricity grid throughout Spain and the French company RTE start work this year. This key infrastructure will enable transporting solar power from Northern Africa to Central Europe.