reform

Catalan Minister for Education aims to repeal Spanish Education Reform, considers it “ideological”

November 28, 2016 06:31 PM | ACN

The Catalan Minister for Education, Meritxell Ruiz, asked her counterpart in the Spanish Government, Íñigo Méndez de Vigo, to prove the willingness of the Spanish executive to “dialogue” by suspending the additional regulation of the Education Reform (LOMCE) which foresees that the Catalan Government has to pay 6,000 euros for each pupil who wants to receive education in Spanish in private schools. According to Ruiz, “whether this new path of dialogue actually starts or not” will depend on “the Minister’s answer to this petition”. The LOMCE “is an ideological law”, stated Ruiz this Monday, before meeting the Spanish minister in Madrid and added that the law, which now the new Spanish Government has opened to modification, “is terrible from a pedagogical perspective” and “breaks apart the Catalan education system”. 

Party Review – PSC: “Pro-independence process goes nowhere”

June 22, 2016 07:08 PM | ACN

The Catalan Socialist Party (PSC) obtained 7 MPs in the last Spanish Elections, half of what they obtained in 2011. Although their partner in Spain, the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) was the second force in the 350-seat Spanish Parliament, PSC suffered a huge decline in Catalonia, mainly due to its refusal to hold a referendum on independence and also because it is regarded as a party from the ‘establishment’ in comparison to new forces such as Spanish Unionist ‘Ciutadans’ and Alternative Left ‘Podemos’. To try to reverse this negative trend, PSC decided to change its lead candidate for the upcoming Spanish Elections, to be held on the 26th of June. Former Spanish Minister for Defence, Carme Chacón, was replaced by Meritxell Batet, who has insisted on reforming the Spanish Constitution in order to solve the political problem between Catalonia and Spain.

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Catalonia is working on timetable reform

June 3, 2016 07:29 PM | Cèlia Roura

The Timetable Reform Initiative is a Catalan organisation created to achieve more reasonable working hours and greater reconciliation between work and family. Last year, a Catalan Parliamentary commission studied this reform, and this year, the legislative changes will create a timetable law.Last week, the General Secretary of the Commerce Confederation of Catalonia (CCC), Miquel Àngel Fraile, said that Catalan trade is willing to join a “D-Day” to mark the start of the time reform in Catalonia. For the past few weeks, the village of Prats de Lluçanès, in Barcelona region, has been at the forefront of time reform in the hospitality sector with a pilot programme that proposes that restaurant owners advance the opening hours of their establishments.

Sánchez suggests a “political agreement with Catalonia” as part of reform of the Spanish Constitution

May 30, 2016 06:56 PM | ACN

PSOE’s leader, Pedro Sánchez, proposed a “political agreement with Catalonia” which would be bilateral and in the context of the reform of the Spanish Constitution foreseen by the Spanish Socialists. According to PSOE’s candidate for Spanish President, this agreement would “recognise” Catalonia’s “singularity” and “improve its self-government” while always “respecting the implications of the principle of equality”. However, Sánchez didn’t specify whether this agreement would imply a new Statute of Autonomy for Catalonia. This bilateral agreement is one of the proposals in the document “Commitments for a ‘yes’ to the government of change” which PSOE presented this Monday. Another one is a possible reform of the funding scheme of the Autonomous Communities which would start in the next two months. 

PSOE and ‘Ciutadans’ reach an agreement and will oppose “any attempt” to hold a referendum in Catalonia

February 24, 2016 01:57 PM | ACN

Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) and anti-Catalan nationalism ‘Ciutadans’ have agreed to form “a reformist and progressive” government. The 66-page document, which both parties signed this Wednesday, includes the commitment to oppose “any attempt to hold a referendum with the objective of launching the auto-determination of any territory in Spain”, in clear reference to Catalonia’s push for independence. The document also aims to launch, during the first month of the term of office, an ‘express reform’ of the Spanish Constitution and start writing a new project at the beginning of 2017. Thus, ‘Ciutadans’ will support PSOE leader Pedro Sánchez’s investiture in the upcoming debate, which will take place on the 1st of March. However, together both parties have only 130 seats, far from the 176 required to invest Sánchez in the first round.

Party Review - Anti-Catalan Nationalism ‘Ciutadans’: “Catalonia doesn’t have the right to self-determination”

December 15, 2015 03:13 PM | ACN / Sara Prim

Anti-Catalan Nationalism Ciutadans is a party born and raised in Catalonia. Although its trajectory has been short, they experienced the highest growth in the past 27-S Catalan elections and became the second force in the Parliament, with 25 MPs. Now they are running for the Spanish Elections for the first time and many polls forecast a great result for them. “Being Catalan doesn’t mean supporting independence” stated Ciutadans’ candidate for Barcelona, Juan Carlos Girauta, and criticised current Catalan President Artur Mas for assuming “what the majority of Catalans want even before they vote”. The party’s position regarding Catalonia’s push for independence has always been clear “Spain’s sovereignty is not negotiable” warned Girauta and assured that “the right of self-determination is only applicable to colonies and countries subjected to tyranny” and therefore “not for Catalonia”.