sweden

Manchester City coach praises millennia language spoken by 10 million people

‘Götheborg of Sweden’ spends winter in Catalan capital before sailing to Asia

Swedish consulate in Barcelona reported error to local authorities after receiving "several" complaints

The Nordic Council, including Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden debated the need for a “negotiated solution” between Barcelona and Madrid

A day after opening the delegation in Denmark, Catalan officials travel to Sweden for a debate about self-determination

For the first time ever, Catalonia took part in Almedalsveckan, a political festival with more than 50 years of tradition held annually on the Swedish island of Gotland. The Europahuset, which gathers together representatives from the European Parliament and the European Commission in Sweden, invited the Secretary General of the Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia (DIPLOCAT), Albert Royo and the Catalan Government’s General Director of Foreign Affairs, Maria Badia to discuss the challenges that Catalonia’s political process represents for the EU. Royo emphasised how the Spanish Government failed to respond to Catalonia’s demands in relation to a vote on independence. For her part, Badia relied on the EU’s pragmatism and predicted that it “will find the way to embrace Catalonia when the moment arises”.

The President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, presented on Monday the model for Catalonia's own Treasury, which will be developed should "the political conditions" be there, he stated. "This is the most serious attempt to build our own Treasury in the last 300 years", stressed Mas. "After two years of work, we are ready" to launch and Catalans should not waste "this great opportunity", he stressed. "Without our own Treasury, there is no real self-government", the Catalan President stated. The system would include Catalonia's own Tax Agency and  is inspired by the taxation authorities in countries such as Sweden, Denmark and Australia, which prioritise cooperation with taxpayers over controlling them. In these models, efforts are concentrated on severely persecuting tax evaders and underground economy, while the vast majority of tax-payers who deal correctly with their fiscal obligations receive assistance and have unlimited access to their fiscal data.

On Wednesday the Catalan pharmaceutical company Almirall announced that they have sold the rights to their respiratory subsidiary to the British-Swedish company AstraZeneca for the initial value of €653 million ($875 million), to be paid when signing the deal. Then, further payments could reach up to an additional €910 million ($1.22 billion), depending on the AstraZeneca's success in product development, new product launches and sales. This news comes after Almirall announced a €19.1 million net profit in the first two quarters of this year, an 8.5% increase from the same period last year. With this new operation it is expected that "a significant number" of employees from the Catalan company's respiratory subsidiary will be transferred to AstraZeneca.

In an article published on Tuesday in the prestigious ‘Financial Times’, the newspaper’s chief foreign affairs commentator, Gideon Rachman, deplored Madrid’s attitude towards Catalan independence claims, opposing it to the “peaceful” and “consensual” Scottish referendum process enabled by the British Government. The journalist underlined that “there are remarkably few examples of nations breaking up in a civilised way”, mentioning China’s relations with Taiwan, or Turkey’s attitude towards Kurdistan. “Even in democratic Europe, Spain is refusing to contemplate the idea of an independence referendum for Catalonia”, he added. London’s attitude regarding the Scottish case, on the other hand, should be viewed as “a model” for other separatist cases, recognising the UK as a union of nations and stressing the people’s right to decide.

The international expansion of Barcelona-based festival of electronic music, Sónar, continues. The first edition of Sónar Stockholm and the second edition of Sónar Reykjavik have attracted more than 12,000 attendees between them this past weekend. Both festivals have welcomed Nordic and international artists who performed in over 100 concerts on eight different stages. In the Icelandic capital, the festival was held in the Harpa Auditorium, at the very centre of the city. A total number of 8,900 visitors attended at least one of the 70 concerts spread over five stages. On the other hand, 40 concerts were scheduled on three different stages during Sónar Stockholm, which attracted 3,600 people, with several concerts sold out weeks ahead.

Abertis has reported that they have sold London Luton Airport to a consortium made up of publicly-owned Spanish Airport Authority (AENA) – which will own 51% - and Axa Private Equity (49%). The deal is said to be worth €502 million. It was estimated that the asset would have brought in €141 million to the company’s revenue and €46 million to the EBITDA for 2013. The transaction is currently pending approval from the competition authorities, the Spanish Government and Luton Borough Council.  It is part of Abertis’s strategy to modify its portfolio in order to optimise its asset base. Abertis reported last week that it has also made an agreement with ACN & HAS Airports Worldwide for the sale of Stockholm Skavsta and Belfast International airports.

The Hasselblad Foundation has awarded its 2013 prize to the Catalan photographer Joan Fontcuberta. The jury highlighted the fact that Fontcuberta “is one of the most imaginative contemporary photographers” today. This is the most prestigious award at international level in the field of photography. It comes with 1 million Swedish crowns (around €110,000). The award ceremony took place in Barcelona on Thursday evening. In October, Gothenburg’s Art Museum will hold an exhibition on Fontcuberta’s work. His creations “adopt original and playful conceptual perspectives, which particularly explore photography conventions, means of representation and claims to truth”, stated the jury.

The 17th edition of the International Animated Movie Exhibition of Catalonia, Animac, will take place once again in the Catalan city of Lleida, in western Catalonia. From the 28th of February to the 3rd of March, Lleida will become the capital city of international animated cinema once again, playing host to a large number of conferences, presentations, workshops and related activities about this entertainment industry. The exhibition’s program was announced in Barcelona at the CCCB, where the documentary maker Hanna Heilborn was invited to talk about her anti-slavery work ‘Slavar’. More than one hundred movies will be shown over five days in Lleida’s Animac.