The Catalan Government approves a support program that will advise the promotion and development of activities from the Union for the Mediterranean Secretariat, whose headquarters are in Barcelona. It will provide advice on Euro-Mediterranean policy and projects, until the UfM has enough resources of its own.
The UfM Secretary General, Youssef Amrani, wants “international mobilisation” to support Libya's reconstruction and the democratic process. Amrani stated that the UfM backs Libya's new period.
The President of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, supports the Union for the Mediterranean initiative. The UfM decided to build its first project in Gaza: a desalinisation water plant and distribution system. Abbas will meet with the new Secretary General of the UfM, Youssef Amrani, who took office last week.
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.
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.
In 2010, Catalonia exceeded the pollution limits for nitrogen oxide defined by the European Union, but not for the polluting particles. The large number of diesel vehicles would be one of the main causes. An extension until 2015 has been asked by the Catalan Government.
‘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.
During last year all signposts have been unified, beach bars have been enhanced and a new urban plan has been presented. The Catalan coastal town of Sitges (20 km south from Barcelona) is ready for the sunny season.
The budget austerity measures and the reduction of the public deficit have forced the restructuring of the Catalan Government’s offices abroad and have also impeded the opening of new ones. The Catalan Vice President Joana Ortega explained these changes to the Catalan Parliament’s External Action and European Union Committee.
Foreseeing a negative decision the Catalan Government already modified the law in 2009. The sentence declares illegal certain aspects of the law approved in 2005, such as conditioning the establishment of large retail centres to the expected effect on existing small businesses in the area or on the market share.
The Spanish Government will invest 25.4 billion euros up until 2020 in this strategic railway infrastructure for goods transportation that will link Spain’s Mediterranean seaports with Central and Northern Europe. The European Commission has to decide in the next 3 months whether the transport axis is a European priority.
The President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso met with the President of the Catalan Government Artur Mas in Brussels. Barroso recognised the Catalan Government's efforts to reduce public deficit. Mas emphasised the importance of making Catalan an official EU language. Mas was accompanied by the Christian-Democrat Josep Antoni Duran i Lleida and the new Catalan Delegate to the European Union, Joan Prat.
The Mediterranean Railway Corridor has been constantly overlooked even though it is a key infrastructure for Catalonia, Valencia, Murcia, Andalucía,and also for Spain and even the European Union. In the last few years, the Socialist Spanish Government was constantly pushing for the Central Pyrenees Corridor (going through the Pyrenees in Aragon) for electoral and regional equilibrium reasons but the Mediterranean one was hardly mentioned. Is the EU going to include the Mediterranean Railway Corridor in its agenda?