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September has been a bad month for employment over the last number of years, but this past September is the worst in the last 11 years. The Spanish Government has blamed the budget cuts undergone by the Autonomous Communities for the unemployment increase. The Spokesperson for the Catalan Government considers Madrid’s statements as “offensive” and “pitiful”, and he stressed that the Spanish Government had asked them to double their public spending cuts. He also added that the Spanish Government has not paid the money that it owes.

The Catalan Government is obliged to reduce the public deficit and the public healthcare system is also subsequently affected by the budget cuts. Doctor and nursing unions are mobilised, while salary reduction and temporary lay offs are being discussed. Waiting lists have increased due to some hospital services being partially and temporarily closed, especially during the summer months. Many citizens have been protesting, in different demonstrations. The Catalan Health Ministry announced new maximum waiting times for severe interventions. In addition, some hospitals are reopening some operating rooms.

The Debate on the State of the Nation ended at the Catalan Parliament with the approval of several resolutions. After three days of debate, the resolutions were voted on Friday. One of them condemns the way in which the Spanish Constitution amendment was negotiated and passed, as it did not take into account parties that participated in the Constitution drafting and approval, and it also interferes with the financial autonomy of Catalonia. Another motion demands the Catalan Government to present the budget for 2012 before October 10th next.

The Catalan airline wants to consolidate its hub at Barcelona Airport. Spanair, partially owned by the Catalan Government, plans to transform Barcelona El Prat into an international hub in its own right.

The Catalan Government has approved the new Law of Budget Stability, which foresees a gradual and significant reduction of the deficit in the following years. The law permanently fixes an allowed deficit limit of 0.14% of Catalonia’s GDP from 2018, two years earlier than the deadline required by the Spanish Constitution’s modification. According to the Catalan Finance Minister, Andreu Mas-Colell, the law demonstrates Catalonia’s “strong commitment to budget stability”. In addition, the law creates a fund to return public debt, which will be filled with any additional revenues or budget surplus.

An agreement among the Hollywood majors, the movie theatres and the Catalan Government will increase the presence of American movies dubbed into Catalan. In 2011, only five Hollywood films were dubbed into Catalan. In 2012, 25 movies will be available in the language. The reason for this agreement is to promote the presence of the Catalan language in movie theatres, as currently Spanish almost monopolises the market.

The current Catalan Government, which took office last Christmas, hired an external auditor to better understand the state of the public finances. Deloitte has increased the Government’s deficit for 2010, from 3.86% to 4.2%, in line with the last data known and internally audited. The Catalan Minister for the Economy, Andreu Mas-Colell, explained that “one out of every three euros spent [in 2010] was not covered by tax revenues”. The main opposition party, which formed part of the previous Government and was in charge of finances, stated that their management cannot be made responsible for the deficit increase, as the deficit calculation criteria has changed.

As carried out on two other occasions in the last year, the Catalan Government is preparing to release of 3,800 retail bonds to get cash. Financial sources informed ACN about the operation, which has not been confirmed by the Catalan Ministry of Economy. The bonds would be offered before November 21st, the day that the bonds issued by the former Catalan Government in autumn 2010 expire.

The Catalan Government appealed the order of the Catalan Supreme Court, which insisted that the Catalan school system should be modified in order to comply with the Spanish Supreme Court’s sentence from last December to include Spanish as language of instruction. With the Government’s appeal, the Court’s deadline is automatically suspended, until the Court decides on the appeal. The appeal is based on two sentences from the Spanish Constitutional Court validating the Catalan school model, as well as on the linguistic immersion principle which guarantees social cohesion and equal opportunities.

The rating agency Fitch reduced Catalonia’s long term debt’s appreciation, going from A to A- because of the expected weak economic growth. Nevertheless, Fitch recognised the efforts to reduce the public deficit carried out by the Catalan Government. Fitch has lowered the debt rating of five Spanish Autonomous Communities and given others a negative perspective for the future. The Catalan Ministry of Finance thought that the reduction is due to “the international situation” and stressed that efforts are already made.

The innovative technology has a pencil to measure vital signs, an odour detector, a sound detector and two cameras. The Catalan Government's Fire Department and the French firemen from Marseille CEREM participate in the deisgn of the new device.

The Catalan Government approves the modification of the Worship Centres Law from 2009. Town halls will no longer be obliged to save plots for the construction of new religious centres. No architectonical aspects are banned but the law gives town halls the authority to decide on the conditions of construction regarding aesthetics. In some Catalan towns, there have been complex controversies regarding the construction of mosques in recent years. Some Catalan towns have more than a 30% immigrant population, most of who have arrived in the last 10 years. The current approach is to give the authority to each individual town hall to adapt to its local reality.

The Barcelona-based energy multinational and the Catalan Government have signed a cooperative agreement. The Catalan President Artur Mas emphasised that the Catalan multinational “is rising to what the country needs” in the current economic context.

The Catalan Supreme Court of Justice issues a court order giving the Catalan Government 2 months to change the current school model and include Spanish as a school language of instruction. The Government will appeal. Teacher unions and the main parent associations back the current model. Currently, Catalan is the language used and Spanish is taught in school but only as a subject. For the Catalan Government, the court decision breaks a model praised by international organisations, which guarantees social cohesion and the knowledge of both languages by all pupils.

The Catalan Government is reducing public deficit and cutting public spending by 10% this year. All areas are affected, including healthcare, which is one of the departments with a smaller percentage budget reduction. Last August, 25 community health centres (CAP) reduced their opening hours, closing their emergency room during nights and weekends as they were scarcely used; as of this September, another 21 centres in a similar situation have been added to the list. Citizens have been camping in some CAPs to protest about the decision.