Politics

Last Sunday Socialist candidate François Hollande won the French presidential elections. After 17 years of conservative government the French voted for change including the French community of Catalonia, which had the possibility to express itself in 19 polling stations set up all around Catalonia. Between the first round of voting -two weeks ago- and the second round, the rate of electoral participation in Catalonia increased from 37,5% to 42%. The Franco-Catalan community came out strongly in favour of the Socialist candidate, with 52.79 % for Hollande as against the figure of 42.21% who voted for Sarkozy.

April was the second consecutive month that experienced a fall in unemployment in Catalonia. Last month there were 2,526 fewer people registered as unemployed in Catalonia. The total number of jobless people was 635,721. In Spain, unemployment decreased by 6,632, a 0.14% drop, totalling 4,744,235 jobless individuals at the end of April. In Catalonia, unemployment decreased in the coastal provinces of Girona and Tarragona.

The President of the European Central Bank, whose Governing Council met in Barcelona on May 3rd, praised the Spanish Government’s “significant effort” made in a “very short period of time” to approve structural reforms. However, Mario Draghi, asked Spain “to persevere” in the strategy based on austerity and accomplish further reforms. The ECB’s President emphasised Europe’s need to adopt measures strengthening economic growth but without abandoning the principles of austerity. Draghi recommended continuing to reduce public spending in order to control the deficit. As expected, the ECB is maintaining the interest rate at 1%.

Coinciding with the European Central Bank Governing Council organised in Barcelona, the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, met with Mario Draghi and other members of the ECB Governing Council. Mas took the opportunity to explain to the ECB the Catalan Government’s austerity measures and its efforts to reduce Catalonia’s public deficit. He also spoke of his party’s support to all the reforms taken at Spanish level, despite being unpopular. However, Mas warned the ECB President that reducing the deficit too fast in the middle of an economic recession might worsen the crisis.

The President of the European Parliament is visiting Barcelona; coinciding with the European Central Bank Governing Council meeting that is taking place in the Catalan capital. Schulz asked Member States to be less focused on “budget cuts” and start “working together”, otherwise there is a great risk that the EU might end up “failing”. The German politician praised Catalan culture, and reaffirmed his will to push for Catalan being an official language in the Parliament he chairs. Schulz met with the Catalan President, Artur Mas, as well as with Catalan author Jaume Cabré.

Unemployment in Catalonia reaches a new historical record with 836.900 people registered as out of work. Spain’s unemployment rate at the end of March was 24.44%, reaching a total figure of 5,639,500 jobless people. The Spanish Vice President said on Friday that Spain is living “the harshest moments” of the crisis and that the data show that reforms need to be pursued. The Catalan Government criticised the Spanish Government for reducing the budget for employment policies by 56% due to be implemented in Catalonia in its budget proposal for 2012.

The Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad has published an interview with the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas. Mas states that “Catalonia’s intervention by Spain would be unthinkable” and “unfair, as no government has done as much as Catalonia's to adjust the economic situation”. Furthermore, he adds that “people’s reaction [against such an intervention] would be very strong”. NRC explains the austerity measures implemented by the Catalan Government to reduce its deficit, such as the drug prescription fee or public employee salary reduction. Furthermore, Mas complained that Spain’s Autonomies model has “decentralised spending but not revenue”; “we want to collect our taxes”, he affirmed, being another “state within a federal Europe”, contributing to regional solidarity.

The Catalan Government initially put €2.06 billion in one-year and two-year bonds on the market, but considering the high demand, it increased the offer up to €2.37 billion. 102,269 demands have been received.

The Spanish Finance Minister, Cristóbal Montoro, blamed the Autonomies and town halls for Spain’s public deficit. Montoro stated that the Spanish Government is meeting the deficit objective for 2012 with the results from the first quarter. However, Catalan MPs reminded Montoro that he is refusing to pay the money it owes Catalan institutions and that with this strategy he transfers the blame for the deficit by not transferring the funds. The Catalan Government directly accused the Spanish Executive for their “massive lie”. According to internal studies from the Catalan Government, the Spanish Executive made incorrect calculations by saying the Autonomies could save €10 billion in healthcare and education with last week’s measures.

In an interview with the Catalan Public Television Broadcaster, the Catalan President and leader of the Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Coalition (CiU) recognised that the Spanish Government could intervene the Catalan Government. “It could happen, I won't deny it”, he said. Furthermore, he warned that “the mistrust level will be very high” if the Spanish Government does not pay the money it owes the Catalan Executive. Mas said that “if Madrid wants to intervene Catalonia’s self-government”, he would call early elections. In addition, he said that further budget cuts will be needed.

The day after the Spanish Government imposed increasing the price citizens pay for medication, the Spokesperson for the Catalan Government confirmed that Catalonia will maintain the €1 drug prescription fee. The Catalan Health Minister had said earlier they would study if the drug prescription fee would be implemented. The main doctors union and Left-Wing opposition parties asked the Catalan Government to eliminate the drug prescription fee, because it would make Catalan citizens pay more for their medication than the rest of Spanish citizens.

The Spanish Minister of Health met with her counterparts from the Autonomous Communities to discuss measures to reduce healthcare spending by €7 billion. Pensioners will have to pay for 10% of their medication, with a maximum of between €8 and €18 per month depending on their income. Furthermore, people with a job will have to pay for 40% to 60% of the price, depending on their income. Besides, the number of pills will better adapt to prescriptions, drug purchases will be centralised and generic drug prescriptions will be fostered. Catalonia might not eliminate the drug prescription fee although the final decision will be taken once the impact of measures is fully studied. The Catalan Minister also emphasised that the main problem in Catalonia is “the system’s funding” and not expenditure, which cannot be further reduced.

The Catalan Government and many town halls throughout Catalonia have applied for credit funds facilitated by the Spanish Government to clear out all their arrears from 2011. The Spanish Government, together with several banks, have put €35 billion on the table for long-term credits for the Autonomies and municipalities to get rid of all their arrears with suppliers. The credit is to be returned in 10 years time, and they have to make no payments in the first two years. The Catalan Government presented 268,489 bills totalling €1.98 billion, corresponding to all its services as well as public companies and agencies. They represent 11.48% from the total €17.26 billion applied by the Autonomies.

The Spanish Minister for Education met with his counterparts from the Autonomous Communities and imposed 6 measures that must be adopted to save €3 billion. The Catalan Minister considers that three of the measures might invade powers managed by the Autonomies, and therefore the Spanish Government might be ruling beyond its jurisdiction. The Catalan Government will study them and does not rule out bringing the Spanish Government to the Constitutional Court. Nonetheless, the Spanish Minister reminded that, before a judge says the contrary, the measures are still obligatory. Besides, the Catalan Minister also emphasised the previous austerity efforts made by the Catalan Government also in Education, and the Spanish Ministry’s “lack of knowledge” about them.

Aguirre, President of Madrid's regional government, asked to return healthcare, justice administration and education powers, which are managed by the Autonomous Communities, back to the Central Government. Prime Minister Rajoy, the leader of the People’s Party (PP) –Aguirre’s party–, stated that a debate about the Autonomous Community model is “out of the question”. Furthermore the PP’s Catalan leader defended the current model, as Catalonia “exerts its self-government as established in the Constitution”. Besides, the Catalan President told Aguirre to return the powers she does not want to manage, but to leave Catalonia aside. He added that the current model was designed “to dilute Catalonia and the Basque Country’s self-governance claims”.