Politics
austerity
Politics
The Catalan Executive expects the Spanish establishment to make an offer regarding Catalonia’s self-government
Politics
Catalonia registered a 1.06% deficit by the end of August, in line with the 1.58% target for the entire year
Politics
A last-minute protocol change makes the Catalan President cancel a dinner with the Spanish Deputy Prime Minister
Politics
The Spanish Government imposes an €8 billion budget adjustment on the Autonomous Communities in 2014 and 2015
Politics
The Spanish Government announces in October that €1.7 billion will not be transferred to the Catalan Executive this year
Politics
A self-determination vote without a ‘third way’ and a more social budget for 2014
Politics
The Catalan President asks for a broad agreement to define the legal framework for a self-determination vote in 2014
Society
Ambulance workers go on strike in Catalonia for four days but essential services are guaranteed
Politics
1,060 companies moved from Catalonia to Madrid for tax reasons since 2010, according to Madrid’s Government
Politics
Catalonia has 41 civil servants per 1,000 inhabitants while the Spanish average is 57
Politics
The Spanish Government imposes a 1.58% deficit target for Catalonia and €2.6 billion of further budget cuts
Politics
Catalonia is the 3rd Autonomous Community paying the most and the 10th in amount of funds received from the Spanish Government
The Catalan Executive has published the liquidation of Spain’s fiscal redistribution scheme of 2011. That year, Catalonia was the 3rd Autonomous Community paying the most taxes per citizen in Spain, with a 119.1% rate if the average were 100%. However, after the Spanish Government’s redistribution of money through services and investments, Catalonia was the 10th territory in spending per capita, with a 99.4% rate, below the average. In 2011, Catalonia received €16.91 billion, 3% less than in 2010. The region of Madrid was the Autonomous Community paying the most, since Spanish Government bodies and many multinational companies are based there. It was followed by the Balearic Islands, which received 12.3 million tourists while its population is just 1.1 million.
Politics
The Catalan Ombudsman states its resolutions cost 14 times less than those of the Spanish Ombudsman
The Catalan Ombudsman, Rafael Ribó, accused the Spanish Government of trying “to manipulate” data in its report last week, in order to push forward a recentralisation reform, which “goes against the self-government principle”. Ribó explained that the Spanish Ombudsman undertook 33,849 actions in 2012, which means each action cost an average of €428. In addition, it refused to accept 20,164 complaints. Meanwhile, the Catalan Ombudsman undertook 25,073 actions, with a cost of €279 each. The Catalan institution only rejected 267 complaints. Regarding resolutions and recommendations, the Spanish Ombudsman issued 548 while the Catalan body issued 3,635. This means that each resolution by the Spanish body cost €26,447 while the Catalan’s cost €1,925, which is 13.75 times less.
Politics
Catalonia rejects giving away power recognised by its main law and regrets the Spanish Government's recentralisation
On Friday, the Spanish Government approved a €37.7 billion reform of Spain’s public sector which fosters the elimination of Autonomous Community bodies considered to be “redundant”. Instead of directly obliging the Autonomous Communities to eliminate them – which might be very tricky legally speaking, the Spanish Executive will link their suppression to the deficit targets allowed to the regional governments and the funds provided. However, in the case of Catalonia, most of the bodies included in the reform are recognised by Catalonia’s main law, approved in 2006 by the Spanish Parliament and through a binding referendum. The Catalan Government and most of the political parties are accusing the Spanish Executive of trying to recentralise Spain. In addition, the Catalan President said that unfortunately Madrid “teaches lessons” but “does not do its homework” and eliminates Ministries without competences.