catalunya

The Catalan Government’s grant will be reduced by 14% and revenue from advertising is expected to decrease by 10%. The budget reduction has been approved with loud protests from the workers, since it will mostly affect labour costs, which may plummet by 18%. Since 2010, the production and investment budget has dropped by 50%. The Catalan Public Television Broadcaster’s main station, TV3, has been clearly leading audience rankings in Catalonia for most of the years since its creation in 1983. The majority of the political parties and citizens in Catalonia support strong public television and radio stations. The idea of reducing the TV3 budget has been constantly presented by Spanish nationalists as the way to reduce Catalonia’s public deficit despite the €225 million public grant only representing 5% of the total budget adjustment to be accomplished in 2013.

Throughout this week the Formula One Test Days have been held at the Montmeló racetrack, located in Greater Barcelona’s northern area. While all the teams try to optimize their performance capacity, Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso has been the fastest driver this week. The Circuit has been a hive of activity thanks to other parallel activities of the event, such as guided tours. The Formula One Test Days at the Catalunya Circuit are back next week between the 28th February and 3rd March, just two weeks before the Formula One official season starts in Australia.

Spanish Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso was the fastest driver this week at the Montmeló F1 circuit, leading the field Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday during the Formula 1 Test Days. However, the lap record was recorded by McLaren’s new driver, Mexican Sergio Pérez, who needed just 1 minute 21.848 seconds to complete the Catalan track.

The former President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has collected the ‘Premi Internacional Catalunya’, a prestigious prize recognising individuals who have greatly contributed to the development of cultural, scientific and human values around the world with their work. In the award ceremony held in the Palace of the Catalan Government, in Barcelona, Lula da Silva has asked Catalans and Europeans “to fight to guarantee the Welfare State”, which was achieved with so much effort. He also praised Catalonia as “a moral and political model for all democratic people” and “a world symbol of the fight for freedom and social progress”. The award was announced in April but the ceremony was postponed due to Lula da Silva’s recovery process after he suffered from cancer.

The Circuit de Catalunya hosts the Formula Student Spain 2012 competition with over 700 participants from nine countries. The competition is designed to test the student’s knowledge and engineering skills over four days, in a competition judged by experts from the automotive industry. The competition is valued by the participants as a valuable experience with the chance to work as an engineer with a Formula 1 team.

In MotoGP the victory of Spanish rider Jorge Lorenzo and Catalan rider Dani Pedrosa’s second spot on the podium riveted the thousands of fans that came to the Catalunya Circuit at Montmeló, as did the victory of Catalan promise Maverick Viñales in the Moto3 category. However, in Moto2 local favourites Marc Márquez and Pol Espargaró clashed leaving Espargaró out of the race and Márquez in 3rd position. Victory in the Moto2 category was for Italian Andrea Ianone.

This weekend, Grand Prix motorcycle racing returns to the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmeló (Greater Barcelona) for the fifth race of the world championship in all three categories. Catalan racers are the favourites at MotoGP, GP2 and GP3 levels based on current form. From the very beginning, Catalonia opted for the motor racing industry. The Catalan circuit has a contract for the motorcycle Grand Prix until 2016 and it has been known recently that the Barcelona City Council and the Provincial Council of Barcelona are going to invest money in order to preserve as much as possible the activities

This weekend, Catalonia’s Formula 1 track, located in Montmeló, in Greater Barcelona, will once again organise the Spanish Grand Prix. As from next season however, the race will combine its venue between Catalonia and Valencia. In 2013 the race will be held in Montmeló, but in 2014 Catalonia will leave its place to Valencia. The decision to alternate venues was taken by racing mogul Bernie Ecclestone some weeks ago as a solution to both circuits’ financial problems. CNA investigates whether the local economy could suffer losses due to this decision.

The bank created from Catalan savings bank CatalunyaCaixa is expected to be sold within the next two months. CatalunyaCaixa was intervened by the Bank of Spain last September 30th, as it could not reach the required core capital. The Spanish Fund for Orderly Bank Restructuring (FROB), owned by the Spanish State, currently owns 89.74% of CatalunyaBanc. The FROB has decided to disinvest in the Catalan bank, which starts a competition process that will sell 100% of CatalunyaBanc’s shares.

The former President of Brazil has been awarded this prestigious International prize that recognises individuals who have decisively contributed with their work to the development of cultural, scientific and human values around the world. Last year’s winner was the Japanese writer Haruki Murakami. Other winners are Jimmy Carter, Aung San Suu Kyi, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Harold Bloom, Jacques Yves Cousteau, Karl Popper, Amartya Sen, Václav Havel, or Jacques Delors. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been honoured with the prize for “his policies at the service of fair economic growth”, significantly reducing poverty in Brazil.

Gaudi’s buildings, Dali’s Museum of Figueres, and Montserrat Monastery, usually far away from one another, are some of the emblematic Catalan features that can be seen in ‘Catalunya en miniatura’. Unveiled in 1982, and celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2012, this miniature park presents, in a small format, the most important buildings, monuments and culture of Catalonia. It is the world’s largest tourist and cultural complex in miniature, and the only one in Spain. Now, the model park, a family business, has begun a new period with the NGO Dianova International buying more than a half of its shares.

Bernie Ecclestone has confirmed that both circuits will share one Grand Prix from 2013. That year the race would be held in the Catalunya Circuit and València would not host any F-1 race. In 2014, it would be the other way around. Due to the economic crisis, the Catalan Government proposed this solution to the Valencian Executive in May 2011, but they refused. Now, Valencia’s Government has confirmed the agreement, which still needs some details to be confirmed such as the date in which it will be held. Catalonia has host a Formula-1 Grand Prix since 1991 in a racing circuit in Greater Barcelona. València organised its own Grand Prix from 2008 onwards.

Catalonia is fast becoming an international reference point in research projects thanks mainly to a large number of articles being produced and exchange initiatives with other countries being set up. Catalan research centres, especially medical and technical institutions, have accomplished an important level of international recognition after a relatively short period of time.

The Catalan public television and radio broadcaster continues to lead the audience share in Catalonia. Regarding newspapers, ‘La Vanguardia’ tops the ranking in Catalonia, followed by ‘El Periódico’. The number of consumers choosing newspapers in Catalan has grown by 29% in the last year, thanks to the recently created ‘Ara’ and the new edition of ‘La Vanguardia’ in Catalan. This totals 48% of its readers.

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.