Barcelona council to host event to help newcomers to city
Free session will explain practical everyday issues of living in Catalan capital
foreigners
Internationals join SOS Costa Brava conservation group
Organization fights to protect Catalonia’s northern coast from further housing development
Vaccinated foreigners without health cards outraged at inability to get EU certificate
Catalan authorities "working" to solve issue as Spain says it offers alternative but only for those with electronic IDs
Record foreign tourist spending in Catalonia in first quarter of 2015; 12.6% increase
Foreign tourists spent a record €2.289 billion in Catalonia in the first quarter of 2015, 12.6% more than in the same period last year, according to the Tourist Expenditure Survey (EGATUR) of the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism. This figure surpasses the previous records set in the first quarters of 2014 and 2013, official results published on Monday reveal. This year, the average amount spent per stay in Catalonia between January and March amounted to €854 per foreign visitor, 7% more than in 2014. The average daily spend was €142 per person during this period, 8.3% more than the first quarter of 2014. Catalonia accounted for 21.3% of foreign tourist spending in Spain during the first 3 months of 2015, while total spending by foreign tourists amounted to €10.764 billion, also a new peak.
Catalan Government specifies "there is no deadline" for November's vote and insists it will take place
On Tuesday the Spokesperson for the Catalan Government and Minister for the Presidency, Francesc Homs, emphasised that "there is no deadline" to decide whether the self-determination consultation vote will take place, which is scheduled for the 9th of November but which has been temporarily suspended by the Constitutional Court. The previous day, Homs had stated that between the 13th and 15th of October a decision should be made regarding some of the preparations for the vote, since they cannot be put in place just before opening the polling stations, a statement which was widely interpreted as a deadline. This statement caused an upset reaction by the government's ally, the left-wing independence party ERC. Moreover, the Catalan Government has appointed the members of the 7 territorial electoral bodies that will supervise November's vote and has started to receive registration petitions from foreign-national voters.