lluís recoder

The President of the Catalan Government has formed a new Cabinet with more political weight controlled by some of the people closest to him, such as Francesc Homs and Germà Gordó, who have been promoted. Half of the previous ministers will continue in the same position, such as the Vice-President Joana Ortega and the Finance Minister Andreu Mas-Colell. The new Executive combines a few Social-Democrat figures – as a gesture towards the Left-Wing Catalan Independence Party (ERC) – with members of the Christian-Democrat side of the governing Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Coalition (CiU), in order to respect the internal equilibrium. The new Government has the objectives of organising the self-determination vote, reducing the public deficit and reactivating the economy.

IAG, the airlines group formed after the merger of British Airways and Iberia, has announced its plans to acquire 100% of Vueling’s capital. Iberia already has 45.85% of the Catalan airline. Now, IAG intends to buy the remaining 54.15%, equivalent to 16.2 million shares. IAG is offering €7 per share, 28% more than Vueling’s last trading price on the stock exchange market. Vueling is one of the few airlines in Europe making a profit. Catalan politicians are “worried” about the purchase, as Vueling is based in Barcelona El Prat Airport and is committed to its expansion. However, Iberia abandoned its plans to develop El Prat and has prioritised Madrid Barajas. A Catalan MEP has asked the European Commission about the possibility of there being a free competition obstacle.

The Catalan Government awarded Acciona’s joint venture the contract to manage Aigües Ter Llobregat (ATLL), the public company supplying drinkable water to an area of 5 million people. Acciona, a Brazilian investment bank, and other companies will pay €300 million in 2012 and €700 million within the next 50 years to run the concession. Privatising ATLL was a measure announced months ago, as part of the Catalan Government’s austerity plan to reduce its deficit in order to meet the imposed deficit targets. According to the press release, Acciona’s joint venture has been awarded the 50 year contract because “it offers a better price for the water” than the rival group of companies lead by the Catalan Agbar.

By early 2013 the Airport of Lleida-Alguaire, located in Western Catalonia next to the border with Aragon, will have a maintenance centre with a capacity to host up to 50 airplanes like the Airbus model A320. The private company AirHoster will invest €3 million in building the initial facilities. 75 jobs will be created, as well as a school to train technicians. The Lleida-Alguaire Airport has received very few flights since it opened its doors in January 2010, most of them run by tour operators bringing skiers to the Pyrenees.

As in the past, Catalonia will not receive the investment percentage it is legally entitled to by the current legislation. Instead of getting 19% of the foreseen investment in infrastructures made throughout Spain, in the Spanish Government’s budget for 2013 Catalonia will only receive 11.9%. Furthermore, essential infrastructures for Catalonia’s economy and Spain’s and Europe’s competitiveness are under-budgeted while the Spanish Government finds the money to build non-priority infrastructures, such as high-speed railways in Galicia. On top of this, only 35% of the public work initially foreseen in Catalonia by the Spanish budget for 2011 was executed, while in Madrid the work executed came to 111%. Besides, the Spanish Government has reduced its funds to Catalan cultural centres and festivals by 70% over two years.

The Catalan Minister for Territory and Sustainability, Lluís Recoder, has emphasised that “not attending a meeting as a protest does not mean not honouring the agreements”. Recoder was answering the Spanish Finance Minister, Cristóbal Montoro, who emphasised that all the Autonomies are obliged to meet the deficit and debt targets. Recoder said that Montoro’s words were not appropriate and unfair, since Catalonia has been leading austerity reforms and budget cuts in Spain.

Catalan political parties, business associations, and many citizens are outraged by the decision to increase toll prices in Catalonia, while in the rest of Spain there are many toll-free highways. The Catalan Transport Minister asked the Spanish Government to implement a “soft toll” throughout Spain, instead of increasing toll prices in Catalonia. He reminded that for some journeys within Catalonia, there are no free of charge alternatives to the tolled highways. Catalan nationalists see this measure as a new proof of Catalonia’s high fiscal deficit, paying much more to the rest of Spain than what it gets in return. The People’s Party (PP), running the Spanish Executive, asked the Catalan Government to reduce the price of its tolls.

Diverting the Ebro River to southern Spain was the aim of the National Water Plan that José María Aznar wanted to carry out during his term of office ten years ago. Now, Mariano Rajoy and Agriculture Minister Miguel Arias Cañete hope to bring it back. People from the Ebro Delta are ready to fight the battle again.

The enlargement of Barcelona Port, where Hutchison’s new container terminal will be located, was supposed to be linked by International-width standard railway to Central Europe and be better connected by road. However, the Spanish Minister for Transport and Public Works, Ana Pastor, announced that work cannot start this year; neither can she guarantee the provisional solution will be in place in June, when the new container terminal was supposed to start operating. Since the Spanish Government has not started the work, the technical studies have expired. “Hopefully they will be redone by the end of the year”, said Pastor.

After last week’s minor train accident, the Spanish Minister for Transport, Ana Pastor, wanted to personally check Barcelona Metropolitan Area’s railway infrastructure. Pastor has recognised that the Spanish Government had not invested the required amount in railway infrastructure in Catalonia. She said that €5.748 billion has not been invested. Many Catalan voices have criticised the Spanish Government’s lack of investment in key transport infrastructure for Catalonia’s economy.

A train has crashed into the end-of-track buffer in Mataró, north of Barcelona. 11 people have been injured; all of them with minor injuries except the driver, whose life is not at risk. The Catalan capital’s suburban train network has witnessed 7 minor accidents in the past year. The Spanish Government is responsible for the railways, including tracks, stations, power supply and navigation systems. Many Catalan citizens have demanded an urgent investment in maintenance services.

The participation of the Catalan business community and local governments in the management of Barcelona’s Airport has been halted. This has been a long-term claim by many in Catalonia, as they believe that the centralised management of the airports has clearly benefited Madrid over Barcelona. The new Spanish Minister for Public Works and Transport announced the decision to cancel the tender process to privatise the management of Spain’s two main airports, Madrid Barajas and Barcelona El Prat. The reasons for the decision have been put down to a negative time for the markets and a desire for the value of the assets to increase in the future.

British skiers are able to access the Catalan Pyrenees as of December with direct flights to Lleida Airport. The Spanish Government has authorised the arrival and departure of non-Schengen flights, coming from the likes of the United Kingdom and Russia. However, the authorisation’s delay forced a Russian tour operator to cancel the flights for this season and postpone them until next year.