oriol junqueras

The Catalan Government’s total projected spending for 2016 amounts to €23.7 billion, 1.5% higher than last year’s bill and sets a deficit equivalent to 0.7% of Catalonia’s GDP, the same as that for 2015. Catalan Vice President and Minister for Economy Oriol Junqueras handed the proposal this Tuesday to the Parliament’s President, Carme Forcadell.According to Junqueras, the 2016 budget is “the most realistic and social-oriented budget ever”. After presenting the draft, Junqueras met with representatives of all the groups in the Parliament except for pro-independence radical left CUP. The anti-capitalist group, who have a ‘stability agreement’ with the governing party, declined the invitation in protest against the police baton charge that occurred this past Monday in Barcelona’s Gracia neighbourhood after the eviction of a social centre.

The Catalan Government’s budget for 2016 has been drafted and €700 million more is to be allocated to social spending compared to the budget of 2015, according to the Catalan Vice President and Minister for Economy Oriol Junqueras. He also stated that the Health sector will see an increase of €317 million, while the Education budget will increase by €211 million and that of Social Services will grow by €173 million. An additional 50 million more euros are to be allocated to the sectors of Universities and Research, stated the Catalan Vice President. The budget will be increased for the first time in many years, with the goal of being “realistic” and avoid “generating expectations that cannot be satisfied”. The budget will be delivered this Tuesday to Parliament’s President Carme Forcadell and opened for discussion amongst the groups in the Catalan Chamber.

Less than 24 hours after meeting with her Catalan counterpart, current Spanish Vice President Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría announced that some articles of the Catalan law against energy poverty will be taken before the Constitutional Court (TC). Thus, Catalan Vice President Oriol Junqueras’ demands for the Spanish executive to “reconsider” this procedure haven’t been listened to. However, Santamaría nuanced that those precepts which are in relation to guaranteeing the energy supply to those who may be at social risk are not affected by the suspension. On the other hand, some measures oriented toward avoiding evictions have been suspended. Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, responded by saying that this measure leaves “in the open” the most vulnerable families.  

The creation of a joint pro-independence candidature in Catalonia to run for the upcoming Spanish elections on the 26^th of June would show that “sovereignism has won in the world’s eyes”. This is what former Catalan President, Artur Mas, stated in an interview with 8TV. He also admitted to being “willing” to do “whatever it takes” including leading this potential list, as “an act of service”. However, the Catalan pro-independence parties in the Spanish Parliament have different opinions regarding the possibility of running together on the 26-J. While former CDC ‘Democràcia i Llibertat’ consider the joint candidature as “the best formula”, left wing pro-independence ERC have insisted that “ideological diversity gets better results”.

Catalan Vice President, Oriol Junqueras met this Thursday with his Spanish counterpart Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría in what Junqueras described as a “very cordial but very difficult” encounter. One of the main subjects laid on the table revolved around the recent suspension of several Catalan laws by the Spanish Constitutional Court (TC). In reference to this, Junqueras accused the TC of acting according to “political interests” rather than considering those of the citizens and asked Sáenz de Santamaría to reconsider the suspension of the Catalan law against energy poverty, as they announced a few weeks ago. Junqueras regretted that the Spanish executive is only temporary “when it is in their interest”. Junqueras, who is also Catalan Minister for Economy and Tax Office, also referred to Catalonia’s deficit target set by the Spanish government and described it as “unfair, arbitrary and far from what citizens deserve”.

The Catalan vice president and Catalan Minister for Economy and Tax Office, Oriol Junqueras, stated that the Government “won’t make any cuts”and emphasised that Catalonia already allocates 70% of its budget to social policies and that 90% of the Government’s expenses are final. Junqueras’ statements come after the Spanish Finance Minister, Cristóbal Montoro, sent a letter to several Autonomous Communities in Spain urging them to “comply with the budget stability”. Montoro also nuanced that Catalonia’s deficit target in 2015, which was 2.7%, surpassed the maximum deficit established by the Spanish government by 0.7%. “If the Spanish Ministry wants to make cuts or shut down hospitals, it will have to come and do it itself”, warned Junqueras. He also emphasised that “the Spanish Finance Ministry has imposed so many cuts in the last years that any additional ones are simply inapplicable”.

Hard Rock’s president Hamish Dodds and the company’s vice president, Nelson Parker, met this Wednesday with Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and the Catalan government’s vice president, Oriol Junqueras, in order to outline to them the multinational’s aim to set up a Tourist Integrated Centre in BCN World which would represent a 2.5-billion-euro investment. However, the BCN World project, which is set to be built on the 800 hectares surrounding the Port Aventura theme park (on the Costa Daurada, near Tarragona), is currently on ‘stand-by’. The government is trying to find the greatest consensus possible amongst the different parties and institutions involved and President Puigdemont announced this week that a consultation may be set up to get to know the locals’ opinions. 

The members of the new Catalan executive took office this Thursday, more than three months after the 27th of September Catalan Elections resulted in the victory of pro-independence forces. Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, called them to be “aware” of the citizens’ assignment “without renouncing anything”. ERC’s leader Oriol Junqueras has been designed to assume the Vice presidency and led the Department of Economy and Tax Office, one of the key areas of the new executive. Another novelty is the creation of the department for Foreign Affairs, which will be led by former MEP and ‘Junts Pel Sí’s top member, Raül Romeva.

Left wing ERC leader and ‘Junts Pel Sí’ number five, Oriol Junqueras, considers it “irresponsible” to talk about elections and urged current governing party liberal CDC and radical left CUP “to be loyal to the country” and “try to find an agreement”. Junqueras noted the “sacrifices” that ERC has made in order to reach the present situation and urged the other pro-independence forces to “use up all the deadlines” as agreement “is still possible”. “Very complicated negotiations have been solved in a few days, even in a few minutes” he stated. According to ERC’s leader, an agreement is better than “a scenario full of uncertainties” which would be elections in March. 

The negotiations between the two main pro-independence forces in the Parliament over constituting a new government are still ongoing. After radical left CUP repeatedly stated that they won't re-elect Artur Mas as President, cross-party 'Junts Pel Sí''s candidate, the 27-S elections winning list presented this Thursday an alternative proposal: a draft to create three "government commissions" with delegated competences. Under this structure, Mas would continue to hold the Catalan presidency but left-wing ERC leader Oriol Junqueras, current Catalan vice-president Neus Munté and 'Junts Pel Sí' top member former MEP Raül Romeva would constitute a "Presidency's Board". The proposal also suggests holding a vote of confidence in 10 months' time to evaluate the evolution of the agreement.

Citizens all across Catalonia expressed their opposition to Catalonia's Supreme Court's decision to summons President Artur Mas, Catalan Minister for Education Irene Rigau and former vice-president Joana Ortega for organising the 9-N symbolic vote. This Tuesday, after Rigau and Ortega appeared before the court, thousands of people gathered together in front of their respective town halls, showing their support for the summonsed and declaring themselves guilty for participating in the 9-N consultation. The protests were organised by Alliance for the Right to Self-Determination of Catalonia ('Pacte Nacional pel Dret a Decidir'), a group of 1,500 institutions, political parties, trade unions, business organisations, professional associations, NGOs, cultural organisations and political pressure groups that support the celebration of a referendum in Catalonia. 

“Catalonia is not divided and it won’t be”, said Catalan President Artur Mas during the first big event of the cross-party coalition ‘Junts pel Sí’ (Together for Yes), which brings together members of the civil society and politicians from both right and left that favour independence. In a rally attended by 40,000 people, Mas defended that ‘Junts pel Sí’ is an example of the determination of the Catalan people, which have put ideological differences aside to achieve independence from Spain. The event in Barcelona was the official presentation of the candidates of the ‘Junts pel Sí’ ticket. The cross-party coalition led by former Green MEP Raül Romeva has already achieved support from up to 57.000 citizens that have signed up as symbolic “candidates” for the 27-S election. The poll is considered by many as a ‘de facto’ referendum on independence.

Lluís Llach, one of the most famous Catalan musicians and one of the main voices against Franco's dictatorship, will  top the pro-independence unitary list running in the Girona Province in the forthcoming Catalan elections, which should become a 'de facto' referendum on independence. In the Tarragona Province, the 'Junts pel Sí' pro-independence list ('Together for the Yes') will be topped by economics professor Germà Bel, an expert on infrastructure. The list groups together Liberal, Social-Democrat, Green, and Christian-Democrat politicians, as well as many independents and representatives from civil society. It will officially start the independence process if they win the elections and pro-independence parties obtain an absolute majority in the Catalan Parliament. The list is topped by former Eco-Socialist Member of the European Parliament, Raül Romeva, who is running in Barcelona Province.

The pro-independence unitary list for the next Catalan elections and the road map towards independence were officially presented on Monday evening at Catalonia's National History Museum. Liberals, Social-Democrats, Greens, Christian-Democrats, Socialists and civil society organisations are running together and transforming the 27 September elections into a 'de facto' plebiscite on independence. "What we are doing here is very strange but we are going through a very strange moment, extraordinary", stated former Member of the European Parliament, Raül Romeva, who is topping the unitary list. "We have tried everything" to hold a self-determination vote, but using the parliamentary elections is the only option left "to exercise our right to vote", stressed Romeva. The former Eco-Socialist MEP disclosed the main steps of the road map towards independence and also highlighted the main government priorities, particularly focusing on the people most in need. "This is the reason" why "we are doing this" and uniting under the name 'Together for the Yes'.

The current manager of FC Bayern Munich, Catalonia-born Pep Guardiola, will occupy the symbolic last position on the unitary pro-independence list running in the next Catalan Parliament elections, which groups together Liberals, Social-Democrats, Christian-Democrats, Socialists, Greens and civil society organisations, according to news released on Monday morning by the ‘El País’ and ‘El Periódico’ newspapers. The elections are scheduled for 27 September and many parties are planning to transform them into a ‘de facto’ plebiscite on independence after the Spanish Government’s unilateral blocking attitude for the last 3 years. For many people, this is the only way left to hold a legal vote on independence, after the Spanish Government has totally rejected even talking about the self-determination claims democratically expressed by a majority of Catalan citizens through the last Catalan elections in 2012 and many peaceful mass demonstrations.