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An exquisite performance saw Barça put eight past Osasuna-five in the first half- at the Camp Nou tonight, with strikes from Messi (3), Villa (2), Cesc, Xavi and an own goal from Roversio.

The Barça manager Josep Guardiola has defended his team’s methods against Real Sociedad and AC Milan despite the results. “I only expect my players to behave like they have done these last few days”, he said.

Brussels believes it is "unlikely" to relapse into a second recession but warned that the possibility "can not be excluded". The European Commission has not lowered its growth forecast for Spain or the whole of the Euro area despite the financial turbulences of the last weeks.

The Catalan Government appealed the order of the Catalan Supreme Court, which insisted that the Catalan school system should be modified in order to comply with the Spanish Supreme Court’s sentence from last December to include Spanish as language of instruction. With the Government’s appeal, the Court’s deadline is automatically suspended, until the Court decides on the appeal. The appeal is based on two sentences from the Spanish Constitutional Court validating the Catalan school model, as well as on the linguistic immersion principle which guarantees social cohesion and equal opportunities.

A parliamentary motion has been approved, backing the Catalan linguistic immersion model at public schools. It was approved with the votes of all of the parliamentary groups except those from the People’s Party (PP) and the Unión Progreso y Democracia (UPyD). The motion received 192 “yes” votes and 148 “no” ones. It is the Spanish Parliament’s answer to the controversy over Spanish as language of instruction in Catalan public schools.

The inter-annual rate shows four consecutive months of price decline which has not been seen since November 2008.

This Monday Catalan pupils begin their school year. 1,280,232 students from elementary, primary and secondary education returned to the classrooms with normality. However, controversies are lingering over this year. The Catalan language at schools, the sixth hour of tuition and budget restrictions all frame the school year’s kick off. The day finished with teacher and parent demonstrations in front of town halls defending the Catalan school model.

FC Barcelona have drawn at Real Sociedad in a game that seemed under control after Xavi and Cesc had scored early goals. However, the Catalans lost control of things in the second half, and allowed the home to score twice in a minute.

The Catalan Supreme Court of Justice issues a court order giving the Catalan Government 2 months to change the current school model and include Spanish as a school language of instruction. The Government will appeal. Teacher unions and the main parent associations back the current model. Currently, Catalan is the language used and Spanish is taught in school but only as a subject. For the Catalan Government, the court decision breaks a model praised by international organisations, which guarantees social cohesion and the knowledge of both languages by all pupils.

The Constitutional amendment limiting public deficit in Spain has been only approved with the votes from the PSOE and the PP at the Spanish Parliament. Four parties decided to quit the plenary room at the moment of the voting, whilst the Catalan moderate nationalists and the Basque moderate nationalists stayed but decided not to vote. They complained about the way the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) and the People’s Party (PP) have negotiated and agreed on the second constitutional reform without the input of the other parties.

“It means that we are not wanted, we are excluded, we are ignored” stated Artur Mas, President of the Catalan Government and leader of the Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Coalition (CiU). It was the first time he has spoken on the Constitutional amendment limiting the public deficit that has been agreed on only between the PSOE and the PP. The CiU has protested against reforming the Constitution solely on the basis of the agreement of only two parties. Members of the PP and the PSOE have been trying to convince the CiU to support what both parties had previously agreed, and PM Zapatero (from the PSOE) asked the CiU to show some “moderation”.

Meanwhile, the Catalan Government, run by the Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Coalition ‘Convergència i Unió’ (CiU), announces its own law on budget stability. The CiU feels excluded from the reform of the Spanish Constitution to limit public deficit, especially as they had been one of the key actors when negotiating and approving the Constitution in 1978. The CiU’s Spokesperson warned that, since “the Constitutional consensus” had been broken by the PP and the PSOE, “a great clash with unforeseeable and undesired consequences will happen” if nothing changes.

FC Barcelona won Villareal with an exhibition of football, and made it clear that at this season’s Spanish League they’ve come back even hungrier. Three of the four new players, Thiago, Cesc, and Alexis, scored in the game, and Messi scored twice.

The Catalan Socialist Party (PSC) decides not to break the Socialists’ unity and not to force a call for a binding referendum on the constitutional amendment. In addition, the PSC rejects the request of the Centre-Right Catalan Nationalist Coalition (CiU) to include within the Constitution a limitation not only the public deficit but also a limitation on inter-regional fiscal redistribution. Moreover, the CiU stated that it has been excluded from the Constitution’s modification and therefore the Constitutional consensus is now broken.

After their European Super Cup win on Friday, Barça make their La Liga debut at the Camp Nou on Monday with a big game against Villarreal (21.00h CET). Pep Guardiola faces a defensive headache because of injuries and suspensions.