Catalonia

Sanchez Aragones

Espionage By The CNI And The Dealings Between Catalan Nationalists And Putin’s Collaborators

Luis Alcaide | Espionage and misunderstandings between Catalan supporters of Esquerra and Spanish supporters of the PSOE. The Spanish state, like any other, is doing its duty in the face of possible aggressions against its integrity and the liberty of its citizens. The director of the CNI, Paz Esteban, explains herself in the Congress of Deputies. The pro-independence parties and the most left-wing leftists do not quite accept the arguments…


Spain Catalonia

Almost A Thousand Companies Left Catalonia In 2021

Last year, 5,403 companies moved their headquarters from one Spanish region to another, almost 20% more than in 2020. More than 40% chose Madrid as their destination. Catalonia recorded the largest negative balance with the loss of 348 companies. The exodus of companies from Catalonia to other autonomous communities began in 2012 as a slow trickle. This was the result of the decision of former president Artur Mas to open…


Spain Catalonia

Living in Catalonia (I&II)

Clemente Polo | Living in Catalonia is becoming increasingly oppressive. Even for those of us who decided one day to pack our bags and move to an Autonomous Community that stood out from the rest for its social and cultural dynamism and its cosmopolitan vocation. When I was offered a place at the Autonomous University of Barcelona after giving a seminar in June 1984, nobody thought to ask me where…


Spain Catalonia

Living in Catalonia (I)

Clemente Polo | Living in Catalonia is becoming increasingly oppressive. Even for those of us who decided one day to pack our bags and move to an Autonomous Community that stood out from the rest for its social and cultural dynamism and its cosmopolitan vocation. When I was offered a place at the Autonomous University of Barcelona after giving a seminar in June 1984, nobody thought to ask me where…


Spain Catalonia

What Catalans Think

Fernando González Urbaneja | The latest poll published by La Vanguardia shows 39% of Catalans in favour of independence and 53% against. With these figures, it is understandable that ERC is opting for the slow road, to continue to stir up public opinion in order to achieve its goal, to reach its Ithaca. There was also a question on the language spoken at home: Spanish 41%; Catalan 29%; indistinct 30%. Everyone will draw their own conclusions, but the claim that Catalan society is unanimous or clearly in favour of the “indepes” proposals does not enjoy sufficient support. Conllevanza rather than coexistence.


spanish airports

Barajas As A Grievance

Fernando González Urbaneja | In its day, the Barcelona Fair was the most important in Spain, while Madrid’s IFEMA languished in the Casa de Campo. A visionary president of the Madrid Chamber of Commerce, Adrián Piera, imagined an ambitious IFEMA and the socialist mayor at the time, Tierno Galván, had faith in him (“if you say so, Piera, you’ll be right”). There was more support and competitions, but the Feria…


Catalonia referendum

The Supreme Court Rejects The Pardon For The 12 Catalan Coup Perpetrators And Says “It is an Unacceptable Solution”

The fact that Pedro Sánchez needs the support of ERC (the party of many of the Catalan politicians imprisoned for sedition) to stay in government, prevents the Prime Minister’s argument from being heeded: “Revenge is not a constitutional value,” he says. The 12 imprisoned pro-independence politicians have refused to request a pardon and have publicly reiterated they would be willing to call an illegal referendum like the one on October,…


catalonia efimera

Separatist Parties Agree To Form New Government In Catalonia

Nick Ottens (Atlantic Sentinel) | Catalonia’s leading pro-independence parties have reached an agreement to install Pere Aragonès as regional president. Aragonés has been acting president since September, when Quim Torra of the center-right Together for Catalonia (Junts) was forced to step down. Aragonès’ Republican Left won the election in February. The agreement comes after three months of negotiations during which the Republicans raised the possibility of forming a minority government…


Pedro Sánchez falls short of majority but will likely prevail tuesday

COVID-19 Has Put Catalan Politics On Hold

Talks about transferring more power to the region, which Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez promised in return for the support of Catalonia’s Republican Left, were postponed when COVID-19 broke out in March and have yet to be rescheduled. So do snap regional elections Catalan president Quim Torra called for in January.


euco

The battle for EU’s top jobs is on- What are Spain´s chances?

Ana Fuentes | The musical chairs for top institutional renewal in Brussels has begun. At stake are the presidencies of the European Commission, the European Council, the European Parliament and the European Central Bank, as well as the representative for Unión diplomacy. For Spain, opportunities may open up. Yet the government has to deal with the after effects of the Catalan conflict, which has not questioned its democratic legitimacy, although it may compromise its margin of maneuver.