The Generalitat announces €4.4 billion in industrial investment over five years

BarcelonaThe Minister of Business and Employment, Miquel Sàmper, announced this Thursday that the Generalitat (Catalan Government) will invest €4.4 billion between 2026 and 2030 within the framework of the new National Pact for Industry. The figure exceeds the industrial investment planned in the previous pact, for the years 2022 to 2025, which is 3.27 billion, including European funds.

This September, the government began the process and discussions to draft the new pact before the end of 2025. The executive's first document, which Sámper described as a "starting point," includes 166 measures that focus on the reindustrialization of the productive fabric, strategic industrial sectors, and the energy transition toward renewable sources to meet the climate goals set by the European Union.

Sàmper appeared before the Parliament's Economic Committee to present the plan and asserted that, unlike the last agreement, this time the chamber will have to play a central role in drafting the final document. In addition to the parties represented in Parliament and the Government, employers' associations, unions, and social and economic organizations will also be able to make proposals. "The resulting document will be a national agreement and not a simple technical exercise," said the minister.

The head of the Ministry of Business and Employment praised the Catalan industrial sector and highlighted its greater weight within the Catalan economy compared to the industry of the rest of the country, especially in the export sector (Catalonia represents less than a fifth of the Spanish economy, but accounts for a quarter of the economy). However, he added that one of the challenges facing the Catalan economy is to increase productivity, which has occurred in recent years, but that it still needs to continue growing to reach the level of other European countries.

In this regard, the pact provides for a strategy to improve water management in Catalonia and the promotion of sectors of geostrategic importance for the EU, such as superconductors and microchips. Sàmper also advocated for further promotion of vocational training in order to increase the percentage of industrial workers with medium and high levels of training beyond university.

Trade War Aid

Beyond the National Pact for Industry, Sámper also informed the deputies about the support policies for companies affected by the US administration's trade war. In principle, the United States is not the main destination for Catalan exports (less than 5% of Catalan product sales abroad go to the North American market), but the tariffs approved by US President Donald Trump have affected some sectors of the Catalan economy.

Specifically, the Department of Business and Labor has assisted some 200 companies experiencing difficulties due to the new trade barriers imposed by Washington on European companies. In April, the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, already announced the relocation of 1.5 billion euros of the executive's accounts to mitigate the effects of Trump's trade policy.

Looking ahead to the coming months, the Government aims to launch a public-private program to help more companies export and, in parallel, will present the 2026 calendar for Accion, the Generalitat's competitiveness agency.