Pere Mier (Figueres, 1952), a prominent figure in the technology world, with origins in the family business Mier Comunicacions and former president of employers' associations Ametic and Proespacio, among other roles, has been president for a few days of Open Cosmos, the company founded by a Majorcan, Rafel Jordà, and two Catalans, Aleix Megías and Jordi Barrera, and dedicated to the design, production, and operation of satellites. Mier explains from the company's headquarters in the Sant Andreu neighborhood of Barcelona that his role will consist of consolidating a group that is "among the fastest growing in Europe", based on "the democratization of access to space" to make it easier and cheaper. He adds that he will also play a role in the development of the defense and security industry within the Old Continent's objective of gaining strategic autonomy, because "space technologies are dual by definition".

Manufacturing is a source of quality employment, that is to say, of good salaries. It is therefore tempting to contemplate an attractive future for the Catalan economy as a smoke-free version of Català-Roca's photographs of a Poble Nou full of factories. I believe, however, that this will not be the case and that the combined forces of technological changes and internal and external competition will consolidate the historical trend towards a loss of manufacturing's weight in quality employment.

The Spanish Minister of Digital Transformation, Óscar LópezSpanish Minister of Digital Transformation, Óscar LópezIn his speech at the event, López called for "empowering Europe" to earn a place in "the industrial revolution that is changing the shape of the world." Although the leadership of these transitions is far from the 27 – the United States and China are benchmarks – the minister has championed a Spanish innovative fabric that "shines in disruptive technologies." In this regard, he highlighted the role of the Catalan technological institute, both in research and in the technological transfer of these new capabilities. The ICFO, he recalled, has already generated fourteen spin-off companies that are active in the market, and "projects like PIXEurope help to ensure that this trend continues."

As Pedro Sánchez announced at the end of last year, the Spanish government has set the goal that, by 2035, no more combustion vehicles will be sold. To achieve this, the head of the executive presented the Auto Spain 2030 Plan, also called the Auto+ plan, which, through 25 measures comprised in five pillars, aims to boost innovation in the automotive industry in Spanish territory. This Thursday, at an event held at Casa Seat in Barcelona, the sector presented the opportunities that the plan can create in Catalonia. "We have a historic opportunity to lead the new era of mobility," assured the CEO of Seat and Cupra, Markus Haupt.

It was planned that this Wednesday morning the future of the historic Barcelona industrial company Serra Soldadura would reach a turning point. After Aernnova – owner of the company since 2008 – filed for voluntary liquidation bankruptcy to dissolve Serra Soldadura, this Wednesday the auction of the two companies that form it was scheduled. However, as union sources explain to ARA, the auction has been declared void after no potential buyer has come forward. "We didn't expect this," explain CGT sources, which holds the union majority in the company.

The Nobel laureate in economics Paul Krugman very well described the importance of an economic variable that is fundamental, although it may be unknown to most citizens. "Productivity is not everything, but in the long run, it is almost everything," he said. The fact is that growing is one thing, and progressing or prospering is another. Or, more simply, volume or quantity is one thing – gross domestic product (GDP) is increasing and in Catalonia it has already exceeded 300 billion euros – and quality is another, that is, how this pie is distributed among all those who live in a given economy.

A harsh report on the state of the Catalan economy, prepared by several economists, criticizes the country's productive structure because several business sectors end up being, de facto, "highly subsidized" by the rest of the economic fabric. This current model has represented an "impoverishment" of Catalan society and a continuous loss of productivity of the business fabric compared to Europe in the last 25 years. "The country is bleeding out," summarized the report's coordinator, executive and engineer Xavier Roig.

The State has an industry law that dates back to 1992. It is a regulation that, in the eyes of the industrial sector, has become obsolete, especially in a context marked by geopolitical tensions and the questioning of the global order's playing field, and this situation has pushed the European Union to move towards strategic autonomy in order not to depend on other powers.

At a time marked by the tension in the global energy market due to the war in the Middle East, the large electricity-consuming industry in the State makes a united plea to reduce its electricity bill. The fuel, automotive, paper, chemical and pharmaceutical, food, cement, mineral raw materials, automotive components and steel sectors posed together this Thursday in Madrid, at the headquarters of the Spanish employers' association CEOE, to present their recipe for reducing industrial electricity costs by between 10% and 30%. Specifically, they propose five tax measures that they consider "indispensable" to have access to "affordable" electricity for Spanish industry and that is also "competitive" compared to other European partners, which, in the sector's opinion, "would curb" relocation processes.

Xavier Pujol, CEO of the Catalan automotive components manufacturer Ficosa, has achieved a majority in the group's shareholding after repurchasing the stake previously held by the Japanese multinational Panasonic. The operation, closed on March 27, once again places the majority of the capital in the hands of a member of the group's founding family, as Ficosa itself reported in a statement this Wednesday.

The Spanish defense and technology company Indra has begun trading on the stock market this Wednesday with an increase, hours after the departure from the shareholding of Escribano Mechanical & Engineering (EM&E) was announced, the company of brothers Ángel and Javier Escribano, who until Tuesday controlled 14.5% of the capital.

We are not getting out of the complicated loop of the educational crisis. After the announcement of the super-strike, which for the moment has only served to confirm the clash between the Government and the majority union, USTEC, two more pieces of news highlight the complicated panorama with education as a visible symptom of the country's crisis.

The industrial sector warns of a major mismatch between training supply and labor demand in the sector. A study carried out by KPMG, along with Amec (the national association of exporting companies), the College of Industrial Engineers of Catalonia, the FemCAT foundation, and the Foundation for Industry, indicates that 58% of the positions required by the sector cannot be filled: while 26,000 positions are opened annually in industrial companies, only 11,000 people are trained for the sector each year.

Sweden's prestige as a driver of the green industry in Europe suffered a very hard blow with the bankruptcy of Northvolt in the year 2025. The electric battery manufacturer could not live up to expectations and became the biggest industrial failure in the modern history of the Nordic country. A year later, another emblematic company of the green industrial revolution driven from northern Sweden has avoided a similar fate.

Eurofragance closed the 2025 financial year with a turnover of 200 million euros, 16% more than the previous year. The company chaired by Santiago Sabatés, the founder, achieved this sales record "thanks to growth in all regions, especially in the Middle East, Latin America, Africa, Turkey, and Indonesia, which contributed significantly to the good result despite the increase in raw material costs and rising interest rates", according to the company.

Puig Brands, the Catalan multinational family group for beauty and fashion, which is negotiating an integration with the American Estée Lauder, three times larger, brings to the table the process of ownership change of local companies that has been occurring over the last 20 years. This very week, the Japanese Marubeni Corporation has bought 85% of Factorenergia, founded in 1999 by Emili Rousaud, former candidate for the presidency of Barça, for 204 million euros. The ownership changes of Catalan companies have not stopped. Between 2005 and 2006, the sales of Panrico, by the Costafreda family, to the fund Apax Partners were closed; and that of Chupa Chups, founded by Enric Bernat in 1958, to the Italian Perfetti Van Melle. Bernat's heirs today operate Casa Batlló on Barcelona's Passeig de Gràcia, one of Antoni Gaudí's iconic buildings, which they bought in the 90s.

The Catalan family group specializing in irrigation systems and the production of phytosanitary products MatHolding closed 2025 with a record turnover of 429 million euros, representing an increase of 6% compared to the previous year. Coinciding with the company's ninetieth anniversary, the industrial group has also improved its ebitda –a financial indicator that shows a company's operating profit before deducting interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization– by 16%: it has increased to 65 million.

The State is investing more money than ever in defense. In fact, it had committed to spending 2% of GDP and would have already exceeded it, according to NATO confirmation at the end of February. But when the pie of resources is bigger than ever, the sector is also more tangled than ever. Perhaps precisely because there has never been so much money at stake. "For the last 25 years this has been stagnant and there has been no budget," say a large company in the sector that depends, like the rest, on defense ministry contracts.

Southeastern Spain, one of the driest areas in Europe, has established itself as one of the continent's main agricultural hubs. Despite having a climate marked by minimal rainfall and long periods of drought, this region has become the heart of the so-called “european vegetable garden.” Thanks to state policies, desalination plants, artificial reservoirs, and complex water transfer systems between river basins have been built, allowing vast previously unproductive areas to be irrigated.