The PSC, Junts, ERC, Comuns, and CUP have reached an agreement to reform the Parliament's regulations and incorporate the chamber's Code of Conduct, which outlines possible sanctions for deputies who violate it, as reported this Wednesday by El Periódico and confirmed by ARA. The reform, aimed at protecting against hate speech, would clarify reprimands based on the seriousness of the acts and the work, which falls to the Committee on the Status of the Deputy and the board: from 600 to 6,000 euros for serious infractions and from 6,001 to 12,000 euros for very serious ones.

After nine months, fifteen sessions and up to fifty appearances, this Tuesday the Parliament has approved part of the report of the investigation committee on the activity of the Directorate General for Child and Adolescent Care (DGAIA) between the years 2011 and 2025. The committee was created, among other things, due to the case of the minor protected by the DGAIA who was a victim of sexual abuse between 2020 and 2021 and which led to the refounding and renaming of the service by the Government.

Businesswoman Anna Navarro, who was Carles Puigdemont's great bet in the 2024 elections, is leaving Parliament. In a statement, Junts has announced that the party's number two candidate has resigned her seat, taking advantage of the end of the current session. She did so during a meeting of the parliamentary group, citing "personal and professional" reasons, according to the text released by the party. Navarro, however, will remain linked to the organization: she will continue to be part of Junts' permanent leadership and executive committee. Before making it public, she had communicated her decision to the party leader, Secretary General Jordi Turull, and the parliamentary group leader, Mònica Sales. During this legislature, Navarro had not played a prominent role in Parliament or in the party's major day-to-day decisions, despite being presented at the time as the Junts' great signing.  

The PSC would win the parliamentary elections again if they were held today, despite maintaining a downward trend that would take them from the 42 seats obtained in 2024 to a range of between 36 and 38. However, the most relevant image offered by the barometer of the Centre d'Estudis d'Opinió (CEO) made public yesterday is the consolidation of Aliança Catalana on the right of the parliamentary spectrum. Sílvia Orriols' party climbs to 23-25 deputies (it currently has 2) and clearly surpasses Junts per Catalunya, its main rival, which would lose half of its support to a range of between 16 and 18 deputies. ERC is the other party that is rising, consolidating the second position already predicted by other polls, up to 24-26 deputies.

The Parliament demands "immediately" the transfer to the Generalitat of the properties and health facilities located in Catalonia that continue to be state-owned. The motion, promoted by ERC and approved with the votes of all groups except Vox and the PP, which voted against it, gives the Catalan executive a maximum of six months to prepare and present a fully updated inventory of all properties of the Generalitat's health system that are not its own. The report must specify the legal status, the registry status, the estimated asset value, the net book value of the assets, and the investments made by the Catalan administration.

Salvador Illa will reach the midpoint of the legislature with the political stability he sought. This Thursday, Parliament has definitively approved the budgets that he agreed upon a few weeks ago with Esquerra and Comuns, the two investiture partners, who this morning added their votes to validate the first accounts of the socialist government – Junts deputy Noemí Nieto also voted in favor by mistake. Accounts that will reach almost 50,000 million euros, 22% more than those of 2023, the last project still approved under the presidency of Pere Aragonès. This Thursday's plenary session also validated the budget accompanying law, which includes, among other things, increasing the tourist tax to 30 euros per day for cruise ships calling at Barcelona and creating the Catalan Airport Authority. Illa thus guarantees himself to reach the end of the legislature with updated budgets and a parliamentary majority that requires the Government to continue for its agreements to be fulfilled.

The award of suspect hand-picked contracts in Altafulla with several politicians under investigation once again puts Parliament in the spotlight. Why? One of the people being investigated in the case is the current ERC deputy and former Minister of the Interior Joan Ignasi Elena, who this Monday testified as an investigated party at the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC). Elena has dissociated himself from any illegal activity in a matter that the defense views as purely administrative. In fact, Elena defends his work and honesty, and denies the accusatory narrative that has led to the investigation. For this reason, he hopes it will be dismissed. However, if the investigation leads to the opening of a trial, as happened with the former President of Parliament Laura Borràs in 2022, it will again put the chamber at the crossroads of suspending a deputy for a case of alleged corruption. What does the regulation say? Has it been changed, as promised?

The future Catalan patronage law completes one of its major steps. This Monday, the PSC, Junts, and ERC registered in Parliament the first bill to promote patronage in the country, an initiative that had been in institutional paralysis for a decade and had been widely requested by the different actors that make up the cultural sector. This Tuesday, the announcement has been made official.

In March, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office requested information from the Office of Fraud Prevention regarding the investigations being carried out on the former Directorate General of Childhood and Adolescence (DGAIA) and the alleged irregularities in the granting and control of economic and housing benefits received by former wards. El ARA has been able to confirm that the Special Prosecutor's Office against Corruption and Organized Crime is investigating the case, although in a still very "incipient" stage of proceedings.

We offer you a survey to know what Catalans think about hot topics such as immigration, Trump and the rent cap, and also what would be the voting intention for the Parliament.

The Parliament cannot require drivers to prove an intermediate level of Catalan, but at most an elementary level. This is the response given by the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) to the request of Convivencia Cívica Catalana, which asked to annul the bases of a call for positions for these official vehicle drivers who transport high-ranking officials of the Generalitat. Specifically, the Spanish nationalist entity wanted to eliminate the requirement for candidates to demonstrate a B2 level of Catalan.

With March 20th marked on the calendar as the date that could derail the government's budget, the PSC is working against the clock to try to add ERC's votes to the project. To the calls for responsibility made by the President of the Generalitat, Salvador IllaThe Minister of the Presidency, Albert Dalmau, added this on Monday during the first of the appearances before Parliament regarding the 2026 budget, which all ministers will make during the week. Before the Committee on Institutional Affairs, Dalmau insisted that the country "needs" a new budget and that the government cannot continue governing with the 2023 budget. by patching it up through credit supplements"The Catalan government will fulfill 100% of the investiture agreements. That is our objective," he told the Republicans, who insist they will reject the project if there is no agreement to transfer personal income tax collection to the Catalan Tax Agency. The main stumbling block in the negotiations remains the "guarantee" the Republicans are demanding from the Socialists. Dalmau has not commented on the possible ways to achieve this, which range from an amendment to the Organic Law on the Financing of Autonomous Communities (LOFCA) to the Ministry of Finance itself, in the proposal it will submit to the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council, opening the door for regional tax authorities to manage major taxes. For now, however, the Ministry of Finance rejects all of these scenarios.

The expenses that the groups pass to the Parliament are once again in the spotlight. A year and a half ago, the chamber already had to change the criteria to avoid a lack of control and for groups to use them to pay extra salaries to deputies, as Vox had done. Now, a report from the chamber's auditor on group expenses during 2024 is once again causing a stir. According to what Vilaweb has reported and the ACN has confirmed, the document censures that the far-right party paid for a meal with deputies and advisors of the group organized in 2024 with Parliament money, which amounted to €2,605, with an expense of up to €184 on high-proof alcoholic beverages, and which the party has already fully reimbursed. Junts also comes out singed: the auditor questions the expenses for travel, meals, and organization of a working day in Belgium with 60 people that cost around €47,500. This is not the first time Vox has been in the eye of the storm for incorrect expenses. Its leader in Parliament, Ignacio Garriga, already had to return €380 in personal expenses, such as AMPA fees. At the time, he maintained that he had submitted the invoice to the Catalan chamber by "mistake." In a statement this Thursday, the far-right party assured that it has already paid the chamber for both the meal and the expenses of an event on agriculture in Lleida – costing around €5,000 – because the auditor informed them that they "could exceed" the activities attributable to the parliamentary group. Sources from Vox assure that they returned the money before the auditor's report was made public. In the case of Junts, what the auditor questions is the "proportionality" in the expense of the days in Belgium, where the party's leader, Carles Puigdemont, is still in exile. There were deputies from the group during the last legislature, but also advisors and staff hired by the formation. In this case, the party has not returned anything nor has it commented on the issue. The PP and "gifts"

In the report, the auditor also censures that the PP, with the subsidy money from the group, paid for "Christmas gifts" worth €1,900 to 30 people, including deputies, group staff, party officials, and parliamentary group collaborators. "They do not find a legal basis because it is a businessman's gratuity that cannot be assumed by a public administration," the report states, citing a Constitutional Court ruling that concludes this. Another of the elements scrutinized is the amount of money that each group passes directly to the political party from the subsidies they receive for parliamentary activity. This is a permitted purpose, but the auditor also raises the possibility of establishing a "maximum limit" for these contributions. It should be noted that in 2024, changes were made to the system of resource allocation to parties so that the Generalitat – not the chamber – would assume part of the expense of subsidies to political organizations, with an annual budget of 9 million euros. In 2024, three groups allocated more than 99% of their subsidy to the party: Comuns, CUP, and PSC. Vox and Aliança Catalana, on the other hand, did not transfer anything. According to the report, as reported by the ACN, Aliança has not spent any of the €33,572 subsidy it received in its first year of parliamentary activity, after winning two seats in Parliament.

]]>

The expenses that political groups submit to Parliament are once again under scrutiny. A year and a half ago, the chamber already had to change the criteria to avoid loss of control and that the groups used them to pay bonuses to their members of parliament, as Vox had done. Now, a report from the Catalan Parliament's Audit Office on the groups' expenses during 2024 has once again stirred controversy. According to reports Vilaweb And as confirmed by ACN, the document criticizes the far-right party for using Parliamentary funds to pay for a retreat with members of parliament and advisors from the group organized in 2024, amounting to €2,605, including up to €184 spent on high-proof alcoholic beverages, which the party has already fully reimbursed. Junts is also under scrutiny: the Catalan Audit Office is questioning the travel, retreat, and organizational expenses for a working session in Belgium with 60 people, which cost approximately €47,500.

]]>

The ideological axis became evident this Wednesday in Parliament and has overridden the differences on the national axis maintained by parties such as the PP and Junts. The Junts members sided with the Popular Party in defending a bill by Alejandro Fernández's group that proposed eliminating the inheritance tax. The initiative also received the support of Vox and Aliança Catalana, but it will not be processed in Parliament because the amendments to the whole presented by the PSC, ERC, and the CUP have prospered. This tax has always represented the dividing line when identifying a left-wing or right-wing party. And, in this case, it was no exception.

]]>

It has been a week since Salvador Illa returned to work, and this Wednesday he faced his first parliamentary question time since being diagnosed with osteomyelitis pubis. The President of the Generalitat received a warm welcome and the support of all members of parliament for a return marked by a clash with the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) over the budget. This weekend, the Republicans They slammed the door on negotiating the accounts. And this Wednesday they again demanded that the Catalan government fulfill the condition they set for sitting down to discuss the budget: clearing the way for Catalonia to collect income tax. "There is room for agreement. I extend my hand and ask you to take it," Illa argued, addressing the president of the Republican group in the Catalan Parliament, Josep Maria Jové. The ERC leader, however, demanded that the head of the executive "pressure" the PSOE and not Esquerra to comply with the income tax collection. "The one he should be pressuring is the PSOE, not us," asserted Jové, who assured that the Republicans maintain their open hand.

]]>

The Catalan Parliament has approved a long-standing demand of prison officers: to be recognized as law enforcement agents. The demand, which gained momentum after the murder of Núria, a cook at Mas de Enric prison in March 2024, by an inmate, was a proposal from the Catalan Socialist Party (PSC) that passed with votes from the People's Party (PP), Vox, Catalan Alliance, and Together for Catalonia (Junts). In addition to prison officers, the status of law enforcement agent—already held by police officers, doctors, and teachers, among others—will also be extended to prison directors and rehabilitation staff: psychologists, educators, lawyers, and social workers. With Thursday's decision, Catalan prison officers become the first in Spain to achieve this status. Until a few months ago, the Catalan government had justified the measure by saying that only the Spanish government could approve it, but on the first anniversary of the crime in Mas de Enric, the Minister of Justice, Ramon Espadaler, He pledged to grant this prerogative using the powers that Catalonia has been delegated in matters of prisons.The proposal presented by the PSC, which was processed through the single reading procedure, initially limited itself to granting the status of law enforcement officers to prison guards. However, following an amendment by Junts, this status was extended to treatment officers as well. This occurred despite opposition from the Comuns, ERC, and CUP parties, who unsuccessfully attempted to block the proposal. Attempts by Vox and the PP to extend this status to other prison staff were also unsuccessful. Thus, the law approved this Thursday applies only to officers, both security and treatment, who work inside the prison, as confirmed by sources within the Department of Justice. However, prison sources criticize the law for not including among the new law enforcement officers those who work in the prison, such as cooks, sports instructors, or art workshop leaders, nor those employed by the Center for Initiatives for Reintegration (CIRE) who teach various trades to inmates.

]]>

After a week of chaos on the commuter rail network, the opposition has pounced on the Catalan government, demanding accountability for the state of the network and the service disruptions. Replacing Salvador Illa –still hospitalized—The Minister of the Presidency, Albert Dalmau, appeared before Parliament to defend the government's actions regarding the service disruptions following the accident in Gelida, a crisis that on Monday resulted in two dismissals: the operational director of the commuter rail service and the director of operations for Adif (the Spanish railway infrastructure manager). However, the opposition is not satisfied and is demanding a reshuffle of leadership positions within the Generalitat (the Catalan government), starting with that of the Minister of Territory, Sílvia Paneque. All political groups except Comuns have demanded this, although they have suggested that the same person should not bear the responsibility for two of the government's most pressing issues: trains and housing. Nevertheless, the government is standing firm behind the Minister and her team.

]]>

Hyper-leadership is a widespread characteristic in newly formed political parties. Podemos experienced this firsthand with Pablo Iglesias, Ciudadanos with Albert Rivera, Vox with Santiago Abascal –although its founders were different–, Junts with Carles Puigdemont, and now Aliança Catalana with Sílvia Orriols. It's true that more established parties aren't immune either, and there are countless examples, though these tend to be tempered by internal changes over time. Orriols' public exposure helps her party grow, as all the polls confirm. Behind closed doors, hyper-leadership becomes more difficult to manage, even in the case of Aliança, according to some within the party. This hyper-leadership is put to the test every week in the Catalan Parliament, where Orriols' interventions in plenary sessions are the main message that Aliança uses in all its communications. But Orriols isn't alone in the room. A few weeks ago, Aliança's communications secretary, Lluís Areny, and Rosa Maria Soberana, the deputy who serves alongside Orriols in the Catalan Parliament, refused to take questions at a press conference. In this regard, some within the party suggest that only Orriols could provide certain answers. Since then, they haven't even held their usual weekly press conference in the Catalan Parliament. A review of the party's social media reveals that most of the videos Aliança posts on its profiles are of Orriols' speeches in Parliament. The official accounts even repost speeches from months ago, highlighting some of the party's key issues, notes political communications consultant Xavier Tomàs. This is "unthinkable in any other party" and serves to further "reinforce" the hyper-leadership, he adds.

]]>

The outbreak of African swine fever in Catalonia caught the attention of the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, official trip to MexicoDespite repeated demands from ERC, Junts, the CUP, and the PP for his return, the president continued with his agenda in the country, highlighted by Barcelona's participation as guest city at the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL). Upon his arrival from Mexico, Isla faced criticism from part of the opposition during the parliamentary question time, where he defended his decision to maintain his pre-arranged meetings, both at the FIL and in Mexico City, which included economic events. "I have my own way of leading and managing; I admit there may be others. I admit I can make mistakes. I sincerely believe that, in this case, I haven't made any," Illa asserted. He maintained that the Catalan government has addressed the crisis with "science, transparency, collaboration," and support for the sector.

]]>