The Catalan government has given the green light to the new National Pact for Industry (PNI) 2026-2030, an ambitious strategic plan that aims to inject €5 billion to revitalize and transform Catalonia's industrial fabric. The document was validated by the Catalan Business Council at an event presided over by the Minister of Business and Labor, Miquel Sàmper, who also reported to a parliamentary committee. It has the support of a wide range of social, economic, and academic stakeholders.

The historic ice cream company La Menorquina is taking a significant leap forward in its industrial capacity. The company has announced a €15 million investment to install a new production line at its plant in Palau-solità i Plegamans (Vallès Occidental). This is the largest investment ever made in the factory, expanding the production area by 1,100 square meters. The new infrastructure, which will be operational by early 2027, is notable for its versatility: it will be able to simultaneously produce chocolates, sandwiches, and spirals at a rate of 30,000 units per hour. With this addition, the plant will have 23 production lines and will be able to reach a total volume of 40 million liters of ice cream per year.

This investment is largely due to the company's success in international markets. Currently, La Menorquina exports more than a third of its sales to nearly 40 countries. The US market has become a key component, where it already sells between 25% and 30% of its production through retail giants like Walmart and Costco. The company's CEO, Iván Leal, highlighted on Monday the positive reception of innovative products such as Honeycomb ice cream, which went viral on social media and prompted the shipment of 40 containers to the US between November and December to meet demand. In the UK, the company has also established itself as the main supplier for the Marks & Spencer chain. Job impact and growth

The investment has not only a technological component, but also a social one. The new line is expected to generate between 150 and 200 new jobs. Currently, the company has a workforce of 750 employees, more than 500 of whom are based at its headquarters in the Vallès region. Since 2019, La Menorquina has maintained sustained growth of 15% annually. In 2025, it closed with a turnover of 131 million euros, and forecasts for 2026 again point to double-digit growth. The announcement was made during an official visit by the Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, and the Minister of Business and Labor, Miquel Sàmper. Hereu cited the company as an example of "the authenticity of local products that the world values" and highlighted its ability to overcome tariff barriers through innovation and quality.

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Last year, 109 workers died in work-related accidents in Catalonia, a 22.5% increase compared to the previous year. Data from the Observatory of Labor and the Production Model sheds light on the trend of workplace accidents in 2025, a year in which the number of victims reached its highest level in the last 14 years. One has to go back to 2011, when 113 people died, to find a higher figure.

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The 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.

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Yesterday he was the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, who warned that housing could become a "burden" for the economic growth of Catalonia, and this Tuesday, the majority unions and employers' associations—through the Catalan Economic and Social Council (CTESC)—have compared this crisis to a "black hole" for the country's economy. The advisory body of the Generalitat (Catalan Government) has presented its socioeconomic and labor report for 2024, in which it places special emphasis on this issue. Its president, Ciriaco Hidalgo, who took office last April, insisted that if this housing shortage "has an impact on the well-being of families, it also has an impact on the economy."

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This Monday, the RDM workers' committee in Castellbisbal is once again convening a meeting they would have preferred to avoid. It will be the second meeting with the management of the Italian cardboard packaging company to discuss the dismissal of the 237 workers at the plant, affected by the redundancy plan (ERE) that has been hanging over their bosses since January. The closure of this factory has met with outright rejection from the unions, the town council, and also that of Sant Andreu de la Barca—where about seventy of the employees are from—who are suspicious of the owners' intentions to cash in on the land.

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The Generalitat (Catalan Government) has reactivated the Tourism Roundtable of Catalonia after more than ten years of inactivity, as announced this Monday by the Minister of Business and Employment, Miquel Sàmper, in statements to the media before the first meeting of the body's board. The Roundtable is an entity that brings together Catalan public administrations and the main business associations in the sector.

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The Regional Minister of Business and Employment, Miquel Sàmper, announced this Wednesday an initial package of aid and measures totaling €37.5 million to help companies respond to the tariff crisis triggered by US President Donald Trump. This initial package is "double the budget for the previous year," the minister noted.

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The tourism sector debate has returned to Barcelona with the sectoral conferences Tourism & Economy Barcelona Summit 2025, under the title A new resilient and sustainable tourism: Large cities and Barcelona's proposal. At this meeting, held in the Cosmocaixa auditorium, the mayor of Barcelona, ​​​​Jaume Collboni, opened the session by stating that the Catalan capital "has made a great change compared to 4 or 5 years ago" in the area of ​​tourism, because "decisions have been made to govern tourism, have quality tourism and eliminate its negative externalities."

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After the large crowds after the first night without curfew, the situation was more "normal" yesterday in Barcelona, as explained by City Security Councillor Albert Batlle in an interview with Radio 4. The police dispersed 1,639 people from places like the Passeig del Born, Plaça de la Virreina de Gràcia or Plaça dels Àngels, as confirmed to ARA by municipal sources, while Saturday night the police had to disperse about 6,500 people in various outdoor celebrations. According to Batlle, what was experienced in the streets on Saturday night could not be avoided because people, after so many months of curfew, were eager to go out, and the police deployed saturation devices that sought to limit gatherings, but did not hand out fines to those gathering. Batlle detailed that in total there were 450 agents deployed and that this was "manifestly insufficient" for the number of people who were on the street. "We can not have a police officer for each person," he admitted.

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The Catalan minister of Home Affairs, Miquel Sàmper, has said that "it is evident" that Barça players broke covid rules in the meal they shared on Monday in Leo Messi's house in Castelldefels. According to Sàmper, it would have been different had only footballers participated, because he thinks they could be considered a bubble group, but the fact that their relatives also attended means the rules were broken. "The relevant thing is that people in the public eye should set a better example", he added in an interview with ARA's Antoni Bassas. The Minister has recalled that the Public Health Agency of Catalonia has opened an investigation "as it would do with anyone" and that the penalty will be determined once it is completed: "I expect it will a fine the same as for anybody else". The Catalan Government has also spoken with Barça.

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This Wednesday, at 11 am live, Antoni Bassas interviews the acting Minister of the Interior, Miquel Sàmper. This Saturday the state of alarm will end at midnight and consequently the curfew that has been in force since October will also end. On Sunday it will be possible to dine at restaurants fns at 23 h and there will be freedom of movement at night. The Government will make changes to incorporate the curfew (if necessary) to the Catalan public health law? The end of the curfew implies changes in the devices of the Mossos d'Esquadra, will have to reinforce the night strip?

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The arrival of more doses and the opening of mass vaccination points have accelerated the pace of vaccination in Catalonia. Thus, this Saturday the Health Department has reported for the first time that in one day more than 100,000 Catalans have received a dose of the vaccine against covid-19. In total, 106,000 people have been vaccinated in Catalonia in the last 24 hours: 55,877 first doses and 50,123 second doses have been injected. Thus, in total, 23.9% of Catalans have already received at least one dose of the vaccine, while 10.9% have already received the full course.

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A "positive, frank and sincere" meeting was held this Sunday between the Minister of the Home Affairs - Miquel Sàmper -, the commanders of the Mossos, and the nine Mossos unions, who had requested the encounter in order to demonstrate the extent to which the officers feel abandoned by the political team led by Miquel Sàmper.

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The Department of Home Affairs has agreed to meet tomorrow, Sunday, with the unions of the Mossos d'Esquadra, after they have warned in a statement of the "great tension" that exists within the force as a result of the critical reception for their actions in the protests over the imprisonment of Pablo Hasél, in which since Tuesday 63 people have been arrested throughout Catalonia, the last four yesterday in Barcelona and Girona.

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The balance of the riots that took place yesterday in different cities after the protest protest against the imprisonment of Pablo Hasél is of 33 injured, who had to be treated by the Medical Emergency System (SEM), and at least 14 arrested for the riots in cities such as Barcelona, Lleida, Reus, Girona and Vic. This morning, the Home Affairs Minister, Miquel Sàmper, held an emergency meeting with the top echelon of the Mossos to analyse the police actions and the damage caused by the demonstrators to the Vic police station, which was attacked with stones, and the burning of motorbikes belonging to the Guardia Urbana in Lleida. There were clashes between the demonstrators, who threw blunt objects and pyrotechnics, and the police, who used foam bullets and dispersed the concentrations with vans.

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