The president of Foment del Treball, Josep Sánchez Llibre, has decided to run for a third term at the head of the Catalan employers' organization, until 2030. He communicated this today to the board of directors, in which the organization's next elections have been called for May 18, instead of July 18, which is when the term expires. The deadline for submitting candidacies is May 8. In 2024, the statutes of this employers' association were modified to lift the term limit, established until then at two consecutive terms, which leads to the current president. The change gave Sánchez Llibre the possibility to run for president again, which he has finally decided to do.

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It is not common for the country's main economic and business players to agree and adopt a common position on such a politically poisoned issue as regional financing, but This is exactly what has happened The statement, signed by all the chambers of commerce, the Círculo de Economía (Circle of Economy), Barcelona Global, Fomento, Pimec, the RACC, Fira de Barcelona, ​​the College of Economists, and FemCat, highlights the effort involved in conducting a joint analysis of the situation and reaching conclusions. Political parties should take note of this, because ambitious goals can only be achieved by forging broad consensus. And what does the statement say about the funding proposal put forward by the Spanish government after reaching an agreement with ERC? It states that it is "a significant improvement over the current model" but that it "cannot be considered sufficient." Therefore, it calls on Catalan parties to "work together" to improve certain aspects and safeguard others already included in the proposal.

Sílvia Orriols, president of Aliança Catalana, will participate next Saturday in a meeting organized by Emilio Cuatrecasas, honorary president of the renowned law firm, at the Hotel Terraverda in the small municipality of Gualta, with a group of members of the collective.Empordà Small CommitteeThe positive electoral prospects predicted by all polls for the party—the latest CEO survey gave them up to 20 seats in future Catalan parliamentary elections—have sparked interest from the economic and business world. Aware that the emergence of the far-right pro-independence movement in institutions is not a passing phenomenon, the establishment wants to know firsthand what their intentions are.

Relations between Foment del Treball and the PSC government are not at their best. While the employers' association and the Catalan socialists enjoyed a honeymoon period while Salvador Illa was in opposition, things began to change when the PSC leader came to power in Catalonia and, contrary to the demands of Catalan business leaders, began to pursue interventionist policies.for example, in housing—and rejected major tax cuts. The clash, however, reached its peak this Friday, with the announcement of the proposal for the new financing model The agreement was negotiated three-way between the Catalan government, the ERC (Republican Left of Catalonia), and the Ministry of Finance. The Catalan executive had convened economic and social stakeholders at the Palau de la Generalitat (the seat of the Catalan government) to explain the details, but the Ministry of Public Works (Foment) preempted them: in a statement, it labeled the proposal "clearly insufficient" and asserted that it did not resolve Catalonia's funding problem. This generated considerable unease within the Palau de la Generalitat and also among the president, Salvador Illa. Tensions erupted at the meeting, chaired by Illa, which was also attended by representatives from the unions, Pimec (the Catalan Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises), FemCat (the Catalan Federation of Municipalities), and the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce. Sources from both sides confirm that on Friday, Illa personally called Sánchez Llibre to invite him to a meeting. In this call, the president conveyed to the leader of the Catalan business community the significant discomfort that Foment's statement had caused within the Catalan government. Sources close to the employers' association explained to ARA that the position outlined in the statement was not approved by its board, something that has "surprised" some of its members. However, these same sources added that the assessment expressed by Sánchez Llibre is largely shared among the members. In fact, while it is true that Sánchez Llibre himself later acknowledged to the board that the statement could have been published later, the content would have been the same, according to various business sources consulted by ARA, who argue that the Ministry of Public Works has been "consistent" with its long-standing position. They cite, for example, the annual report they publish on the historical underfunding of infrastructure and insist that many details of the current proposal remain unknown. They also emphasize the "ambiguous" stance taken by the other Catalan employers' associations upon learning of the new model.

For weeks now, the possibility of a no-confidence vote against Pedro Sánchez, led by the PP and requiring the votes of Vox and at least one other party, has been looming over national politics. All eyes are on Junts, which has broken with the PSOE and has recently voted alongside the conservatives and the Spanish far right on several occasions in Congress. Therefore, this Friday, at an event in Fomento, the PP leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, directly appealed to business leaders, asking them to get involved in this hypothetical no-confidence vote, which he asserted would trigger elections: "I have no shortage of desire to present a no-confidence motion," he said, "I lack the votes." Specifically, Feijóo, addressing the business community, indicated that he lacks "the votes of your own people."

Since November 2023, when Junts signed the pact to invest Pedro Sánchez, the employers' association has viewed Carles Puigdemont's party differently and He began to parade through Waterloo. From being the driving force behind the October 1st referendum, he became a guarantor of his interests against the Moncloa Palace and the left-wing parties that make up the majority of the government in Spain. A clear example was the veto of the reduction of the working day by the Second Vice President of the Spanish Government, Yolanda Díaz. But what happens now that Junts has announced its break with the PSOE? Is there any law that will bar Junts from participating that directly affects employers' associations? Is there still room to pass measures that affect businesses?

Adrià Ramírez (Taradell, 1987) is the president of the Public Transport Promotion (PTP). He leads one of the most important public transport user associations in Catalonia, which is not affiliated with any political party. They are a thorn in the side of the mobility teams working in the various public administrations. "I'd like to think that now there's the focus and political will to try to solve the suburban rail chaos," he says, unconvinced.

The first employers' association to take a public photo with former president Carles Puigdemont since his exile in 2017 was Foment del Treball. It was during the campaign for the Catalan elections on May 12 (therefore, at a key moment), when the top brass of the employers' association went to Perpignan to meet again with the leader of Junts. The meeting was cooked up by the president of the entity (and former leader of Unió), Josep Sánchez Llibre, who regularly maintains contact with Puigdemont, according to several sources consulted. Now, however, he is no longer alone: Junts' contact with the employers' association has intensified since the party is key in the Congress of Deputies to give stability to Pedro Sánchez's government and in recent weeks a lot of employers' associations have paraded through Waterloo so that Puigdemont collects their demands. Above all, that of stopping the reduction of the working day to 37.5 hours a week promoted by the Spanish vice president and leader of Sumar, Yolanda Díaz.

The presence of the king in Catalonia is always controversial, although this time it has been less so than in recent years. After participating in the swearing-in ceremony for new judges in the morning in Barcelona, Felipe VI attended the celebration of the 250th anniversary of Business association Foment del Treball at the Museu Nacional d'Arte de Catalunya (MNAC) in the afternoon. He was joined by the president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, and the mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau. This was not the first time the king and the Catalan president were both present at the same event – they both attended the Cercle d'Economia conference and the Mobile World Congress – but until now Aragonès had limited himself to make economic speeches. This Monday, however, he did want to include political ingredients: he defended the dialogue table and the negotiation process with the State to "resolve the political conflict" before King Felipe VI and stressed the importance of moving forward.