€53.8 billion by 2043 to prevent the collapse of infrastructure in Catalonia. This is the calculation made by the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce through its new Infrastructure Observatory, which produced the study. Strategic projects for Cataloniawhich affects airports, railways, roads, ports, logistics, and water transition. "Current investment must be doubled," summarized the Chamber's vice president, Miquel Martí. Without addressing the investment deficit, "the system will collapse," he said. The Chamber representative called for a national agreement on the matter, led by the Catalan government. The president of the Chamber and of the Council of Chambers of Commerce of Catalonia, Josep Santacreu, stated that the necessary effort cannot be undertaken "without a united effort," such as "a major national agreement on infrastructure," and called for "local management" of these projects.

The Christmas parties hosted by employers' associations are one of the most enjoyable moments for journalists who cover business organizations. They aren't usually held to announce any news, but rather as a moment of relaxation. A chance to let their guard down. A "we'll talk about that in January." And, indeed, we will talk about it for sure, in January. Because these Christmas parties—breakfasts, cocktails, light meals, lunches—also serve as an opportunity to take stock of the year, list achievements, and outline the challenges for the coming year.

It seemed that 2025 would be the year the Catalan Chambers of Commerce Law, a text that has been expired for over 10 years and regulates the function of the 13 Catalan chambers of commerce and part of their funding, would finally be renewed. In July, it was achieved to bring a bill to ParliamentThe proposal, agreed upon by the Catalan Chambers of Commerce, the employers' associations Pimec and Foment de Treball, and the trade unions CCOO and UGT, was presented to the Catalan Parliament in November for a full debate without any amendments. However, a few days later, the employers' associations and the unions sent a joint letter to the leaders of the parliamentary groups expressing "concern about fundamental issues affecting the institutional balance of social dialogue and its preservation as an essential public good for the country's economic and social progress, and about the impact on certain activities resulting from the proposed law on the third sector and the law on Chambers of Commerce." This last-minute setback has come as a major blow to the chambers. According to sources consulted by ARA, and despite the prior consensus on the text, the battle has once again centered on representativeness: economic and social stakeholders are demanding the removal from most articles of the law of the sections that would allow for representation by the Chamber, insisting on the expression "of an advisory nature," thus eliminating any option for representation or participation. According to the president of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and the Council of Chambers, Josep Santacreu, "the processing of the law is not halted, but [this obstacle] may cause a slight delay" in its approval. "We are very negatively surprised by the lack of transparency, but we remain calm. The proposed amendments do not respect the 2014 Basic Law of Chambers of Commerce, nor the 2002 Catalan Law, nor the reality of chambers of commerce in Spain or Europe," Santacreu counters. "What we will not allow is for them to prevent us from doing what the Spanish Chambers of Commerce law permits," he asserts.

The Barcelona Chamber of Commerce revised upwards its growth forecasts for the Catalan economy this year on Tuesday. The business institution believes that economic activity will rise in 2025 thanks to an improvement in household consumption and business investment, something that is also being reflected in the rise in productivity, one of the historically unresolved issues for the Catalan productive sector. Therefore, the president of the Chamber, Josep Santacreu, sent a message of "optimism" but with "caution."

He president of Banc Sabadell, Josep Oliu, has admitted in his first reaction after the failure of the BBVA takeover bid that he hadn't expected "such a resounding result." "It was a big surprise," he told Catalunya Ràdio, adding that he thought the takeover bid would be "over 30%." Oliu said they were aware of the "absolute support" of minority shareholders, but that they had "no evidence" of the overall support there would be for the Vallesan bank's project.

The outcome of BBVA's takeover bid for Banc Sabadell, which has resulted in bankruptcy because it has not reached the minimum requirement of 30%, it has taken everyone by surprise. And it hasn't been because of the result, since nobody was entirely sure what would happen, but because it was published late on Thursday, a day ahead of schedule. Be that as it may, in the last few hours there have been a flurry of political and business reactions to the news.

Since Josep Santacreu was sworn in as president of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce in October 2023, with the clear objective—among others—of "recovering relations with large companies" within the institution, there has been a steady stream of new collaborations under the "institutional partner" category. In fact, since this category was reinstated in September 2024—which already existed during the time of Miquel Valls, prior to the arrival of the pro-independence list Herramientas de País to the institution—the first company to join this category was Ibercaja, the latest being Indra, in an agreement signed just a week ago, according to the Chamber itself.

This morning, a group of twelve people—nine Catalans and three Spaniards—were trapped in a hotel in Tripoli, Libya, due to the ongoing militia conflict in the country. Those affected were part of a trade mission organized by the Tarragona Chamber of Commerce who arrived in the country on Monday, and the hostilities in the area meant they had to spend a few hours in the hotel basement on Wednesday for security reasons.

At its last plenary session, the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce voted in favor of the possibility of selling its shares in Fira 2000, the holding company of Fira de Barcelona. The move was surprising, not so much in substance as in form: the Chamber has reached an agreement with the Generalitat (Catalan government) to sell its 1.2% stake in Fira 2000—for a price of around €5 million, according to ARA—but to retain its voting rights; that is, to maintain the two seats the Chamber holds on Fira 2000's board of directors, currently held by Carmina Ganyet and Xavier Pujol. Of course, 1.2% of the shares isn't decisive; therefore, what does this move imply?

Positive year. The Barcelona Chamber of Commerce closed the 2024 financial year with a positive result of €4 million, an amount that exceeds the anticipated budget and has allowed it to increase its net worth. This result, presented during the ordinary plenary session in April, also allows the Chamber's finances to be stabilized, currently chaired by Josep Santacreu, "and to overcome the losses recorded in previous years," as stated in a statement.

Behind the English word retail Clothing stores, hairdressers, beauty salons, and florists are hidden here, as are restaurants and cafes. This concept is the one chosen by the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce to encompass all street-level businesses, also known as the retail sector, which employs almost 15 out of every 100 workers in Catalonia. In a study presented this Thursday, the business entity detailed that there are 569,144 people employed in this type of activity, of which half were born outside the Principality, 57.7 percent are women, and 30 percent are under 30 years old.

Giving out your name: done. Grabbing the FFP2 face mask they hand out to you and putting it one: done. Run your hands through an automatic hydroalcoholic gel dispenser: done. Pick up a small portable gel dispenser: done. Head to the antigen testing area: done. Sign a consent form stating that you have no symptoms of covid, that you have not been in contact with any infected people (that you know of), and that you agree to let them know if you test positive in the next few days, among other things: done. Give your mobile phone so that the system will notify you of the result once the antigen test has been analysed: done. Go through the stick-in-nose issue: done. Waiting for a while in the open air space next door while the result is sent to your mobile phone: done. Show the message stating you are virus-free to the person guarding the access door: done. We finally hear: "Welcome to a safe event!"