The Barcelona Chamber of Commerce has described the current collapse of the railway system in Catalonia as a "tragedy" and has harshly criticized both the planning and execution so far of the commuter rail plan for 2020-2030. The Chamber denounced delays of hundreds of millions of euros in both the bidding and execution phases of infrastructure projects, according to business entity Alicia Casart. However, the Chamber's vice president, Miquel Martí, advocated giving "a vote of confidence" to the Ministry and the two state-owned companies that manage the affected infrastructure, Adif and Renfe. Specifically, Casart recalled that, prior to the system collapse two weeks ago, the commuter rail service had suffered from deficiencies for years, to the point that it had become "normal" for "users' patience to be routinely pushed beyond its limits," resulting in a "low quality" of the network. Therefore, she added, the commuter rail plan approved by the Spanish government was intended to "make up for lost time" and "bring the network up to date." This is complemented by the creation of a new mixed operating company with a stake held by the Catalan government (although the State retains a majority stake) and progress in transferring the infrastructure to the Catalan administration. However, the head of infrastructure at the Chamber of Commerce asserted that the plan is experiencing implementation delays, both in the bidding process for construction projects and in their execution. Thus, according to the initial plan, Adif, Renfe, and the Ministry of Transport are €800 million behind schedule. The execution of works and nearly €1 billion more in tenders—a delay that will ultimately penalize future projects as well: "Today's tenders are the news in Barcelona." Casart also criticized the plan's poor planning regarding the necessary actions. Specifically, the plan included a €1.018 billion program for replacing all types of assets on the network and at Renfe, which was progressing at a "fairly good" pace in 2024. However, that same year, the copper theft at Torre Baró triggered "a series of fires that crippled the Rodal network." This incident "set off all the alarms," ​​as it compounded other problems between 2023 and 2025, causing "a range of incidents that could not be explained solely by the volume of renovation work" being carried out on the railway infrastructure.

The global economy is proving to be "more resilient than anticipated," despite persistent trade tensions and political uncertainty, according to the World Bank, which has revised its growth forecasts upward for this year and next to 2.6% and 2.7%, respectively, after substantially improving its forecast for the current year. The organization's new projections, while implying a slight slowdown this year compared to the 2.7% growth rate projected for 2025, also represent a two-tenths of a percentage point improvement compared to the June forecast for 2026. Furthermore, the forecast for 2020-2022...

2026 opens up for the Catalan economy and the Spanish economy as a whole in a context of transition and uncertainty, but also of opportunity. After several years of sustained growth, exceeding that of the Eurozone, we are entering a phase in which the tailwinds are moderating, and the main challenge is no longer growth itself, but how we grow and on what foundations. Forecasts indicate that Catalonia will continue to grow above the European average and, foreseeably, also above the Spanish average, albeit at a more moderate pace. This positive trend confirms the strength of our economic fabric, but at the same time highlights an uncomfortable reality: growth alone does not guarantee progress. If it does not translate into structural improvements, productivity, and social cohesion, it risks becoming exhausted. The structural challenges of a new cycle

In this new scenario, the priority must be clear: to consolidate a more robust, more competitive, and more inclusive economic model. And this requires addressing, without delay, some structural challenges that we have been dragging along for far too long.

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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."

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The Catalan economy will maintain the expected growth rate over the next two years, provided that the trade war initiated by US President Donald Trump does not escalate further than it has so far, according to forecasts by the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce.

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The German locomotive still hasn't started. five wise men, as the Council of Economic Experts, which independently advises the German government, is known, has revised its forecasts for the German economy downwards. The experts warn that Germany is going through a "phase of pronounced weakness" and predict that Europe's largest economy will stagnate this year due to the trade war and grow by 1% in 2026. This same organization had predicted growth of 0.4% for this year in its previous forecasts published in November.

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The Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (AIREF, the state agency that oversees public accounts) has lowered its growth forecasts for the Spanish economy for this year and next due to international uncertainty. In response, it has stated that the State will have to take measures starting in 2027 to comply with the fiscal commitments required by European regulations.

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The Barcelona Chamber of Commerce estimates that the trade war launched by US President Donald Trump will have an impact of around €1.055 billion on the Catalan economy this year, equivalent to around three-tenths of the Catalan gross domestic product (GDP, the indicator that measures the size of an economy).

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The tariff war unleashed by US President Donald Trump is putting a brake on the global economy, a brake even more pronounced on the two main contenders in the trade dispute: the United States and China, which has become the priority target of his tariff attack. The latest report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) It's a new warning of the insecurity and instability being generated by Trump's economic aggression, a policy that there are signs could come back to haunt him like a boomerang.

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has improved the growth outlook for the Spanish economy despite the uncertainty and the slowdown in global economic activity caused by the trade war initiated by the United States. In this regard, the international organization predicts a slowdown in economic activity worldwide, especially in the United States, which for now will not affect the Spanish economy.

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The Spanish government has kept the economy's growth forecast for this year unchanged, but has had to slash its forecast for 2023, the official quarterly macroeconomic review reveals. Economic vice-president Nadia Calviño has justified the reduction blaming the current economic situation at world and European level, very affected by the war in Ukraine and the increase in the price of energy and raw materials it has caused.

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The Spanish government admits that the economy is not recovering as fast as expected. The third wave of the coronavirus pandemic and the threat of a new wave will cause GDP this year to grow less than forecast, after plunging nearly 11% in 2020. The economic vice president, Nadia Calviño, announced on Friday a downward revision of the GDP growth forecast to 6.5%, seven tenths less than expected (7.2%), especially because the first quarter of the year results have been worse than expected. For 2022, the forecast is for GDP growth of 7%. "It is a prudent, realistic forecast and is aligned with leading national and international analysts," Calviño stressed.

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The Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (Airef) joins the agencies that have qualified their optimism about the growth of the Spanish economy for this year. The Airef has cut its forecast from the 8.2% it had initially estimated to 6.6% because of the pandemic - which is dragging on and threatens a fourth wave - and because of the delay in implementing the Recovery Plan. The first factor has caused the Spanish GDP to grow less than expected in the last six months, while the impact of European funds will hardly be felt before 2022, as highlighted by Airef in its report published Thursday.

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