Risk management by public institutions operates in an uncomfortable and uncertain space, ranging from reasonable prudence to overreaction aimed solely at protecting themselves from recent setbacks. When the Catalan government decreed preventative measures last week in anticipation of strong winds, some sectors felt it had gone too far: phenomena like that, or even worse, have occurred many times, although never before had such a radical response been taken. Others, however, considered the crisis to have been managed proportionately to the predicted weather threats. The debate, in any case, is not new: it forms part of a deeper question about the legitimate limits of state intervention in protecting citizens.

Tracking the flow of funds between the central government and the Catalan government is no easy task. This is especially true when these agreements have been in the works for years or even decades, as is the case with funds earmarked for infrastructure improvements. In 2023 – coinciding with the agreements for Pedro Sánchez's investiture – the Catalan government secured two key agreements in this regard: a grant of 914 million euros outstanding to make improvements to the roads and the B-40 or Northern Round pactwhich amounted to an additional 200 million euros. The Catalan government had been working for some time on a model similar to the Basque one to secure that money. the assignments or management ordersAnd this Monday, it was explained how that money is being invested and the current status of the projects. The Secretary of Mobility and Infrastructure of the Generalitat, Manel Nadal, detailed that the department will close the year with five management agreements underway. This means that, although the project belongs to and is paid for by the Spanish government, the Generalitat leads the drafting of the projects and the execution of the work; that is, it controls the timeline and also the dialogue with the local community, "from a local perspective." "The ministry pays as we complete the work. This allows us, firstly, to accelerate the works; secondly, to guarantee that the money reaches Catalonia and prevent the projects from being abandoned and the money from ending up in the ministry's surplus; and thirdly, to do it with close collaboration and dialogue with the local community, which is the hallmark of this institution," Nadal argued. "We already have a successful experience with the B-23 bus lane in Barcelona, ​​and now it's being replicated," he recalled. This approach has allowed the Generalitat (Catalan government) to "secure the funding" and "double" its execution capacity by Christmas. In total, the five projects mobilize €1.13 billion until 2033. This money was already planned and announced and comes from the agreement to transfer the remaining €914 million for infrastructure and the €200 million that the B-40 or Ronda Nord roadworks in Sabadell and Terrassa will entail. These are the five major projects underway, their budgets, and the improvements they include: Eix Pirinenc (N-260): €260 million

The agreement was signed last November. On this road, which runs through the Pyrenees from Pont de Suert to Puigcerdà, works will be carried out to improve accessibility, the road surface, and road safety. One of the highlights will be the new Perves bypass, an area currently served by a very narrow road that needs a complete overhaul. The government will build a new road with tunnels to facilitate passage through this challenging area. Improvements are also being planned for Senterada, Sort, and other smaller changes that will enhance its functionality.

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Twenty years ago I participated in the collective work What moves us? Six values up for debate (Mina), coordinated by the late Josep Maria Terricabras. I was assigned the section on democratic values. In one conversation, an essay by Kenichi Ohmae, published a decade earlier, in 1995, came up, analyzing the decline of the nation state. Terricabras told me: "It's very interesting, but it doesn't contribute anything to us [Catalans]. I think he was right. end of the nation state It generated considerable debate, which I don't know if it's still relevant today. It raised an important question: the durability and relevance, or not, of the nation state in a globalized world. The nation state has often been perceived as an immutable entity, forgetting that its historically very recent formation. Although it was a pillar for overcoming feudalism and promoting Enlightenment ideals, the idea could be problematic. Blindly adhering to the concept led to Jacobin ideas or worse. However, according to Ohmae, the question wasn't exactly whether the nation state is good or bad in itself, but whether it still remains a functional and reasonable structure.

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It's not that we expected a solution to the underfunding of healthcare or education this Monday, because we already know that Spain cannot live without Catalonia (in every sense), but there was a justified expectation. regarding the State-Generalitat agreementDisappointed expectation.

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From €90 to €1,220 per month. These are the new quotas for the self-employed that the Spanish government is proposing and has already sent to employers and unions prior to negotiations.

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