The organizations that make up the so-called G8 business group—the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and the other 12 Catalan chambers of commerce, the College of Economists, the Circle of Economy, PIMEC, FEMCAT, Barcelona Global, RACC, and the Barcelona Trade Fair—together with Foment del Treball, have drafted a joint manifesto on the new financing model presented by the Spanish government. The government of Pedro Sánchez and ERC stated that the model "cannot be considered sufficient." Following the harsh statement issued by Foment del Treball—the employers' association representing large Catalan companies—on the same day the Spanish government detailed its proposal, in which Foment del Treball labeled it "clearly insufficient," the G8 organizations have now aligned themselves with Foment del Treball's criticisms in a joint statement. Cecot has also endorsed the statement, reiterating that they consider it "crucial to seize the parliamentary window of opportunity to consolidate structural advances for the Catalan economy."

Josep Santacreu's stimulating vision is important for outlining the real scenario of purpose-driven companies in a geopolitical environment more uncertain than ever, since in addition to presiding over the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, he has been actively involved in social responsibility issues for more than 25 years.

The Barcelona Chamber of Commerce will close 2025 with a profit of over one million euros and has increased its budget for next year to 34 million euros. This decision was made by the plenary session of the organization, chaired by Josep Santacreu, this Friday. Specifically, the budget anticipates a 5% increase in activity revenue compared to the previous year. The accounts for next year include allocating 15 million euros to training and 17 million euros to business economic development focused on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the self-employed, and entrepreneurs. Furthermore, they reflect an increase of approximately 7 million euros in all costs related to consultative and representational functions. Regarding revenue, the Chamber explains that it will focus on service income, which is expected to increase by 17%. Activity expenditures will increase by 11% compared to 2025, while structural costs will remain stable. The Chamber will also invest in talent, increasing its staff to meet new business and technological challenges, as well as strengthening the organization's consulting area with an approximately 10% budget increase. "The 2026 budget includes key investments for the corporation's development, dedicated to completing the modernization of the headquarters and investing in the offices of its regional branches, as well as the Chamber's technological commitment to modernize all its services with the implementation of AI." Specifically, the Chamber will allocate approximately €2 million to investments, 50% of which will be dedicated to infrastructure and the remaining 50% to technology. To this end, the Chamber's plenary session also approved a €2 million increase in its long-term borrowing capacity, given the positive results of recent years, in order to finance the corporation's long-term investments. "Strengthening institutional and consultative activity will be one of the key pillars of the Chamber's strategy for 2026," the Chamber states. In this regard, the institution hopes that the new Chambers Law – now once again in controversy– be approved during the first half of 2026, "which would give the chambers the capacity to cover their institutional, representative and consultative expenses," the institution says.

The traditional Christmas meetings of Pimec and the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, held this Thursday – which have coincided for several years now – have become a battleground for the controversy surrounding the law on chambers of commerce. How He already explained it NOWLast month, the employers' associations Pimec and Foment del Treball, along with the unions CCOO and UGT, sent a letter to parliamentary groups expressing their disagreement with the bill presented in the Parliament of Catalonia. This came as a shock to the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and the Council of Chambers of Commerce of Catalonia, given that the text "had been agreed upon." According to Pimec, the text that has finally entered parliamentary proceedings is not "exactly" the agreed-upon text, and therefore the social partners have submitted a series of amendments. Although the law is now in the hands of politicians and its future course no longer depends on business institutions, the negative sentiment surrounding it is clear. When asked about this discrepancy, the president of Pimec, Antoni Cañete, asserted this Thursday during the Christmas breakfast that the text as it currently stands "creates legal uncertainty and an overreach of authority" by the chambers of commerce, "which cannot under any circumstances participate in social dialogue." "The chambers of commerce must act as chambers of commerce, employers' associations as employers' associations, and unions as unions," Cañete stated, adding that "order" is necessary. Thus, the president of Pimec said that they did not oppose the bill's passage at the time, but that the text, after thorough analysis, includes elements that "concern" them. "It's like the Hundred Years' War," Cañete joked. "We've been debating this text for years." "We are not against the legislative process itself, we are against the ambiguities that could create uncertainty," he said, while also asserting that "it is a matter of democracy" and that they hope the political parties will take their amendments into account.

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."

The long-awaited Chambers of Commerce Act is beginning to move forward. More than ten years later, the proposed Chambers of Commerce Act, agreed upon by the 13 Catalan Chambers of Commerce, was submitted this Thursday to the Parliament of Catalonia to the main parliamentary groups that will support the approval of the text. Thus, the PSC (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party), ERC (Electrical and Regional Government), Junts (Junts), and the PP (People's Party) have registered the Act, which now enters parliamentary procedure and is expected to be approved by the end of 2025 or early 2026.

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.

The city of Barcelona is increasingly appearing in more global and European rankings as one of the best cities in many areas. It stands out, above all, for being second in the world and first in Europe for foreign investment projects in research and development centers. In short, it is one of the 20 most competitive cities in the world. This is according to the report prepared with 2024 data by the Barcelona Observatory, an initiative promoted by the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and the City Council, presented this Thursday morning.

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.