Collboni will save the coexistence ordinance with the votes of Junts and ERC

BarcelonaBarcelona will have a new coexistence ordinance before the end of the year. After months of negotiations with Jaume Collboni's government, Junts announced on Tuesday that it will support the approval of this measure. At a press conference, the Junts leader in the city council, Jordi Martí, explained that the PSC-led government had accepted the proposals his group had submitted. "This ordinance will incorporate the DNA of Junts per Barcelona," he boasted. Esquerra Republicana also announced afterward that it would vote in favor of the measure because it had reached its own agreement with the government. Finally, however, the ordinance will not include one of the demands put forward by Junts, which called for fines for public disorder to be recorded in residency reports. According to Martí, since the change in immigration regulations at the end of 2014, this is no longer a municipal responsibility. Therefore, they have agreed with the PSC that the municipal government will urge the Generalitat and the State to make the necessary changes so that everything related to civic behavior is included in the reports. Both groups, in fact, approved a motion from the Junts party to that effect during the last plenary session. ERC, however, has explained that part of their agreement involves decoupling sanctions from the reports on residency status.

The text, which will be approved in an extraordinary committee meeting this Thursday so that it can be voted on definitively in the plenary session on Friday, December 19, will incorporate other requests from Junts. For example, that the solicitation of people on the street to consume cannabis be prosecuted; that those fined for graffiti must contribute to cleaning it up; that Catalan have a "prominent central role" in any communication campaign about the ordinance; and that sanctions be increased in the case of infractions such as graffiti, illegal street vending, and public drinking.

Martí also emphasized the importance of the City Council collaborating with other national, state, and international administrations to ensure that imposed fines are collected. He stated that between 2023 and 2024, only 16 percent of fines were collected. In this regard, he explained that a unit will be created. ad hoc to manage all the files stemming from the coexistence ordinance, which should streamline their processing.

The agreement on the coexistence ordinance represents the first major pact between Junts and the PSC since Xavier Trias stepped down as leader of the municipal group. They had previously agreed to modify terrace fees, but relations had cooled since then. Along the way, talks to modify the 30% quota for subsidized housing or to equip the Guardia Urbana (Barcelona's municipal police) with Taser guns have failed, for example. However, this Tuesday, Martí distanced himself from Collboni: "We haven't made a pact with the PSC or with Collboni, but with Barcelona," he said.

Regarding the agreement with the Republicans, Councilor Jordi Coronas explained that, beyond decoupling fines from residency reports, they have also agreed with Collboni's administration on two other measures: prioritizing mediation over fines, and its approval in the coming weeks. For all these reasons, the Republicans will vote in favor of updating an ordinance that, Coronas said, is "completely outdated" after 20 years. Barcelona en Comú has already stated it will vote against it. Deputy spokesperson Marc Serra accused Collboni of "falling into the right-wing trap."

Higher fines for drinking or urinating in the street

Collboni's proposed ordinance—stepped by the Commissioner for Coexistence, Montserrat Surroca—already included expanding the scope of punishable offenses related to drinking and urinating in public, as well as increasing penalties for graffiti. Regarding the section that penalizes public urination, the new ordinance establishes three conditions that can increase the severity of the fine. Urinating in public will be more costly if it occurs near public restrooms or facilities with free access, around bars or nightclubs, or on narrow streets less than four meters wide.

Regarding drinking in the street, the new ordinance maintains the penalty system established by the Citizen Security Law, which was already in effect: fines of €100 to €600 for minor offenses and €750 to €1,500 when drinking in crowded places or in the presence of others. However, the proposal from Collboni's government includes a ban on "drinking routes," which are often promoted among tourists and involve itineraries that visit several bars with the primary objective of drinking alcohol. In this case, the penalty can range from €1,500 to €3,000. This is a practice that the City Council has already banned in Ciutat Vella (the Old City) since 2012, and which will now apply to the entire city.

Another new aspect of the municipal government's proposal concerns graffiti and other forms of vandalism. Beyond the corresponding fines, the new ordinance aims to make those responsible for graffiti also responsible for the cost of cleaning it. Furthermore, it adds to the list of infractions actions that may litter public spaces, such as watering plants outside of permitted hours – watering is only allowed between 10 pm and 7 am – shaking out clothes and rugs if it affects public space, or littering with paper, chewing gum, or containers. These actions can result in fines of up to 750 euros.