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The president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, had closed the second day of the Meeting of the Circle of Economy telling the benefits of the Catalan economy against "defeatist speeches". And he did so after criticizing the "Spain is going well" that José María Aznar proclaimed during his presidency of the Government, more than two decades ago, or the "Champions League of world economies" in which Spain was integrated according to his successor, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
This afternoon, on the third and last day of the business forum held in Barcelona, it was the Minister of Economy and Finance, Natàlia Mas, who abounded in this message in the face of "apocalyptic messages". The head of regional finances has tried to dispel any doubts about the "good course" of the Catalan economy with data on GDP, employment, exports and attracting foreign investment.
"The time of defeatism has to end, there are speakers who like to say that we are not doing well, but it is not rigorous. The Catalan economy is moving in a good direction, with a lot of room for improvement, but in the right direction, "the minister reaffirmed in her speech to an audience that two hours earlier had applauded with undisguised pleasure the intervention of the president of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo.
"Business flight"
In the dialogue established with the Minister of Economy, the so-called "flight of companies" has deserved a separate chapter, that is, the high number of companies that moved their headquarters to other Spanish regions after the referendum of October 1, 2017 and the subsequent unilateral declaration of independence at the end of that month.
"That year a high number of changes of headquarters were concentrated, but talking about leakage does not fit reality," said Mas, who then went on to compare Catalan data with those of Madrid: "From 2017 to 2022, some 2,900 companies left the Autonomous Community of Madrid, while in Catalonia there were 200 less. " The head of the Department of Economy of the Generalitat has also resorted to another figure in her argument: "From 2014 until today, the creation of companies is higher in Barcelona than in Madrid".
Mas has also verbalized two classic complaints of the Catalan governments. On the one hand, the fiscal deficit of Catalonia with respect to the State, which the minister figures "between 18,000 and 20,000 million euros a year, when the budgets of the Generalitat are 41,000 million".
And, secondly, the head of Economy has accused the central administration of investing "deliberately" twice as much money in infrastructure in the Community of Madrid as in Catalonia. Specifically, since 2015, an average of 122% in the central region by 62% in Catalan territory, as detailed.
Extension of El Prat
The head of Finance has been questioned about the expansion of El Prat airport, a project that was stalled almost two years ago by the disagreement between the Government and the Generalitat, which at that time was divided between the opinion of Junts per Catalunya, inclined mostly to undertake the reform, and Esquerra Republicana, against.
Studying again the options to expand the capacity of El Prat was one of the pacts between Aragonès and the leader of the opposition in the Catalan Parliament, Salvador Illa, for the PSC to give its support to this year's regional budgets. "We are carrying out technical work with several experts to put on the table the possible solutions to increase intercontinental flights," said Mas.
- Generalitat of Catalonia
- PSC
- Salvador Illa
- Together for Catalonia
- Barcelona
- Community of Madrid
- GDP
- José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
- Jose Maria Aznar
- Enterprises
- Pere Aragonès
- CKD
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