2026-05-20 · 10 items
2026-05-20

fets.BETA


rodalies_incidents · rodalies_planned · sct_transit_incidents

Rodalies network disruptions and road traffic incidents in Catalonia

The R11 line experienced delays exceeding 30 minutes due to an infrastructure incident, and several trains accumulated delays of between 31 and 93 minutes due to infrastructure incidents between Portbou and Vilajuïga and between the Fluvià river and Flaçà. Tarragona station recorded a facilities incident affecting lines R14, R15, R16 and R17. On the roads, congestion was recorded on multiple sections of the AP-7, B-10, B-20, B-23, C-58 and C-33, among others, with accidents causing lane closures on the B-20 and B-23, and a gas leak closed the TP-2124.

vilaweb

Catalan exports: March growth but cumulative decline and African swine fever impact

Catalan merchandise exports grew 5.2% year-on-year in March 2026, maintaining a 26% share of total Spanish exports, but the first-quarter cumulative figure showed a -1.4% decline. Catalan exports to the US rose 28.6% in March, with machinery accounting for 26.5% of sales, while the chemical, food and pharmaceutical sectors recorded falls. Catalan pork sector exports fell 27.7% in the first quarter of 2026, affected by African swine fever, and the harmonised business confidence index fell 1.7% in the second quarter versus the first. At European level, EU extra-EU exports fell 8.9% year-on-year in the first quarter, while EU exports to the US fell 38.8% in March.

vilaweb

Official status of Catalan, Basque and Galician in the EU: German doubts persist

Spanish foreign minister José Manuel Albares met his German counterpart Johann Wadephul, but Germany maintained its reservations about the proposal to grant official EU status to Catalan, Basque and Galician, focusing on economic costs, legal implications and institutional impact. The EU General Affairs Council formally debated the issue, with Berlin leading a group of approximately ten states expressing doubts. Albares argued it is a matter of 'national identity' for a 'multilingual' state affecting twenty million people, and stressed the proposal requires unanimity among all twenty-seven member states.

vilaweb

Generalitat-Spanish state bilateral commission: agreements on investment, orbital railway and Mossos

The Generalitat-Spanish state bilateral commission met in Madrid and agreed to create a joint consortium and constitute the Societat Mercantil Estatal d'Inversions de Catalunya, which Presidency councillor Albert Dalmau expects to be established during 2026. The commission agreed to sign a cooperation protocol for the new 120-kilometre orbital railway line and endorsed a technical working group involving the Departament de Territori, ADIF, RENFE and relevant ministries. It also agreed to finance expanding the Mossos d'Esquadra to 25,000 officers by 2030, create a working group to extend Catalan-language training in Spanish state administration bodies in Catalonia, and restructure the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona.

bcn_premsa · europa_press_catalunya · vilaweb

Barcelona moratorium on 24-hour shop licences

Barcelona city council suspended the granting of new licences for self-service shops and superservices that can open 24 hours, a measure published in the BOPB with one-year validity and immediate effect. The moratorium mainly affects businesses under 400 square metres with no time restrictions, excludes the Ciutat Vella and Sant Martí districts, and aims to develop comprehensive regulation protecting local commerce and preventing 'commercial monoculture'. Barcelona has approximately 1,300 such establishments, and previous inspection campaigns had detected over 1,440 violations related to licences, public health, waste, labour law and taxation.


5 items
europa_press_catalunya · generalitat_premsa · parlament_noticies

Femicides in Catalonia and institutional response

A 33-year-old woman was murdered by her former partner at Plaça Josep Tarradelles in Figueres; the perpetrator had been detained twice that week and had a 250-metre restraining order. The Departament d'Igualtat i Feminisme condemned the femicide, the third of 2026 and the 162nd since Catalonia began collecting official data in 2012. The Parlament de Catalunya held a minute of silence on the building's façade in memory of the two most recent victims of gender violence — in Tortosa and Figueres — attended by parliament president Josep Rull and Generalitat president Salvador Illa. Councillor Jordi Masquef declared there had been a 'system failure'.

europa_press_catalunya · generalitat_premsa · parlament_noticies · vilaweb

Generalitat 2026 budget: ERC-PSC agreement and parliamentary debate

ERC reached an agreement to support the Generalitat's 2026 budget, and ERC's parliamentary group president Josep Maria Jové warned the Govern not to take legislative stability for granted. President Illa participated in a parliamentary control session and declared that the budget agreement 'is not a finishing line, it is a starting point'. Oriol Junqueras revealed he had met Puigdemont three times in the past six months and expressed hope that Junts would vote in favour of the new financing model and IRPF transfer in Congress. Jovent Republicà called an extraordinary national council to decide its position on the budget agreed between ERC and the PSC.

generalitat_premsa · parlament_noticies · vilaweb

Parlament de Catalunya: validation of decree-laws and approval of legislation

The Ple of the Parlament de Catalunya validated Decree-Law 4/2026 on urgent dependency measures, which cancels old debts, ends improper social benefit payments and creates a benefit to compensate waiting times for care resources. The Parlament also validated the decree-law on urgent measures for interurban road passenger transport, covering fleet decarbonisation, T-mobilitat stabilisation and information system updates. It additionally approved the third-sector bill and a new railway sanctions bill tripling maximum fines for graffiti and damage to trains, and approved single-reading processing of the bill recognising the Institut d'Estudis Catalans as a national academy.

vilaweb

Israeli army intercepts Gaza Flotilla: 430 activists detained and international reactions

The Israeli army intercepted the Gaza Flotilla in international waters and transferred the 430 detained activists to Israel, including 23 Catalans. Israel's Foreign Ministry confirmed the detentions and stated that detainees could meet their consular representatives, while the Adalah legal group described the operation as an 'illegal kidnapping' and denounced abuses and humiliations. Catalan president Salvador Illa condemned Israeli minister Ben-Gvir's conduct, and Spanish foreign minister José Manuel Albares summoned the Israeli ambassador; Pedro Sánchez announced he would propose EU sanctions against Ben-Gvir. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu distanced himself from the treatment of activists and ordered their swift expulsion, while flotilla activists began a hunger strike.

vilaweb · europa_press_catalunya

Teachers' strike in Catalonia: negotiations without agreement and 0-3 sector mobilisations

The sectoral education negotiating table between striking unions and the Generalitat's Departament d'Educació held a session without reaching significant agreements, and unions called a Catalonia-wide strike for 27 May. At the same time, nursery school workers marched through central Barcelona from Plaça de la Universitat, and some protesters entered the PSC headquarters before being expelled by party staff with Mossos d'Esquadra intervention. Teachers from Catalonia and Valencia announced a joint protest at the Sénia river to highlight shared attacks on public education. Commons leader Jéssica Albiach offered president Illa to reschedule some budgetary proposals to help reach an agreement with education unions.