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CATALONIA

Catalan separatists block Spanish PM’s pick for Senate speaker

Catalan separatist parties on Thursday blocked Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's bid to appoint a Catalan for the first time in Spain's modern history to the post of speaker of the Senate.

Published: 16 May 2019 16:13 CEST
Catalan separatists block Spanish PM's pick for Senate speaker
Catalonia's Socialist Party (PSC) Miquel Iceta next to Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez. Photo: AFP

Sanchez, whose Socialists won an early general election last month but have yet to form a new government, had nominated Miquel Iceta, a veteran leader of the Catalan Socialist Party with a conciliatory position towards the separatists, to the post in what was seen as a goodwill gesture.

But the regional Catalan parliament on Thursday voted against Iceta's designation as a senator with 65 against, 25 in favour and 39 abstentions, thwarting Sanchez's plans to have him then appointed as speaker of the upper house.

It was the first setback for Sanchez since the April 28 general election which saw his Socialists win the most seats in Congress, the lower house, and obtain an absolute majority in the Senate.

Since the Socialists do not have an absolute majority in Congress, they need to negotiate an alliance with smaller parties in order to be sworn in for another term.

No agreements are expected before local, regional and European Parliament elections are held in Spain on May 26.

Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo called the move to block Iceta's nomination “immensely clumsy”.

Iceta, a lawmaker in the Catalan regional parliament, has long called for a federal system of government in Spain in order to meet Catalonia's calls for greater autonomy and has repeatedly called for dialogue to resolve a crisis sparked by the northeastern region's failed bid to break away in 2017.

'Used to Madrid giving orders' 

He has even suggested that Catalan leaders currently on trial in Madrid over the secession bid could be given a pardon.

But the separatists opposed Iceta's nomination because he and his party backed the temporary suspension of Catalonia's regional powers after the secession referendum and independence declaration.

They have also accused Iceta of not showing enough sensitivity to the Catalan leaders who are facing long prison sentences.

This is the first time in Spain's modern history that Catalonia's regional parliament has not simply ratified the choice for senator proposed by the top party in the upper house.

“You are very used to Madrid giving orders and Catalonia obeying,” said Albert Batet, spokesman for Catalan separatist party Junts per Catalunya, during debate in the Catalan parliament.

Conservative parties which fiercely oppose Catalan independence also abstained from voting on Iceta's nomination because they accuse him of being too soft on the separatists. 

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BEACHES

Why are Barcelona’s beaches disappearing?

Barcelona's much-loved beaches are losing between six and 10 metres of sand per year, but why is this happening?

Published: 16 June 2021 15:30 CEST
Why are Barcelona's beaches disappearing?
Barceloneta Beach. Photo: Pau BARRENA / AFP

Barcelona may be famed for its beaches and they may be one of its biggest tourist draws, but it hasn’t always been this way.

In fact, Barcelona didn’t used to have any beaches at all, just ports and seaside neighbourhoods. It wasn’t until 1992 when the city held the Olympic Games that these neighbourhoods were demolished and the beaches were created. 

What’s the problem?

Since 2017, the city’s beaches have been losing between six and 10 metres of width per year, according to a recent study by the Área Metropolitana de Barcelona (AMB).

This beach erosion means that every year there is less and less sand for residents and tourists to lie on and enjoy. 

This is not a new problem however and has been going on much longer than four and half years. In 2016, the Barcelona City Council revealed that since 2010 Barceloneta Beach had lost over 15 metres in width, which is equivalent to 28 percent of its surface area.  

In another 2016 report, the regional authorities of Barcelona also showed that its beaches as a whole had lost 17 percent of their total amount of sand during the same time period, the same as five football pitches.

Why is it happening?

The study attributes this to the fact that there have been more storms than normal since 2017, which has prevented the natural recovery of the beaches.

Storm Gloria in January 2020 in particular caused significant damage to the beaches in the area and caused even more sand to be washed away.

In short, most of this is to do with climate change. 

The beaches that have been most affected and have lost the most amount of sand are those in the lower Maresme region and the towns of Masnou and Badalona.

Barcelona beaches being destroyed during a storm. Photo: JOSEP LAGO / AFP

What’s being done about it?

The Barcelona City Council has been continually adding a little sand to its beaches each year and moving it around from areas that have more to areas that have less.

Aitor Rumín, head of the beach management service of the Barcelona Consistory told El Pais last month that “the last major contribution of sand was made by the ministry in 2010. Since then we have only lost sand”.

“It’s survival, but we can’t do much more. The beaches lose 30 cubic meters of sand per year, especially in the southern parts of each of the beaches. The coastline is receding and we have beaches like Mar Bella, Nova Mar Bella and Llevant, where we can’t do anything to regain the sand,” he said.

Badalona Beach. Photo: JOSEP LAGO / AFP

While moving the sand around and adding a little each year may help to cover up the problem in the short term, it’s not really helping solve the problem and a long-term solution needs to be found.

The Área Metropolitana de Barcelona have been trying to stop the beach erosion with their Resilience Plan, which will ask for greater contributions of sand to try and balance out the current losses and divide the beaches up with breakwaters.

In the case of Badalona, it has been proposed that 13,200 cubic metres of sand be added to the beach each year, as well as to rethink the layout of the equipment located on the seafront. The construction of a breakwater on La Mora beach has also been proposed.

In Sant Adrià, the plan is to build another breakwater, as well as to remove the jetty in front of the old industrial areas. The council also hope to add a further 95,000 cubic metres of sand.

It is thought that similar plans may be carried out on Barcelona’s other beaches.

Is this a problem anywhere else in Spain?

Yes, beach erosion is a problem throughout Spain, as well as throughout the world, due to climate change.

Theocharis Plomaritis from the University of Cádiz who was one of the co-authors of the Nature Climate Change study published in March 2020, told El Periodico that by the end of the century the retreat of the beaches in Spain and Southern Europe could be 86 metres, if no measures are taken to contain climate change. 

According to the study, in the best case scenario – with measures to mitigate the effects of climate – the loss of sandy beaches in Spain would be 60 metres and 27 of these metres by 2050.

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