The expansion and blocking of the powers of the Generalitat in the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, listed in Title IV of the Statute, constituted one of the main novelties and one of its most discussed and controversial issues since the proposal approved by the Parliament of Catalonia on September 30, 2005 was widely modified the following year by the Cortes Generales, after the agreement reached in January 2006 between the president of the Spanish Government, the socialist José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, and the leader of Convergència i Unió Artur Mas, then in the opposition in Catalonia.
The project approved by the Parliament of Catalonia
When the draft new Statute was approved by the Parliament of Catalonia, the Catalan political forces and the media agreed to highlight that the expansion and the so-called shielding of powers constituted one of the main novelties of the new Statute. They were the result of an intense negotiation between the three parties (Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya) (PSC), Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) and Initiative per Catalunya Verds - Esquerra Unida i Alternativa (ICV-EUiA)) that supported the government of the Generalitat chaired by the socialist Pasqual Maragall, and the main opposition party Convergencia i Unió (CiU), while the Popular Party of Catalonia opposed the agreement and voted against it.[1].
Title IV dedicated to competencies was the longest of the project and included nearly sixty competencies attributed to the Generalitat. It also introduced their "shield", which consisted of a detailed and exhaustive definition of jurisdiction that would prevent the Cortes Generales from being able to "reduce" it through organic or basic laws. For this purpose, the powers attributed solely to the Generalitat were also defined as "exclusive and exclusive", a formulation endorsed by the Consultative Council of the Generalitat of Catalonia, along with the shared powers, those in which the Generalitat and the State jointly have legislative and regulatory power, and the executive powers, in which the Generalitat is responsible for applying the regulations established by the State.[1].
Before its approval by the Parliament of Catalonia, an opinion was requested from the Consultative Council of the Generalitat of Catalonia and this legal body endorsed the formula of detailing the powers in order to , but opposed the intention of the speakers to force the Cortes Generales to modify certain state laws to accommodate them to the provisions of the Statute. The formula adopted by the Parliament of Catalonia was to "urge" the Cortes Generales to change the laws so that the Generalitat could exercise some of the new powers attributed to it by the Statute, so these would not be exercised by the Generalitat until the legal changes came into force. However, a report commissioned by the Ministry of Public Administrations from four renowned jurists indicated that "the expansion of powers [in the Statute] is massive, unjustified and clearly contrary to the Constitution." Furthermore, they rejected the of the new powers that the Generalitat intended to assume because it meant "binding the State".[2].
Coastal planning contract
Introduction
The expansion and blocking of the powers of the Generalitat in the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, listed in Title IV of the Statute, constituted one of the main novelties and one of its most discussed and controversial issues since the proposal approved by the Parliament of Catalonia on September 30, 2005 was widely modified the following year by the Cortes Generales, after the agreement reached in January 2006 between the president of the Spanish Government, the socialist José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, and the leader of Convergència i Unió Artur Mas, then in the opposition in Catalonia.
The project approved by the Parliament of Catalonia
When the draft new Statute was approved by the Parliament of Catalonia, the Catalan political forces and the media agreed to highlight that the expansion and the so-called shielding of powers constituted one of the main novelties of the new Statute. They were the result of an intense negotiation between the three parties (Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya) (PSC), Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) and Initiative per Catalunya Verds - Esquerra Unida i Alternativa (ICV-EUiA)) that supported the government of the Generalitat chaired by the socialist Pasqual Maragall, and the main opposition party Convergencia i Unió (CiU), while the Popular Party of Catalonia opposed the agreement and voted against it.[1].
Title IV dedicated to competencies was the longest of the project and included nearly sixty competencies attributed to the Generalitat. It also introduced their "shield", which consisted of a detailed and exhaustive definition of jurisdiction that would prevent the Cortes Generales from being able to "reduce" it through organic or basic laws. For this purpose, the powers attributed solely to the Generalitat were also defined as "exclusive and exclusive", a formulation endorsed by the Consultative Council of the Generalitat of Catalonia, along with the shared powers, those in which the Generalitat and the State jointly have legislative and regulatory power, and the executive powers, in which the Generalitat is responsible for applying the regulations established by the State.[1].
shield them
shielding
Among the economic and financial powers, one of the most highlighted by the media was that the Generalitat was the administration that set business hours (art. 121), as well as that the Generalitat was granted the regulation of the organization of savings banks, which included the determination of the legal status of the members of the governing bodies and other senior officials (article 126). Regarding infrastructure, the proposal of the Parliament of Catalonia included that the position of the Generalitat would be decisive in deciding whether to carry out a transfer between river basins that affected its territory (art. 117).[1].
One of the most notable developments by the Catalan political forces and media was that the Generalitat assumed powers in immigration that until then it did not have, including the power to establish, through the Bilateral Commission with the State, the contingent of immigrants that Catalonia could receive, in addition to taking care of their social and economic integration (art. 138). Another novelty was the competence of the Generalitat to manage the services of the economic regime of the Social Security of Spain, one of the points most criticized by the Popular Party for considering that it broke the single fund of the Social Security (art. 165).[1].
In terms of education, culture, sport and leisure, one of the aspects most highlighted by the Catalan media was the competition for the external projection of Catalan sport, which meant that Catalan teams could be formed to participate in official international competitions (article 134).[1]
Regarding the new administrative powers, it was highlighted that the Generalitat would be the body that would set the powers of the local entities of Catalonia, which included the disappearance of the four Catalan provincial councils, which would be replaced by seven veguerías (art. 151 and 160).[1].
Ruling of the Constitutional Court
The ruling of the Constitutional Court on the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006 declared unconstitutional three paragraphs of articles 110, 120 and 126 (which have already been indicated with a crossed out in the previous section) and another five (along with 110) subject to the interpretation of the Court so that they could be considered in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978. The affected articles (with their corresponding interpretation) were the following:
Before its approval by the Parliament of Catalonia, an opinion was requested from the Consultative Council of the Generalitat of Catalonia and this legal body endorsed the formula of detailing the powers in order to shield them, but opposed the intention of the speakers to force the Cortes Generales to modify certain state laws to accommodate them to the provisions of the Statute. The formula adopted by the Parliament of Catalonia was to "urge" the Cortes Generales to change the laws so that the Generalitat could exercise some of the new powers attributed to it by the Statute, so these would not be exercised by the Generalitat until the legal changes came into force. However, a report commissioned by the Ministry of Public Administrations from four renowned jurists indicated that "the expansion of powers [in the Statute] is massive, unjustified and clearly contrary to the Constitution." Furthermore, they rejected the shielding of the new powers that the Generalitat intended to assume because it meant "binding the State".[2].
Among the economic and financial powers, one of the most highlighted by the media was that the Generalitat was the administration that set business hours (art. 121), as well as that the Generalitat was granted the regulation of the organization of savings banks, which included the determination of the legal status of the members of the governing bodies and other senior officials (article 126). Regarding infrastructure, the proposal of the Parliament of Catalonia included that the position of the Generalitat would be decisive in deciding whether to carry out a transfer between river basins that affected its territory (art. 117).[1].
One of the most notable developments by the Catalan political forces and media was that the Generalitat assumed powers in immigration that until then it did not have, including the power to establish, through the Bilateral Commission with the State, the contingent of immigrants that Catalonia could receive, in addition to taking care of their social and economic integration (art. 138). Another novelty was the competence of the Generalitat to manage the services of the economic regime of the Social Security of Spain, one of the points most criticized by the Popular Party for considering that it broke the single fund of the Social Security (art. 165).[1].
In terms of education, culture, sport and leisure, one of the aspects most highlighted by the Catalan media was the competition for the external projection of Catalan sport, which meant that Catalan teams could be formed to participate in official international competitions (article 134).[1]
Regarding the new administrative powers, it was highlighted that the Generalitat would be the body that would set the powers of the local entities of Catalonia, which included the disappearance of the four Catalan provincial councils, which would be replaced by seven veguerías (art. 151 and 160).[1].
Ruling of the Constitutional Court
The ruling of the Constitutional Court on the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006 declared unconstitutional three paragraphs of articles 110, 120 and 126 (which have already been indicated with a crossed out in the previous section) and another five (along with 110) subject to the interpretation of the Court so that they could be considered in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978. The affected articles (with their corresponding interpretation) were the following: