• The aim of the certificate, which would come into force on Friday night after authorization by the TSJC, is to reduce the risk of contagion and thus avoid overloading the health system without applying new restrictions.
• Catalonia will have expansive, social and transforming budgets that will allow to boost the economic reactivation.
• The Government also approves the Program for the design and creation of public energy and the Preliminary Report on the Preliminary Draft Law on the tax on port emissions from large ships.

The Government takes a new step in the fight against the pandemic and has decided to extend the use of the Covid certificate beyond nightlife. The Delegated Commission on Covid, headed by President Aragonès, has decided to require it also for access to the interiors of restaurants, gyms and sports centers, as well as for visits to elderly people's residences. The aim of the passport is to reduce the risk of contagion and to avoid overloading the health system without having to apply new restrictions. This was explained by the spokesperson of the Government, Patrícia Plaja, during the press conference after the weekly meeting of the Executive.

The measure comes after noting that the evolution of the pandemic has a "worrying" upward trend for collective health, for the individual health of all citizens and for the proper functioning of the health system. "It is essential, basic, that we do not lose sight of the fact that we are still in a pandemic and that we are once again in a complex situation, which could become even more so if we do not all follow the necessary measures: masks, distance and the need to vaccinate those who, unjustifiably, have not yet done so", warned the spokesperson.

In this sense, Plaja has justified the decision of the Government in view of the increase of cases and admissions in hospitals and critical care units: "From the first moment, the Government has defended that the use of the Covid certificate would only be extended if the incidence of the pandemic threatened certain sectors with new restrictions. Unfortunately, we are at this point again", she explained. The incidence is "very high" in children under 12 years of age, the only group that cannot be vaccinated, and it is also rising in the 30-49 age group.

The Steering Committee of the Civil Protection Plan of Catalonia will agree on the exact terms of the measure and, once approved, the new resolution will be drafted, which should come into force on Friday night, provided that the High Court of Justice of Catalonia authorizes it, with an initial validity of fifteen days. From here, it will be necessary to continue monitoring the epidemiological situation and outbreaks in Catalonia using existing surveillance systems, as well as following the evidence and experience of other countries, because the proximity of the December long weekend and the Christmas holidays condition the habits of the population. In this regard, scientific evidence corroborates that Covid is transmitted mainly in poorly ventilated environments, which means, indoors, where people do not wear masks and where the minimum safety distance of one and a half meters cannot be maintained.

Catalonia will have expansive, social and transformative budgets that will allow to boost economic reactivation.

At the meeting of the Government it has also been valued that the draft budget law of the Government of Catalonia for 2022 has passed the debate of totality in the Parliament, so that it can now begin the parliamentary processing in committee. Thanks to this, Plaja stressed, Catalonia will have "essential" budgets for the transformation of the country and will have them on schedule, at the beginning of the year:

"It was a need of the country and the Government has done its homework. With President Aragonès at the helm and the enormous effort made by Councilor Giró and the entire Economy team in recent weeks, this Government will be able to move forward with the most important law promoted by any government", said the spokesperson.

Some budgets, according to Plaja, "expansive, social and transforming" that will allow to promote the reactivation of the economy of the country. The accounts of the free Kindergarten 2, public energy, the Universal Basic Income, the commitment to the primary and the Catalan health system and housing policies. "First step passed: we continue working and we will show the importance of these budgets when they can start to be executed", she assured.

The Government approves the Program for the design and creation of the public power company

On the other hand, the Executive Council has given the green light to the Program for the design and creation of the public energetics. The public energetics will be a key element of a new energy model distributed, decentralized, participatory and territorial cohesion attached to the General Directorate Energy of the Department of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda.

According to the spokesperson, the public power plant must be a "key" element of the new model to "accelerate the energy transition in Catalonia", with the objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality in 2050.

"It is essential to have a public instrument with investment capacity in electricity generation, distribution, electric car charging services, storage services, flexible demand aggregation services, and marketing services linked to these new economic models", detailed Plaja.

Green light on the preliminary report of the Preliminary draft law on the tax on port emissions from large ships

Still in the field of the fight against climate change, the Government today approved the preliminary report of the Preliminary Draft Law on the tax on port emissions from large ships. This tax, provided for in the Climate Change Act, will tax emissions of nitrogen oxides during docking maneuvers and the stay of these vessels in port. 100% of the proceeds will go to the Fund for the Protection of the Atmospheric Environment. The text will soon be available for public consultation.

The tax is part of the Government's environmental policy which, in line with the recommendations of the EU and other organizations such as the WHO, makes use of green taxation as an instrument to modify behaviors that have negative externalities on the environment. Specifically, the purpose is to favor the improvement of air quality and people's health in those parts of the territory where there is a greater presence of nitrogen oxide emissions, in this case caused by maritime transport.

Finally, the Executive Council has approved the creation of the temporary Program of the Office of the Pilot Plan to Implement the Universal Basic Income. The Program will provide this Office with the necessary personnel resources, with the incorporation of five technicians from the Senior Administration Corps and one from the Administrative Corps for a period of three years.