• The spokesperson publicly expressed the Government's "grief and deep sorrow" for the death of four people from the same family in a fire in a business establishment in the center of Barcelona, a new case that "highlights the housing emergency that the country is experiencing".

• The Minister of Justice justifies the retroactive nature of the decree law on vicarious violence because "every hour counts".

• The Government makes a "call for calm" in the face of the OMICRON variant and asks to continue taking measures so as not to contribute to the spread of the virus

• The Executive has also approved to initiate the proceedings of the new Consumer Code of Catalonia

• The Government awards this year's St. George Cross of the Government of Catalonia to 20 personalities and 10 entities

 

The spokesperson of the Government has dedicated the first words of the Government press conference to publicly convey "the sorrow and deep pain" of the Government for the death, this morning, of four people from the same family because of a fire in a business establishment in the center of Barcelona where up to 8 people were "living badly". This is a new case that "highlights the housing emergency in the country", lamented the spokesperson.

Plaja reported that the Government and the Barcelona City Council are working in coordination to provide assistance to the other people affected and address the root causes, which are "multifactorial" and as such must be addressed from all areas and stressed that "we can not normalize events like these that challenge all of us and all administrations at all levels".

The Government approves a decree law to protect the life and safety of children victims of vicarious violence

The Government of the Government of Catalonia has approved today a decree law to protect the life and safety of children and adolescents in cases of vicarious violence. According to the regulation, which modifies the articles of the Catalan Civil Code on the guardianship, stays and communications of minors, parents with substantiated indications of having committed acts of family or male violence will be prohibited from staying, visiting and communicating with their sons and daughters.

The Minister of Justice, Lourdes Ciuró, during her speech at the press conference of the Government, said that the Decree Law approved today has a "single purpose, which is to protect the lives of children and young people, and above all, to help eradicate one of the hardest forms of violence: vicarious violence". According to the Minister of Justice, the "damage caused by this type of violence is unnatural because the one who should protect is precisely the one who causes it". The minister recalled that "every hour counts and that is why this measure will be retroactive for those people who urge the judicial review procedure in processes of gender violence may request the review of the measures of stay, visits and communications". With this decree - Ciuró said - we also advance in another form of violence against women, which is institutional: women who denounce this violence will receive judicial protection for whom they love the most, which are their sons and daughters".

The Decree Law approved today also prohibits stays, communications and relations with the children for the parent who is in criminal proceedings for an attempt against the life, physical or moral integrity, freedom or sexual indemnity of another parent or the children, and also in cases where the latter is in prison for the same offenses.

In civil separation and divorce proceedings, the judge may establish, exceptionally, a regime of stays or communications, in the interest of children and adolescents, provided that they have been heard. The modifications in the field of civil law arising from the decree law approved today will be immediately applied by the courts with the aim of reducing the number of minors who die at the hands of their parents.

Situation of the pandemic

During this morning's meeting, the Government has made an assessment of the situation of the pandemic in our country, which "unfortunately continues with a negative evolution and with rising figures". The spokesperson informed that two possible cases of the OMICRON variant are being studied in Catalonia, and took the opportunity to make a "call for calm so as not to add more anguish or speculation to a reality that in itself is already worrying". For the moment, according to the information known about this new variant, the current indications should not be changed or modified, but it is "essential, basic, necessary, indispensable that we continue to take the measures that are already within our reach so as not to contribute to the spread of the virus". The spokesperson recalled that from this Friday, and after an extension of one week, it will be necessary to present the COVID certificate to enter in restaurants, gyms and residences. In this regard, has appealed to users to save the download of the certificate so that it is not necessary to download it every time we ask for it. The document can be downloaded through the web and the My Health application, which is "fully operational".

New Consumer Code of Catalonia

The Executive today also gave the green light to the draft bill of what will be the new Consumer Code of Catalonia. The current law was created more than 10 years ago and it is necessary to update it to the current reality of consumption in Catalonia and to adapt the Catalan consumer regulations to the community rules that the European Union has dictated in recent years and that affect the rights of consumers, especially with regard to electronic contracting and digital platforms.

The reform of the law envisages contributing to the protection of the environment or preventing food waste with measures such as the regulation of environmental information to be provided on products at points of sale or the prohibition of offers that encourage excessive consumption. "Responsible consumption is necessary and in this sense, the new law goes along the lines of encouraging a more reflective, and critical consumption" has stressed the spokesperson. The future law also aims to reinforce the protection of the most disadvantaged or vulnerable groups of consumers and introduces measures to fight against inequalities and discrimination in consumer relations for reasons of gender, with the incorporation of sexist behavior or the use of gender stereotypes in advertising or contracting as a consumer infringement.

 

Other Government Agreements

 The Government has granted a direct subsidy to the Town Council of Badia del Vallès to be able to carry out all the necessary actions to remove asbestos from the affected buildings. The amount granted amounts to 4.5 million euros. The asbestos is present in the 200 residential buildings of Badia and will have to be completely removed by the end of 2025.

Finally, the Government has also approved the operation that will allow to have the land to build the new Open Center and the Penitentiary Center for women in Zona Franca. The Barcelona City Council will cede two plots of land in the Zona Franca to build the two prisons and Justice will transfer the land of the Trinity so that the City Council can build social apartments.

 

Merits with the Sant Jordi Crosses

The Government has agreed to award this year's Sant Jordi Cross of the Government of Catalonia to 20 personalities, ten men and ten women, and 10 entities that, due to their merits, have rendered outstanding services in Catalonia in the defense of its identity or at the civic and cultural level.

This year's Sant Jordi Crosses have been awarded to: Jesús Alturo and Perucho Paleógrafo, philologist and historian; Mariona Carulla i Fon, businesswoman and cultural promoter; Anna Rosa Cisquella i Passada, actress and theater producer; Ernest Costa i Saboia, photographer and naturalist writer; Joana Escobedo i Abraham, philologist and librarian; Isabel Etxeberria Gorriti; pedagogue; sportsman Pau Gasol i Sáez; Manuel Heredia Jiménez, Oncle Manuel, social activist; Francisco Ibáñez Talavera, cartoonist and scriptwriter; Mercedes Izquierdo i Aymerich, scientist and professor; Elena Jaumandreu Garrido, film editor; Enric Larreula i Vidal, writer, university professor and illustrator; Justo Molinero Calero, broadcaster, communicator and businessman; Anna Navarro Descals / Anna N. Schlegel, businesswoman; Joan Panisello i Chavarria, ceramist; the soccer player Alexia Putellas i Segura; Àngels Ribé i Pijuan, conceptual artist; the journalist Mònica Terribas i Sala; Rafael Tous i Giner, textile entrepreneur, art collector and patron; Francesc Vilasís i Fernández-Capallejà, enameller.

The Government has also agreed to award the Cross of St. George of the Government of Catalonia, in the form of a plaque, to the following entities: Unió Calafina Recreational Cultural Association; Argentona Civil Protection Volunteers Association; Barcelona College of Industrial Technical Engineers; Official College of Architects of Catalonia; Council of Colleges of Nurses and Nurses of Catalonia; the music group: Els Pets; Sitges Grallers School; Catalan Swimming Federation; Catalan Recreation Foundation and in the Catalan Society of Family and Community Medicine.