Tensions in the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce. The plenary session of the institution was fractured this afternoon during the vote on the Proposal for renewal of Pau Relat as president of the Barcelona Fair.
It should be remembered that during the last parliamentary elections, the independence list Country Eines He did not obtain enough votes to retain government of the company. The alternative platform Va d’Empresa won more seats and its leader, Joseph Santacreutoday heads the largest chamber of commerce in Catalonia.
The appointment of Relat, also CEO of MAT Holding, was one of hot spots of the session. The name of the leader of the show, in office since 2018, is agreed between the CambraBarcelona City Hall and the Generalitat of Catalonia. Traditionally, there has always been an agreement between the three institutions, and the Chamber is the one which takes the first step in this tripartite method.
This time, it was assumed that the members assigned to Va d’Empresa They would support Relat. However, representatives of Eins They expressed their disagreement and asked for the vote to be postponed, a point which was rejected. Its main argument is the presentation of a parliamentary question by Together on the placement of Oriol Sagreraformer high position of ERC at the Ministry of Commerce and Labor, heading Fair circuitthe new company 100% owned by Fira which will operate the congress activity of the Circuit de Montmeló.
According to several sources consulted, Eins intended to clarify this question, which they consider border with the law of incompatibilitiesbefore deciding on the presidency of Fira. But there is a swell: the vowels of Eins They consider that Sagrera maneuvered against his candidacy during the previous parliamentary elections.
Finally, Relat’s continuity proposal was approved by majority. The other Fira positions to be renewed, councilors Mar Alarcón, Helena Guardans and Manel Vallet, were voted unanimously.
After this procedure, it is expected that in January the General Council of the Fira de Barcelonaan organ extended chaired by the mayor of Barcelona, ratifies Relat in his position. Businessman faces two big challenges: the large extension of the L’Hospitalet de Llobregat site, where the Mobile World Congress is held each year, as well as the updating of the historic pavilions of Montjuïc.
Budget 2025
The rest of the appointments, all internal, were approved without reservations. These are positions within committees, working groups, delegations or other bodies such as the Dona Observatory, Business and Economy. Furthermore, the plenary session approved the constitution of a new entrepreneurship and startups commission.
On the other hand, the business recovery entity unanimously voted its budget from 2025.
This Wednesday’s plenary session was constituted as a second convocation, at 5:00 p.m., and with only 32 of the 60 members present. The delegates of Eins They were unable to arrive in time for first call at 4:30 p.m. due to a road accident. Despite this setback, Santacreu allowed him to access and vote in the meeting even without any legal obligation, according to company sources.
