Overview

• At Pimec’s Barcelona board meeting, the PP leader promised less bureaucracy and fewer regulations to spur small and mid-sized businesses.
• He said he is considering a points-based visa to prioritize employable migrants as part of a push for more “regulated” migration.
• Pimec urged a new financing system to channel more funds to Catalonia, and sources said Feijóo did not reject the idea if it is negotiated by consensus.
• Feijóo criticized what he called excessive spending and poor management by the central government and the Generalitat, sharing figures on foreigners receiving benefits without prior Social Security contributions.
• The outreach followed Pedro Sánchez’s visit to Pimec earlier in the week and comes before a PP-hosted European People’s Party gathering in Barcelona led locally by Dolors Montserrat, with no attendance by Manfred Weber.