• Entrepreneurs think that a solid government is essential for an agile and efficient management of the Europeans recovery funds.
• Almost 70% of family businesses believe they face a weak growth this year, and 53% do not expect improvements until next year.
• In 2020, 85% of entrepreneurs saw their turnover reduced.

Barcelona, 03/18/2021 – The Catalonian Family Business Association, ASCEF, asks the political parties represented in parliament to work hard towards an agreement to propose a candidate to preside over the Generalitat de Catalunya and not to delay the president’s investiture, because enterprises need a stable and solid government in the face of a situation caused by a year of pandemic. “It is time to pool forces, think about the good of society and enterprise as a whole, work so that the European funds become a real transformation tool“, stated Amadeu Jori, ASCEF President.

For the family business sector, Catalonia is risking its economic future under these circumstances, therefore it is critical to reach a consensus to form a government and that the parties can reach agreements to decide “which projects are to be propelled and how to manage that funding. We have a big challenge ahead of us and the political class should be up to it“.

According to ASCEF, the response of the political class is often confusing and contradicting” and the essential aspects that drive progress and competitiveness are set aside among the different political groups’ priorities.  “The turbulences between Madrid and Barcelona, as well as the tensions among the different Catalonian political parties, cannot rein in the recovery we need.  In a crisis situation, it is necessary to act with utmost responsibility and focus on common priorities“, asserts Jori. For the Catalonian enterprise sector, it is not only necessary to have a facilitating agreement for the arrival of the European funds, but also to focus on tax reform and the increase of aid packages.

In this sense, family business entrepreneurs demand again to be taken into account in order to identify and lower barriers that put companies’ survival at risk. Based on the data available to the Catalonian family business sector, entrepreneurs rate the current recovery scenario at 4 out of 9. For 68% of them, businesses face, in the short term, a feeble growth without job creation, and 53% don’t expect improvements until next year.  During 2020, 85% of entrepreneurs saw their turnover reduced.

The Catalonian Association of Family Business is an entity made up of over 100 companies that represent the Catalonian business fabric and play an outstanding role in the country’s economy thanks to their commitment to wealth creation, employment, sustainability and the region. Family business in Catalonia constitute 88,3% of private enterprises, provide 69% of the Net Value Added (NVA) total and create 76% of the private sector jobs.