President Salvador Illa will lead a working retreat for the Catalan government this Saturday and Sunday at Món Sant Benet in Sant Fruitós de Bages, Barcelona. This marks the fourth such meeting the executive has held away from the Generalitat in less than two years.
Government members are scheduled to arrive at Món Sant Benet on Saturday at 10am, with a closed-door meeting starting at 11am. On Sunday, President Illa will deliver an institutional statement at 9.30am to conclude the gathering.
Món Sant Benet is a cultural and tourism project managed by the Fundació Catalunya-La Pedrera. Its main feature is the 10th-century Sant Benet de Bages monastery, which was owned by artist Ramon Casas' family in the early 20th century after monastic activity ceased in 1835.
This is the fourth time Illa has brought his ministers together for a weekend working session. Two of the three previous retreats also took place in ecclesiastical settings. In August 2024, shortly after taking office, Illa held the first such meeting at the Monestir de Santa Maria de Poblet in Vimbodí i Poblet, Tarragona. In April 2025, the government met at the Santuari de la Vall de Núria in Queralbs, Girona. The third retreat was held in Arnes, Tarragona, in late August 2025, following a summer fire in Paüls and other municipalities within the Ports Natural Park.
Budget Negotiations and Legislative Progress
President Illa faces this meeting as his term approaches its halfway point, just over three months away. A key objective before reaching the mid-term is to approve his first budget proposal. He attempted this earlier in the year, approving a draft in the Executive Council in February after an agreement with the Comuns, hoping to finalise a deal with ERC during parliamentary processing.
However, this attempt was unsuccessful. ERC and the government agreed to withdraw the text, avoiding a parliamentary defeat, and committed to negotiating new public accounts. The aim is to have these approved within the current parliamentary session, which ends in July. ERC has since lowered its demands regarding the Generalitat's income tax collection, which was the main sticking point, and has shown openness to new equivalent advances in self-governance. This week, both parties jointly presented the Consorci d'Inversions (Investment Consortium), another pending development from the investiture agreement.
Recent Challenges and Achievements
Since the last retreat, the executive has announced agreements with the Spanish government and ERC concerning improved regional funding and the transfer of Rodalies (commuter rail services). At the same time, the government has had to manage the most significant crisis in the railway network in recent years, a crisis in the pig farming sector due to African swine fever (ASF), and the economic effects of the war in the Middle East.
The government has also dealt with health issues affecting its members. President Illa was on leave for nearly a month in January due to pubic osteomyelitis. Education and Vocational Training Minister Esther Niubó has since returned to work after a period of leave, while Health Minister Manuela Cabero has been on leave for the past couple of weeks. The upcoming retreat will likely focus on strategies to advance the budget and address ongoing challenges.
