The economist and writer Miquel Puig i Raposo (Tarragona, 1954) will be the new Secretary for Economic Affairs and European Funds of the Ministry of Economy. The Consell Executiu is expected to approve the appointment at the meeting on Tuesday, according to knowledgeable sources.
Puig, who is currently a councilor of the Barcelona City Council for ERC–Ernest Maragall Mayor + BCN–Nova–Acord Municipal since 2019, replaces Maite Villarroya, who was dismissed a few weeks ago. With this appointment, the head of the department, Natàlia Mas, completes the main positions after confirming the continuity of Martha Espasa head of the Treasury Secretariat and the appointment of Josep Maria Vilarrubiawho until now was general director of Avancçsa, dependent on the Departament d’Empresa i Treball, as general secretary.
Puig, who was general director of the Catalan Radio and Television Corporation (today Corporació Catalana de Mitjans Audiovisuals) from February 2000 to March 2002, began his career in the Catalan Administration in 1984 in the Department of Industry and Energy of the Generalitat , where he was general director of Seguretat i Qualitat Industrials, general director of Industry and general secretary, successively.
He was also a commissioner for the Information Society and the first president of the Center for Information Telecommunications and Technologies (CTTI), among other positions. In the private sector, he was an independent consultant and CEO of Abertis Airports. He is currently the general director of the Consorci de Serveis Universitaris de Catalunya (CSUC).
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He is a doctor in Economics and author of books such as “Modernitzar Catalunya”, Edicions Proa, 200; “La sortida del laberint”, Edicions 62, 2013; “Com Àustria o Dinamarca” (with M. Guinjoan and X. Cuadras), Edicions 62, 2013; “A good country is not a ‘low cost’ country, Edicions 62, 2015, “Dimensió, eficiència i igualtat” (with M. Guinjoan and X. Cuadras), Fundació Josep Irla/Centre Maurits Coppieters, 2015 or “Els salaris de anger (The Bell, 2021).
The new secretary is part of the Comitè Assessor Catalunya-Next Generation EU, created by the Generalitat. One of his functions will precisely be to direct, plan and coordinate the actions of the Generalitat in matters of regional European funds and the recovery and resilience mechanism. It will also have to deal with promoting and coordinating the Government’s economic policy or directing the areas of economic analysis and prospecting and promoting studies on the Catalan economy, among other functions.