Salvador Illa asks for budgets to confront the consequences of the war in Iran

BarcelonaA week after the United States and Israel's attack on Iran, and given the uncertain consequences that this war may entail, Salvador Illa met this Saturday with unions and employers in an extraordinary meeting. He did so within the framework of the Council for Social Dialogue of Catalonia to reassure the Catalan productive fabric and commit to taking the necessary measures to face the possible economic consequences of the war. A commitment that, in fact, has also been demanded by the representatives of Foment, Pimec, CCOO, and UGT. Illa also took advantage of the meeting to defend the need for budgets in 2026 and sent another message of pressure to ERC: "We cannot block Catalonia. Today's stability has a name: budgets".

"I call for us to act united and with a sense of country. Faced with the global crisis, let everyone put Catalonia above all else," defended the President of the Generalitat. Illa's message comes at a time when Esquerra maintains its no to negotiate the accounts as long as the Spanish government does not make a gesture to unblock the collection of IRPF. "We have committed social agents and we have shared democratic and human values. I ask for trust, I ask for responsibility, I ask for a sense of duty and a sense of country," he added. Talks between socialists and republicans remain open with a view to March 20, when the debate on amendments in their entirety to the accounts is to be held. ERC has until then to withdraw its amendment; otherwise, the accounts will fall.

While the budgets remain in the air, Illa will move forward with a working group with social and economic agents to assess "how the situation is evolving" as a result of the war in Iran and "to decide what measures are appropriate to respond to it." In next Tuesday's executive council, the Government will approve this working group. The objective, Illa said, is to "economically and socially protect the entire country." "We have done it before in response to the crisis caused by the trade war and we will do it again, if necessary," he stressed.

Foment, concerned about the Sánchez-Trump clash

Foment del Treball trusts that the economic impact of the war in Iran will be "minimal." Its president, Josep Sánchez Llibre, wanted to send a "message of calm" to both companies and citizens, but expressed concern about the tension between Spain and the United States. In this regard, he advocated for the North American country as "a friendly country from an economic perspective" and expressed confidence that the conflict "will not harm" trade relations between Spanish companies and the United States. For his part, the president of Pimec, Antoni Cañete, admitted that they are "concerned" about an "extremely tense" situation in the Middle East and asked that SMEs not be the "weak link" in the face of the possible economic consequences of the conflict, warning, for example, that they could have liquidity problems.

The CCOO and UGT unions have called for an end to the conflict in the Middle East and a "social shield" for workers if necessary to "protect" jobs and the possible loss of purchasing power. The general secretary of CCOO of Catalonia, Belén López, has called for "economic memory" of the possible aid that can be given to companies, while the general secretary of UGT, Camil Ros, has asked to be proactive: "Government, employers' associations and unions, let's not have to act when it has already happened".