ERC-CUP investiture agreement in fifteen points

The creation of a new organ to oversee the independence bid has been coming up in all investiture conversations. CUP and ERC point to a new strategic direction integrated by pro-independence parties and entities - which would also have to coordinate with the Consell per la República - that would be in charge of drawing "the strategic lines and prepare the new conditions for the new democratic onslaught against the State".

Avoiding symbolic issues, they commit themselves to guarantee "material, civil and political rights" in the Parliament with a reform of the chamber's rules of procedure. They do not specify the scope of this reform, but they do point out that it is necessary to confront the state on issues such as "housing, citizenship rights, rights and freedoms, supplies, anti-fascism and environmentalism". They will also form a working group to avoid, among other things, that the consequences of this confrontation affect the administration's workers.

In the first half of 2023 the independence movement will evaluate the outcome of the dialogue with the state and decide what the next steps will be, "including the eventual completion of this negotiation". ERC pledges to report regularly on progress made.

The CUP wanted a new unilateral referendum for 2025, but it has agreed with ERC that, in case the dialogue table with the State fails, it will be the whole of the independence movement who will raise what has to be "the new democratic onslaught" during this legislature.

A pilot plan is proposed for certain age groups (to be determined) in three phases: 2021 will be a year of study; in 2022 the plan will begin; and in 2023 its operation will be evaluated.

Several shock plans are proposed, although most of them are not very specific: one against severe poverty, one against energy poverty and one against child poverty. The guaranteed income of citizenship will be modified to add housing complements, legal and administrative support will be guaranteed to young people in exile and a commission to study institutional racism will be created in the first month of the legislature, in addition to combating "all ideologies that promote hatred, racism and discrimination". The stabilisation of the 90,000 interim and temporary public sector workers, in addition to a proposal to develop a statute of Catalan labour, are commitments in the field of labor.

Strengthening the public sector is one of the central points of the document. For example, with regard to education, a proposal is put forwards to set up "a plan and a timetable for the recovery of private and state-subsidised centres towards public education in an agreed manner". To reactivate the cultural sector, the commitment is to increase the budget to 2% when today it does not even reach 1%.

In the field of housing, beyond the promotion of a law on rental contracts (to favour tenants), a proposal to spend €1bn per year on housing policies (in the 2020 budget it did not reach €400m) and to make 5,000 homes available annually for public rental by mobilising them, through the pre-emption and withdrawal of those that are already built or pending renovation. As for evictions, they pledge to deploy "the tools" to suspend them until the right to housing is not guaranteed through public housing. Riot police will not be allowed to participate in evitcions of vulnerable families.

Stabilise the workforce and improve the working conditions of health personnel, especially reinforcing primary care, which should come to represent 25% of the health budget (currently 17%). Reversal of outsourcing in areas such as health service hotline 061 and health transport.

Although the CUP has insisted for years on the suppression of the Catalan police's riot units, this is not one of the points agreed with ERC. At least for the moment, because what does arise is the creation of a parliamentary commission on the model of public order and police of Catalonia, as was done in 2013. In the short term, it is proposed that the use of foam balls is suspended until the protocol for their use is made public (the current Minister of Home Affairs, Miquel Sàmper, has already said that this protocol has to be public). And on the legal cases against demonstrators, ERC and CUP have agreed to withdraw the accusations (and not to make new ones) except those that involve injuries to agents accredited with a medical certificate, and the unification of the body of Home Affairs lawyers in the central structure of the Generalitat.

One of the proposals defended by both ERC and CUP for many years is the creation of a public bank, taking advantage of the Catalan Institute of Finance. So far it has not been possible, but this is again one of the points they claim to tackle "in the short term". Public management of water supplies and also the creation of a public energy company are included in the chapter on the promotion of strategic sectors.

ERC had already included in its programme the creation of a Department of Climate Action, which is now also part of the agreement with the CUP that must be validated by its bases. As for the ecological transition there is also a commitment to promote the Comprehensive Plan for the Protection of the Ebro Delta and approve several laws such as energy transition (before 2022) and biodiversity (before 2023).

There is also room to talk about a new national plan for industry, including a fund for industrial reconversion and the promotion of cooperativism that facilitates conversion into cooperatives for companies that announce a business closure. The increase in public participation in the business fabric is another priority in the industrial chapter.

European funds will be vital to overcome the economic crisis resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. Although they will be managed directly by the Spanish government, the Generalitat aspires to have the capacity to influence them. To determine their priorities, ERC and the CUP have agreed to reinforce the dialogue between the Government and the social agents; the creation of a governmental office of management and control of the European funds with mechanisms of participation of civil society and municipalities and companies and trade unions; and the prioritisation of the projects that imply "an ecosocial transformation", that reinforce public services, SMEs and the companies that fulfill the environmental, social and gender requirements.

To evaluate the fulfilment of the agreements, the creation of at least five different working groups is proposed. A permanent monitoring committee; a coordination committee of the Parliament and the Government; several sectoral working groups; a specific group on budgets, and another to analyse large urban development projects and infrastructures.