ERC issues a warning to Isla regarding its funding: "Time is running out."

BarcelonaFor weeks, Esquerra (Republican Left) has been warning the Catalan government that, without "progress" on the agreement for one-off funding for Catalonia, they will not sit down to negotiate the budget the executive claims it is preparing. And the Republicans have taken advantage of the general policy debate to issue a new warning to Salvador Illa to comply with the financing. "His time is running out; we could say he's in overtime," warned the president of the Republican group, Josep Maria Jové, who, in fact, demanded that the president use his good relationship with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to pressure the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) to make a move. "Today, the PSC is the party with the most representatives in Madrid; the weight and influence it has in the Spanish government is decisive [...] It has the necessary strength to enforce it," demanded Jové, who criticized Isla for acting as "the PSOE's spokesperson."

"Don't hide behind the excuse that you're not getting enough attention, that the vice president and candidate for Andalusia [María Jesús Montero] doesn't want it, that she's locked in. You have the responsibility and the strength necessary to make this agreement effective," Jové warned. ERC has thus redoubled the pressure on the Catalan government, aware that it is the main party interested in seeing the financing agreement materialize to give the Catalan legislature a boost. In this regard, Jové not only reminded it that the budget is up in the air—the government is about to present the draft—but that he has also had to "withdraw" several bills due to lack of support.

The Republican leader called for "actions" and not "words," and the president of the Generalitat responded by defending the unique financing as a "core" agreement, but warned that it is "not easy" to implement. In fact, this Tuesday, in the president's speech opening the general policy debate, he assured that he would present a "concrete" proposal when he had one. A proposal that must be presented by the First Vice President and Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, to reform the entire regional financing model. In this regard, Illa argued that the agreement with ERC neither calls for "privileges" nor denies "solidarity," as they claim. men Popular and Socialist parties.

The Republicans, however, have asked for a litmus test that Isla is rowing to comply with the financing agreement. Jové has demanded that he clarify how the PSC deputies in Congress will vote on the bill that Esquerra presented alone to legally protect the Catalan Tax Agency (ATC) from collecting personal income tax. "He has a litmus test: he wants to comply with what was agreed. It won't be words, it will be concrete actions, votes," Jové stated. The Republicans registered this law without the endorsement of the PSOE, which does not share its content.

Living off the rent

Jové began his speech by accusing Isla of presiding over a government that "lives off the profits" of the previous government, led by Pere Aragonès. "Catalonia was already on the move," he insisted after the president said in his speech yesterday that in his first year, Catalonia had gotten going. "For a year, he's been presenting initiatives that are the culmination, continuation, or simple cosmetic changes to the work that the Republican government left on track. The country was already on the move. The risk now is that you will derail it," he noted. Illa responded in a conciliatory tone that his statement did not contain a criticism of the previous Republican government, and acknowledged that it is true that there are things like investment in research or the forgiveness of the FLA debt that are the result of negotiations between the Republicans and the PSOE.

Josep Maria Jové also used his speech to ask the pro-independence forces to join in defending the financing agreement, in a message directed especially at Junts, in order to gain sovereignty. The Republican MP also called on the independence movement "not to give in" and to distance itself from projects such as the Catalan Alliance. "We must present an exciting, inclusive, and democratic project," stated Jové, who defended a "plural and diverse national project where everyone feels called upon, whatever language they speak, whatever God they pray to." "There is nothing further from a free Catalonia than a pure Catalonia," he concluded.

The Republican leader also sent a message to Isla and denied that there is "normality" in Catalonia. "The political conflict with Spain is still very much alive," he stated, after once again supporting a referendum. Jové noted that the independence movement has lost its majority in the chamber, but asserted that there is a "very broad majority" in Parliament that defends a democratic resolution to the conflict and is in favor of moving toward greater levels of autonomy.

Comuns calls for more funding for public services

In its turn to speak, the Comuns party made no explicit reference to the budget, despite the warning it issued a few weeks ago stating that it would not negotiate the accounts until Isla fulfilled the pending housing agreements. In fact, the president of the parliamentary group, Jéssica Albiach, called the proposal to build more apartments announced yesterday by Illa a "kick in the foot." Despite welcoming what they considered a "long-term vision," the Comuns party called for "short-term responses and actions" in this area: "As long as there are people who don't have a roof over their heads, you are not the government for everyone," Albiach said. Regarding current legislation, she complained that the Catalan government does not sanction non-compliance with the housing law and emphasized that "the housing problem is speculators, not migrants." In addition, Albiach recalled the proposal that Junts will present to prohibit access to social housing to people who have been registered as residents for less than 10 years, and asked the members of the junts not to leave the "democratic bloc".

Albiach also took advantage of the debate to put forward one of the Comuns' flagships: opposition to the expansion of El Prat airport. The group's leader reproached Isla that "no one can call themselves an environmentalist and increase emissions by 30%" and stated that "her idea of progress is typical of the developmentalism".

The leader of the Commons also addressed the debate surrounding the challenge of migration and population growth, asserting that what is needed to address it is "fair and unique funding that gives us back everything we deserve." In this way, she said, "strong public services" could be guaranteed.