ERC rejects Isla's gesture and maintains its veto on the budget.

BarcelonaThe president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, He made a gesture towards ERC to try to pave the way for the budget. And, in fact, everything was on track for the Republicans to sit down and negotiate the budget in the coming days. However, Oriol Junqueras's party believes that Isla's commitment is insufficient and that the "necessary conditions" for the Spanish government to transfer the revenue from personal income tax (IRPF) are not met. sine qua non that the party had set as a condition for budget negotiations. This is the message that Oriol Junqueras will convey this morning to the executive committee and, subsequently, to the national council. "Today, the objective conditions for moving forward with the budget negotiations are not met," sources within the party maintain. In other words, for the Republicans, Isla's commitment is not enough; they also want the Spanish government to commit. "We note that today, conditions that are essential for us, and for the country, are not being met," the same sources add, reiterating that it is a "matter of political responsibility." In this regard, they point out that the collection of personal income tax (IRPF), according to ERC, is a "structural, not symbolic, issue," which the Republicans agreed upon with the Socialists in exchange for Salvador Illa's investiture. At that time, the PSOE's federal committee also endorsed this measure, but for months now, María Jesús Montero's Ministry of Finance has been entrenched and refuses to resolve this impasse. "Given the current political climate, the lack of ambition and influence of the PSC, and the electoral cycle the PSOE is experiencing, it's a complex objective today," ERC added. This Friday, Oriol Junqueras met with Spanish President Pedro Sánchez to try to secure a commitment from the Spanish government regarding income tax.

He keeps his hand outstretched

"It's not a punishment or a tantrum. We don't force anyone to sign agreements, but once signed, they must be honored," ERC stated. Oriol Junqueras' party, however, maintains that it will not walk away from the budget negotiation table: "We don't get angry, we don't overreact, we don't walk away from any table." In other words, after this initial rejection, Esquerra continues to extend an olive branch to the Catalan government. "The country cannot afford blockades or political theater. We continue working, in service to the country and alongside the people," the party emphasized. The Minister of the Presidency, Albert Dalmau, avoided commenting on ERC's refusal to negotiate the government's budget and expressed his conviction that they will find "a way to fulfill the agreements," reiterating that ERC is "essential" to make it possible. Dalmau reiterated the "commitment" of the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, to the collection of personal income tax and prescribed "work, effort, and discretion." "It will eventually happen, and we will work to make sure it does; we will not walk away from the table," he stated in an interview on Catalunya Ràdio. The Catalan government had planned to expedite the budget process with the gesture it made this Friday toward ERC and intended to approve the accounts in the executive council next week. However, with ERC's position, this plan has been thrown into disarray, at least for now, and it will be very difficult for the Catalan executive to meet its goal of having the budget approved by the end of March. Dalmau did not specify whether the accounts would be approved in the executive council on Tuesday, despite the fact that the agreement with the Republicans is not contingent on it.