New financing: ERC threatens Isla, Airef criticizes bilateral relations, and tax inspectors oppose Montero.

BarcelonaEsquerra issues a warning to Salvador Illa after the bilateral commission's agreement on financing"There will be no Catalan or Spanish budgets if the Socialist Party and the Spanish government do not fulfill their commitments regarding tax collection, and in particular personal income tax, and financing," warned the leader of the Republicans, Oriol Junqueras, in statements to the media, urging the party to agree to negotiate next year's financial statements. A short while earlier, the same warning had also been issued by the president of the ERC parliamentary group, Josep Maria Jové, during the control session in the Parliament: "If you do not rectify and ratify the financing agreements, you will not have a budget with our support," he warned. "There is a lot to do," but he reaffirmed his commitment to "fulfill" the agreement signed a year ago. "I reaffirm the financing agreements. I am committed to fulfilling them, yes. Will it be easy? No," Isla admitted. "We will do it for sure," he added. "I'm satisfied with the signed agreement, but there's still work to be done, and we're already doing it," he concluded.

In any case, Jové has accused Isla of having "reformulated and rewritten" the investiture pact. "It was very easy for him; he just had to copy the wording of the agreement that made him president," he reproached him. "Don't try to water it down, it won't do you any good," he added, after warning him that "Catalanophobia" will continue to be "fueled" by the far right, but that he will also lose the support of the Republicans. "Go back to the wording of what we agreed to," he demanded.

Among Republican ranks, there is unease over the pact signed between the Spanish and Catalan governments, which renounces one of the issues agreed upon in Isla's investiture agreement: the principle of ordinality. In this case, Jové has emphasized his demand that the government prioritize 100% tax collection. "If you water down agreements, you can't count on us," he added. Specifically, the pact signed by the PSC and ERC to inaugurate Salvador Illa already divided the Republican base in the referendum the party held to decide whether or not to endorse the agreement. The result was one Yeah on the Island, but a great division between the militancyA year later, following the agreement emerging from the bilateral commission between the State and the Generalitat, critical Republican voices have emerged, but also with the response of Junqueras's current leadership. On Monday, ERC spokesperson Isaac Albert criticized the "staged" bilateral meeting and demanded more "specific details," but also an assessment of the progress.

The opposition of the tax inspectors

Salvador Illa's commitment to Esquerra angers political parties on the other side of the political spectrum, such as the PP and Vox, as well as professional associations such as the Tax Inspectors' Association. In a press conference on Wednesday, this group of senior state officials pressured the Spanish government to try to force it to rectify an agreement they consider "extremely serious."

In a meeting with the media in Madrid, the majority association of state tax inspectors (IHE) demanded the resignation of the First Vice President and Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero. Its president, Ana de la Herrán, stated that it is "impossible" for the Catalan Treasury to collect all personal income tax in 2026 and demanded that it not be done later either. "What do we do with the staff [of the State Treasury (AEAT)]?" she asked. According to the president of the IHE, if the pact is implemented, it will worsen the provision of services to taxpayers and make it more difficult to combat tax fraud. Although they admit that the signed document is still "vague," the inspectors have warned that it lays the groundwork for "a path of no return" and have rejected moving toward an "asymmetrical confederation." Andrea Zamorano reports from Madrid. Although the association has warned that once the new model begins to be rolled out, it will be "irreversible," the PP leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has pledged to repeal it if he governs and has also attacked Montero, whom he criticized for "hiding" and not having provided public explanations in recent days.

The Tax Authority has also spoken out, although it has done so cautiously. Its president, Cristina Herrero, said "they cannot comment" because for the moment "there is only one possibility" of a unique financing model for Catalonia. "It is a sufficiently complex issue for the Airef not to make rash or unsubstantiated statements," she said. In any case, Herrero did argue that the issue must be addressed comprehensively: "At the Airef, we don't like the fragmented approach to issues. We like the breadth of treatment," Herrero argued. Thus, if it is necessary to address a reform of the financing model, the bet is not bilaterality, Núria Rius reports from Madrid.

Darts from Together on the Island and ERC

Junts and the CUP see it the other way around. While ERC considers the pact insufficient, the CUP members have attacked the one-off financing agreed upon by the Republicans from the outset because they believe it is not an economic agreement. This Wednesday, the leader of the group in Parliament, Albert Batet, took advantage of the control session to share barbs between the government and Oriol Junqueras's party: "One-off financing, one-off financing, nothing; national convention for the resolution of the political conflict, nothing; recognition of the Catalan national teams, nothing."

Batet also asked Esquerra (Central Left) to "rectify the mistake" of having sworn in the PSC leader and stop supporting him. The regional leader called for a pro-independence "common front" to demand an economic agreement in Madrid and "a national alternative to break the dead end." Isla refuted Batet's criticism by asking him if the financing pact would "help or hinder" him, stating: "They were coming from the fish to the egg and were left with no north or south."

The CUP (Cuban Left) also attacked the financing agreement. "We are facing a real troll," stated MP Laia Estrada, who called the pact emerging from the bilateral meeting between the State and the Generalitat (Catalan Government) on Monday "a major mockery of the population as a whole." Estrada also called on ERC to "accept the non-compliance" of the Socialists. "I keep the commitments I make; objectively, Monday's agreement is a good one," Illa replied.