Illa and Junqueras seal the 'fourth belt' railway to approve the budgets

Saint Sadurní d'AnoiaOnce the Andalusian elections were over, the Government is launching the machinery this week to approve its first budgets. The socialists wanted to let May 17th pass so as not to interfere with the campaign of the former vice-president and former Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, but talks with ERC have been on track for days. The republicans put forward the orbital railway line as a breakthrough after the transfer of personal income tax fell from the demands —at least in the short term— due to the clash with the Spanish government. This Monday, the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, and the leader of ERC, Oriol Junqueras, have formalized the agreement in an event in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia.

"It is a commitment to competitiveness. To connect regions that concentrate a large part of the population. It is a commitment to the future," defended Illa. The head of the Catalan executive took the opportunity to highlight the agreement with ERC and the "demanding collaboration" of the Republicans: "Politics today involves reaching agreements." "It is a central and decisive commitment for the whole country. More than a train line, it is the will to change the country's model," defended, in turn, Oriol Junqueras: "To create a railway network that favors the growth and prosperity of our society.

Although it was not part of the investiture agreements and until now neither party had highlighted the importance of the project, socialists and republicans have agreed to move forward with a fourth beltwayrailway to connect Vilanova i la Geltrú with Mataró without passing through Barcelona. It is a project that has been gathering dust since 2010. In fact, the first time it was put on the table was with the tri-party government of the Generalitat. The timeline agreed by both sides is for the infrastructure to be executed in the next 15 years and to be completed by 2041. "It is an optimistic and realistic timeline," point out sources from the Government. The State would be the one to finance the infrastructure, which has a cost of 5,200 million euros.

The mayor of Vilafranca del Penedès, Francisco Romero (PSC); the mayoress of Sabadell, Marta Farrés (PSC); the mayor of Caldes de Montbui, Isidre Pineda (ERC); and the mayoress of Sitges, Aurora Carbonell (ERC), participated in this morning's event, defending the line as a way to connect all these territories of the second metropolitan ring, which groups about 3.2 million people. "It will generate better connectivity within Catalonia," defended the Minister of Territory, Sílvia Paneque.

Other agreements for the budget

Besides the orbital line, Esquerra has also agreed with the Government on the investment company, which should scrutinize the money that the State plans for Catalonia. In fact, sources from both sides point out that the execution of this orbital line should already be carried out by this company. This issue will have to be validated by the Generalitat-State Bilateral Commission that will be held this Wednesday in Madrid.

In addition to the orbital line, a change in the governance of the Consortium of the Free Trade Zone has been agreed upon, and Catalonia will have a majority: the Generalitat de Catalunya (40%) and the City Council (15%) would jointly have 55% of the weight in the direction of the body, and the State would retain 45%.

Furthermore, socialists and republicans have also agreed to allocate 527 million euros to continue scaling the Tax Agency of Catalonia (ATC), as reported by La Vanguardia and confirmed by ARA. This is a specific program contract to allocate these 527 million euros to the ATC until 2029 so that the entity has "stable financing" that allows it to promote "the technological, process, data management, and organizational changes necessary, especially in matters of collection". Of the total resources, 481.2 million will be transferred by the Department of Economy, and a budget of approximately 20 million euros will already be included in the budgets for this 2026.

The national council of ERC

Before giving its definitive yes, however, ERC must submit the pact with the Government to its national council. It will be this Monday, at half past six in the afternoon. Oriol Junqueras's leadership has put the autopilot on to approve Illa's first budgets, but will encounter internal reticences in this afternoon's meeting. Especially from the critics, who, although they do not have a majority on the national council, will express their rejection of the party giving the green light to the Generalitat's accounts without having achieved the transfer of IRPF and amidst full protests by teachers throughout the territory.