ERC responds to Montero on financing: "The agreement we reached is very close to a concert."

BarcelonaWhen Esquerra and the PSC sealed the investiture agreement to elect Salvador Illa president of the Generalitat, the Republicans asserted that the pact required unique financing—they dubbed it a "solidarity economic agreement"—and Catalonia's withdrawal from the common system of autonomous communities. However, the matter is now in the hands of the State, with whom Esquerra has also negotiated in recent weeks, and for now, the Spanish government is resisting allowing Catalan finances to be withdrawn from the Lofca (Spanish Socialist Workers' Union). This was stated on Sunday by the Vice President of the Spanish Government and Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero. in an interview in The Mail of Andalusia, the region in which she herself will run as a candidate in next year's regional elections. However, Esquerra maintains that the Spanish government must comply with the signed agreement, which "is very close to an economic agreement," according to ERC spokesperson Isaac Albert on Monday.

"We have always said no to signing a specific financing model for Catalonia outside of a reform of the financing model for all the regions. The next financing model [the current one expired in 2014] will have to incorporate recognition of the unique features and territorial diversity of our country for everyone, not just Catalonia," he said. A way of equating the specific financing agreed between the PSC and Esquerra with a classic negotiation of the financing model for all the autonomous communities, but taking into account criteria that had not been considered until now, the so-called "singularities."

The Republicans admit that the Spanish government must combine its commitment to modifying the entire financing system with that of "fulfilling" the agreement reached with the ERC. In this regard, Albert sought to downplay Montero's statements. "The fact that the financing system can be extrapolated to other regions doesn't mean it isn't unique," he noted at a press conference. He insisted that the model agreed upon with the Socialists "is quite similar, from a technical point of view, to an economic agreement," and added: "I don't know if all the regions will want to have the Catalan system."

The Republican spokesperson explained that they are finalizing negotiations with the Socialists on the legislative modifications that will be approved and whether they affect a key law, the Organic Law on the Financing of the Autonomous Communities (LOFCA). The agreement signed a year ago includes a law that should be modified, although it does not specify the terms. However, the Republicans had explained that a modification to the Lofca (Spanish Socialist Workers' Association) should serve to exit the common regime. Changing this rule requires the support of the other investiture partners, and some, such as Compromís, oppose it. Albert also admitted that the "political context and the situation of the PSOE" "worry" them, but also stated: "The Catalans cannot pay for their problems."

For its part, the PSC (Spanish Socialist Workers' Association) attempted to strike a balance this Monday to justify Montero's words and guarantee that, no matter how many holes there are in the Spanish legislature, Salvador Illa will fulfill his investiture agreements. "We talk about our uniqueness; the minister has to talk about everyone," argued Lluïsa Moret, the PSC's number two and party spokesperson, in a press conference. The Socialist has maintained that the model that will emerge from the Bilateral Commission will "fulfill" what was promised to the ERC and that it is being worked on jointly with the Spanish government. However, she refused to reveal the main lines of the pact that the Spanish government and the Catalan government will sign: "It's not up to me," she said.

The Bilateral Commission of July 14

The Finance Minister's statements came just the day after the announcement, by the Generalitat (Catalan government) from the bilateral commission meeting with the Spanish state on July 14. At this meeting, according to sources consulted by ARA, they aim to agree on the "foundations" of the model, as well as some issues related to the collection of personal income tax, which, according to the ERC-PSC pact, the Catalan Tax Agency was to begin collecting starting in 2026. In fact, the agreement was meant to be a solidarity agreement with the rest of the country. Esquerra (Republican Left) has already warned that if they don't comply with the agreement, both Isla and the Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, can forget about next year's budget—neither of them has had one this year—and also forget about sealing any other major pact.

The financing negotiations are being conducted on a three-way basis: the Generalitat (Catalan government), the Spanish state, and the ERC (Republican Revolutionary Party). For the Spanish government, the interlocutor is precisely Vice President Montero, whom the Republicans accuse of being unfocused on unblocking the talks and meeting established deadlines. Montero is the candidate for next year's Andalusian regional elections, and Oriol Junqueras's party believes this is the task that most concerns her and that it conditions her. They don't see the same thing in the Generalitat (Catalan government), which they believe is doing its part. In fact, just this Sunday, Montero announced that she will leave the Spanish government when the Andalusian elections approach to focus "body and soul" on leading the Andalusian Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) candidacy and trying to unseat the current president of the regional government, Juanma Moreno Bonilla (People's Party).

Pedro Sánchez's weakness

Be that as it may, the financing negotiations come at a time of maximum weakness for Pedro Sánchez, following the outbreak of the Santos Cerdán case, where he is set to appear before a judge this Monday for allegedly receiving commissions in exchange for public works. This weekend, new voices have been added to the call for the Spanish president to step down: on the one hand, shouts against Sánchez were heard at the demonstration of judges and prosecutors this Saturday outside the Supreme Court to protest the justice reform being prepared by the Spanish government, but there is also a letter signed by public figures and former Socialist leaders.

This manifesto is signed by, among others, five former PSOE ministers: Jordi Sevilla, Virgilio Zapatero, Julián García Vargas, César Antonio Molina, and Javier Sáenz de Cosculluela. They express their "deep concern" about the situation within the party and call for the "ethical regeneration" of the PSOE, which they believe is "an unavoidable imperative." Furthermore, the signatories assert that cases of corruption are not only due to individual and isolated conduct, but are "the result of a way of conducting politics and understanding power that is divorced from morality and ethics." Therefore, they demand the "urgent" calling of new elections throughout Spain.