The government will approve the budget on Friday without having secured the support of ERC.

BarcelonaThe president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, is pushing through the budget despite not having enough votes to pass it in Parliament. With the support of Comuns, but without that of ERC, the Catalan government will approve the bill on Friday in an extraordinary meeting of the executive council. "There's no going back. Catalonia needs a budget," the president stated. Illa, therefore, will not wait for the Republicans, who They remain entrenched in the No until they have guaranteed progress on the transfer of personal income tax revenue to the Catalan Tax Agency (ATC). The president made the announcement this Monday at an event with unions and employers' associations to sign an agreement on the budget, which serves to add pressure on Esquerra Republicana (ERC). For now, the Republicans are maintaining their position.

Why is the PSC risking approving the budget in the executive council if it doesn't have the necessary support secured? There is unease at the Palau de la Generalitat (the Catalan government headquarters) regarding what they interpret as a shift by the Republicans: according to their account, everything was prepared for the president of ERC, Oriol Junqueras, to convey his support for the budget negotiations to the national council after by reiterating his "total" commitment to the investiture agreements. One of these is the modification of the State's tax regulations so that Catalonia can assume powers to collect personal income tax (IRPF) through the Catalan Tax Agency (ATC).

This endorsement, however, did not materialize: that the conditions are not right to open negotiations, after a meeting with Pedro Sánchez where the Republicans confirmed that, for now, the PSOE is not open to supporting the necessary legislative changes. After suffering defeats in Extremadura and Aragon, the PSOE faces elections in Castile and León and, more importantly, in Andalusia, where the current Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, is at stake.

Sources within the Catalan Socialists regret that the Republicans did not take this context into account when raising the stakes and placing the Personal Income Tax (IRPF) issue back at the center of negotiations, after proposing to redirect them towards the investment consortium. This is especially concerning given that the PSOE's own federal committee approved the investiture agreements and, therefore, implicitly assumed that at some point it would have to make a move regarding the IRPF.

ERC: "You can imagine our vote"In any case, Esquerra Republicana (ERC) has already warned Illa that presenting the budget without securing their support is not a good idea. "Our position will be consistent. You can imagine how we will vote," warned ERC's general secretary, Elisenda Alamany, at a press conference this Monday. The Republican leader again blamed the Catalan Socialists (PSC) for not having "done their homework" to convince the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) regarding income tax collection. One of the demands they had put forward was that the PSC commit to voting for the amendments that Esquerra had to introduce to the financing law, amendments that would legally authorize the Catalan Tax Agency (ATC) to collect income tax. Illa spoke of "promoting the necessary parliamentary agreements and initiatives" to achieve this objective, but this is not enough for the Republicans.

"It's a surprise to ERC that the PSOE, if it wants a budget so badly, hasn't grabbed the PSOE by the throat or whatever to tell them so. It seems that ERC is more eager to unblock the Personal Income Tax (IRPF) than the PSC," Alamany added. In fact, the Republican leader asserted that this was the impression the party was left with after Junqueras' meeting with Sánchez on Friday. "Calling Mr. Sánchez, who is from your party, is your responsibility," the Republicans' number two questioned.

Unlike the budget and the IRPF, there is an agreement to unblock the investment consortium that is supposed to oversee the use of the money the State allocates to Catalonia. In fact, according to Alamany, the law that will regulate it will be introduced in Congress this week. The Catalan Socialist Party (PSC) is confident it can also get the budget negotiations back on track, for which it still sees "room for maneuver." However, at a press conference, PSC spokesperson Lluïsa Moret asserted that they will not "pressure" the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) because that is not their way of doing things. "Like everything in life, you have to consider when the time is right," she said, while acknowledging the "risk" of taking this step without having secured the support of the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC).

Employers' associations and unionsWithout mentioning the Republicans, Illa reiterated that he will honor the agreements, as did the Minister of Economy, Alícia Romero. However, the president called for "responsibility" and for putting "Catalonia first." With this move, the Catalan government seeks to shift the burden onto the ERC (Republican Left of Catalonia) in alliance with the unions and employers' associations. The Comuns (Commons) party has echoed the desire for the government and the Republicans to reach an agreement. Belén López, from the CCOO (Workers' Commissions), called for setting aside "tactical maneuvering" to approve a new budget that will finally allow them to move beyond the 2023 budget, the one currently in effect. "We are not asking anyone to abandon the objectives, but in the meantime, let's ensure the government has a sound budget," added Camil Ros (UGT). On behalf of the employers' associations, Josep Sánchez-Llibre (Foment del Treball) argued that the president must "lead" a majority in Parliament to approve the budget, with forces "of one stripe or another," in order not to lose investments of up to 5 billion euros. "We ask that there be agreements that form the majority needed to pass a budget," said Antoni Cañete (Pimec). In its last year, Pere Aragonès's government also resorted to agreements with unions to pressure the Socialists and the Comuns to approve a budget that Parliament ultimately rejected. No by Jessica Albiach. That precipitated the calling of elections.

86 agreed measuresThe agreement signed this Monday with the Catalan government, involving unions and employers, includes 86 measures to be incorporated into this year's budget. The budget for the National Pact for Industry is increased to €4.4 billion, the commitment to dual vocational training is reinforced, and Catalonia's income sufficiency index (IRSC) is raised by 3%. All of this will be presented to the Catalan government this Friday at 9:30 a.m., after which it will begin a legislative process in the Catalan Parliament that could last approximately five weeks. Negotiating budgets after they have already been approved by the Catalan government has implications: it is not as easy to adjust allocations, and the scope for negotiation on each department's figures is smaller. Nevertheless, approving the budget this Friday would allow the government, give or take a day, to meet its target of being able to approve (or at least put to a vote) the budget in the first quarter.