PSC and ERC are looking for ways to avoid Friday's clash over the budget.

BarcelonaThe Catalan government's budget continues to hang by a thread. If the PSC and ERC don't find a solution before Friday, the budget approved by Salvador Illa's administration two weeks ago will collapse. Republicans and Socialists are maintaining open dialogue to try to avoid a clash before Friday, and they held more meetings this Tuesday: they met this afternoon at the Palau de la Generalitat—among those present were the Minister of the Presidency, Albert Dalmau, and the ERC's Director General, Lluís Salvadó—and are scheduled to meet again this afternoon. Two scenarios are on the table: that the Catalan government withdraws the budget or that ERC withdraws its amendment to the entire budget. Both options are designed to prevent the budget from failing and buy time to try to get the negotiations back on track. At this point, however, the Catalan government maintains that it is not willing to withdraw the budget proposal. "We are not there at this time," the Minister of Economy, Alícia Romero, stated in an interview with RTVE. "We are at this stage and we are not considering any other," added the Government spokesperson and Minister of Territory, Sílvia Paneque, at a press conference, who called for "prudence" and "responsibility" in these final days of negotiations before Friday.

However, as she has indicated The VanguardThe Catalan government has reportedly proposed withdrawing the budget to the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), although Romero has insisted that the executive's objective is for ERC to withdraw its amendment in its entirety and for the budget to pass Friday's debate so that negotiations can continue until April 24, when the final debate is scheduled. "We are not discussing scenarios where the government is not involved," Paneque added. The government spokesperson, in this regard, emphasized the "need to take advantage" of the 9 billion euro increase in spending for "policies for the citizens" and not to "pay off debt," as she asserted will happen if there is no budget. According to sources consulted, the two scenarios that the Socialists and Republicans have discussed in recent meetings—most recently on Monday and Tuesday—are the government withdrawing the budget or ERC withdrawing its amendment. For Esquerra Republicana (ERC), withdrawing the budget proposal is the only option the Catalan government has to continue negotiating the budget. ERC's general secretary, Elisenda Alamany, stated this a few weeks ago when she urged the government to withdraw the budget and resubmit it in April. "Perhaps they won't have a budget in April, but if Illa keeps his word, we can have it in June. Let them resubmit it if it fails in April," she said in an interview with RTVE. In fact, ERC has repeatedly criticized Salvador Illa for deciding to approve the budget in the executive council without having ERC's support secured. They consider it an "absurdity" for which they say they do not feel "responsible." They are thus putting the ball in the executive's court when it comes to deciding the future of the budget. Meanwhile, the executive is asking ERC to withdraw its amendment to the entire budget in order to continue negotiating. "We are waiting for ERC to withdraw its amendment in its entirety. We have until April 24th and also 5 or 6 weeks to negotiate," Romero added. ERC, however, does not foresee this scenario without an agreement on the Personal Income Tax (IRPF) and maintains that, if the Catalan Government does not withdraw the budget, the bill will fall this Friday because the Republican deputies will vote for their amendment. While the Socialists and Republicans continue talks, the Comuns, who already signed an agreement with the Government on the budget, have expressed reservations about postponing the budget until June. "It would be a bad idea," said their spokesperson in Parliament, David Cid.

The IRPF stumbling block

The Republicans maintain that they will not negotiate the budget without a gesture from the Spanish government demonstrating its commitment to the Personal Income Tax (IRPF). One of the demands of Oriol Junqueras' party was that, at the next Fiscal and Financial Policy Council (CPFF), the Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, commit to including the transfer of IRPF revenue in the legislative amendments regarding the new regional financing model. This meeting, however, has not yet been scheduled, but on Tuesday, Romero placed it between the end of March and the beginning of April. However, the Minister of Economy also added that she "does not see it as necessary" for the Spanish government to issue a public guarantee regarding the IRPF because the commitment is already included in the document signed by the two governments, Catalan and Spanish, at the bilateral commission meeting last July. "What more do we need than an official document?" Romero asked.

The Spanish government, in fact, has referred to Romero's statements and has used the excuse that "there is nothing new" to avoid addressing the Catalan situation. "We are working to ensure that the budget passes the general debate with an agreement," said spokesperson Elma Saiz, while sources at Moncloa Palace rule out any gesture this week regarding the delegation of this tax to the Generalitat.Núria Orriols Guiu reports.