The Spanish government clashes with the Generalitat and now assures that it does not accept ordinality

Madrid / BarcelonaThe Moncloa does not accept the principle of ordinality for Catalonia's new financing model. It was already left in the air because there was no reference to the agreement of the Generalitat-State Bilateral Commission –which was included as a request from Catalonia in the preamble to the document signed by both executives–, has been finally confirmed this Tuesday: Spanish government sources assure that this is an approach that only the Generalitat is making and that for now it is not assumed as a principle that will govern the future financing model. This position not only implies an amendment to the content of Salvador Illa's investiture pact between the PSC and Equerra (Spanish Left) –which did establish this pillar for the new system–, but also a clash between the two socialist governments. Ordinality is one of the issues that the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, has repeatedly defended.

For the Moncloa, however, this cannot be decided bilaterally with Catalonia; rather, the incorporation of ordinality is an issue that must be negotiated within the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council (CPFF), within the framework of the reform of the entire regional financing system. At a press conference this Tuesday after the Cabinet meeting, Spanish government spokesperson Pilar Alegría only mentioned three principles included in the pact. "Financial sufficiency, solidarity, and fiscal co-responsibility," she simply stated, ignoring the ordinality.

On the other hand, the Minister of Economy, Alícia Romero, in an interview on Catalunya Ràdio, demanded: "Ordinality is a necessary condition. We will not approve a model that does not respect the principle." Silvia Paneque, the Government spokesperson and Minister of Territory, insisted, contradicting the Spanish government and asserting that the principle of ordinality is "guaranteed and included" in the agreement that emerged from the Generalitat-State Bilateral Commission, despite appearing only in the preamble and as one of the requests made by Catalonia, without the government's involvement. "He is fully protected and determined," Paneque added at the press conference following the executive council meeting, reports Mireia Esteve.

Ordinality was one of the issues that had been at stake in recent days. In fact, it had strained talks with the Republicans, who demanded that it be included in the agreement between the two executives. It was ultimately supposed to be included in the pact, but according to some sources, it ended up being omitted at the last minute at the request of the Spanish government, a claim the Catalan executive denies.

Multilateral negotiation

There is still no specific date for a CPFF (Committee for the Progressive Confederation of Autonomous Communities) to address this issue, which the Spanish government has already postponed until after the summer. However, the spokesperson for the Spanish Government admitted that this issue will have to be addressed with the rest: "Working with the rest of the autonomous communities is necessary to adjust the ordinality," she said. Alegría, for her part, and in response to criticism from the PP and also from regional presidents of the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party), stressed that "there will be no privilege of any territory over any other" and said that the issue of financing must be addressed with "calm" and "seriousness."

The pro-independence movement does not endorse the model.

Beyond the rest of the autonomous communities, for the new funding for Catalonia to see the light of day, it will have to follow a legislative path that will require majorities that are not currently available, including the independence movement. However, Romero expressed her conviction that ERC will support the final result and that Junts will be able to follow the same path "as it becomes more concrete." The Republicans insisted that "many specific details" are still missing and warned that the ordinality "is non-negotiable," in the words of their spokesperson, Isaac Albert, on Catalunya Ràdio.

Unlike ERC, Junts is strongly opposed and called yesterday's agreement "a complete and utter revolt." Jordi Turull expressed this opinion on In the mornings from TV3, in which he stated that the agreement "does not fix anything that was intended to change" For this reason, Turull warned that Junts "cannot vote" in favor and called for taking advantage of the pro-independence votes – both from Junts and ERC – in the Congress of Deputies to reach an agreement "as is necessary." common financing for all the autonomous regions except the Basque Country and Navarre. In a message to X, Carles Puigdemont also made clear this rejection of yesterday's agreement.

No specific dates

Meanwhile, in a press conference in Parliament, CUP MP Pilar Castillejo criticized the lack of "specificity and timelines" in the agreement for the new financing, which she does not see as unique, and targeted ERC for lowering the amount agreed with the Socialists. The Republicans declined to discuss timelines and accept that the Catalan Tax Agency "needs to be scaled and mechanisms must be in place" that it does not currently have, and that this "cannot be done overnight." In this regard, the Government has already ruled out the possibility that Catalonia will not be able to collect personal income tax in 2026, as the Republicans and Socialists had stipulated in writing in the investiture agreement for Salvador Illa.

In fact, the agreement signed yesterday also leaves this issue up in the air and does not set a date. Aside from the pact, the Government had committed to making public the report prepared by experts on financing. Romero clarified in a statement to TV3 that the executive will have these "calculations and scenarios" between September and October. On the other side of the political spectrum, both the Catalan People's Party (PP) and popular movements from the rest of Spain have insisted on attacking a pact they plan to take to court.