Sánchez announces a package of measures to "restart" the relationship with Junts

Barcelona"I acknowledge the breaches and delays that Junts has criticized, but I have always said that our hand is extended, that our willingness to negotiate is unequivocal, and that we will honor the agreements we signed." This is how Pedro Sánchez expressed himself on Tuesday in an interview on RAC1, in which he announced that the Council of Ministers will approve a royal decree-law this morning with "some of the agreements" that the PSOE reached with Carles Puigdemont's party in the Brussels agreement. In this way, the Spanish president said, the Socialists seek to "restart the dialogue" with the Catalan party, which She ended the relationship. with the socialists at the end of October and to whom The PP is pressuring him to join a motion of no confidenceAmong other measures, Sánchez announced that the royal decree will "facilitate and make more flexible financially sustainable investments" in municipalities and other local entities. "In other words, mayors and provincial council presidents will have greater capacity and ease to invest in projects that do not involve current expenditure, such as housing construction or water management," he explained. "We owe this to Junts, which demanded it as a commitment," he emphasized. He also announced that, to "facilitate compliance with tax obligations for companies," the deadline for "promoting and encouraging the digitalization of invoicing processes" for businesses will be extended, a demand he attributed to the Catalan employers' association. He also assured that in the coming weeks, funding will be approved to help landlords "in cases of non-payment of rent to young people or vulnerable families."

Pending Junts' reaction, it should be noted that none of the announced measures address the main breaches cited by Junts. when they broke with the PSOEThese ranged from the official status of Catalan in the European Union to the delegation of immigration powers or the fact that the amnesty has not been fully implemented.

Sánchez, who has made it clear that he is not giving up on the approval of the next budget and has reaffirmed that his objective is to complete his term, is making a move regarding Junts in response to the PP calls for Puigdemont's party to agree to a motion of no confidence"Although [the Catalan separatists] have declared the talks broken off, the Spanish government and I, in particular, are very clear that we want to honor the commitments, because it is truly worthwhile," said the Socialist leader, who went so far as to refer to the Brussels agreement as a "historic opportunity" to resolve the conflict between Catalonia and the Spanish state.

The meeting with Puigdemont: "We are not at this stage"

In a subsequent interview with RTVE, the Spanish president also acknowledged that there will be no "normalization" in Catalonia until Puigdemont can return to the country and "fully exercise his political rights," but at the same time, he again ruled out an imminent call or meeting with the former president. He asserted that "the photo op and the meeting" with the Junts leader "will happen," but added that at this moment "we are not at that stage." On the contrary, Sánchez reaffirmed his commitment to a new consolidation system that recognizes the "unique characteristics" of Catalonia, a commitment also made to ERC. He also stated that the government is working on a consensus-based "methodology" to allow for the publication of fiscal balances, a long-standing demand of Catalan parties. Furthermore, he emphasized the efforts toward the official recognition of Catalan in the European Union and the fact that Catalan can be spoken in Congress, among other achievements.

"We will not accept threats or blackmail"

While on the one hand he has sought to seduce Junts and steer them away from the siren song of the right, on the other hand the Spanish president has responded to attacks from the PP and Vox regarding the alleged corruption cases that have implicated the PSOE. "There has been no collusion, only decisive action," he said days after José Luis Ábalos's imprisonmentWhen asked about the former minister's recent statements, in which he points the finger at the Socialists, Sánchez called them "lies" and added that he would not accept "either threats or blackmail." Sánchez, who assumed they were trying to bring him down through the courts, declined to clarify whether he would resign if he were indicted, arguing that he doesn't consider "hypotheticals."