ERC votes in favour of state budget in exchange for 6% quota for co-official languages in media law

MadridThe Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) has reached a new agreement with the Spanish government for the budgets of the State, as ACN advanced and ARA has confirmed. To avoid presenting an amendment to the totality of the budget, it agreed that PSOE would approve the new media law alongside ERC, it has now agreed a 6% quota of new productions for co-official languages (Catalan, Galician and Basque). Thus, 30% of platforms such as Netflix's catalogue will have to be made up by European productions, half of them in state languages. Of these, 40% will have to be in Catalan, Basque or Galician. Thus, 20% of the European catalogue would be in co-official languages. The budget also includes €10.5 million to encourage the creation of content in co-official languages.

ERC's 13 MPs' support means the budgets will go ahead without the need of support from other minority parties. It is not the first time ERC and the Spanish government make deals: the Republicans already voted in favor of the 2021 accounts and since Pere Aragonès's investiture the negotiating table has reconvened.

ERC has also won retirement at 59 or 60 for the Catalan police, the Mossos d'Esquadra at 59 or 60 years. This will bring it into line with the National Police, the Guardia Civil and the Basque Ertzaintza. They have also succeeded in making the state withdraw its €2.1m investment for the National Police station on Via Laietana in Barcelona.

ERC also agreed the transfer of up to €5.7m for "improvements in sustainability" of roads (not specified further) and to fix bus and HOV lanes. In addition, they have also agreed to transfer the management of the B-23 and B-30 roads to the Catalan administration. In addition, €1.6m will be sent to Catalonia to compensate for the elimination of tolls on the AP-7 and AP2. As for housing, the Republicans have agreed with the Spanish government a transfer of €10m to the Generalitat that should be used to buy housing from bad bank SAREB and allocate it to social housing. It will also allocate €11m for Barcelona city to allocate to social housing and €5m for the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (AMB)

The PDECat also reaches agreements

The PDECat will vote in favour of the budgets of the State after the party managed to unblock access to the European funds for health and welfare charities, according to party sources, which also inform that the Spanish government has accepted around seventy amendments made by the party. Among them are tax benefits for the reconstruction of the indoor diving pool of the Club Natació de Barcelona, the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Passeig de Gràcia, the Millenary of Montserrat 2025 and the fourth edition of the Barcelona Equestrian Challenge. In addition, the budgets of the Ministry of Science will have €350,000 dedicated to the Fundació del Dr. Ferran for the innovation centre in clinical simulation of virtual and augmented reality in Terres de l'Ebre.

ERC's support to the accounts was not essential and the government had already secured deals with EH Bildu, Más País, Compromís, the PRC and Nueva Canarias. The PDECat has negotiated until the end and the PNV has not yet made its vote public. One of Pedro Sánchez's goals for the 2021 accounts is to, at least, get the same votes as in 2020, when it obtained the support of 188 out of 350 MPs.