The State commits to fulfilling the agreement between the PSC and ERC

MadridThe State and the Generalitat have signed this Wednesday the agreements with ERC for the Catalan budgets at the Bilateral Commission they held in Madrid, which lasted less than an hour. The Republicans set this condition to have a guarantee of compliance with the pacts that depend on Pedro Sánchez's executive, among which is the creation of an investment company, that is, a company that will be approved by the Council of Ministers during this 2026 and will be participated by both administrations. This company will serve to "provide greater agility, flexibility and operational capacity" for the execution of studies, projects and works linked to infrastructures and other public investments, as the Government explained in a press release. In parallel, however, they are not giving up on the possibility of moving forward with a "State-Generalitat parity consortium for investments" which would depend on the Ministry of Transport. For this to prosper, however, it requires the approval of Congress, where the proposal derailed a few weeks ago due to the opposing vote of Junts.

"I still can't believe that a Catalan [political] group did not support a measure that moves the country forward [...]. [The consortium and the investment company] must allow for an increase in resources for Catalonia," stated the Minister of the Presidency, Albert Dalmau, at a press conference this Wednesday after the meeting with the Minister of Territorial Policy, Ángel Víctor Torres.

The commission has also given the green light to the orbital train line agreed with ERC – it remains pending to establish a protocol to set out phases, schedule and financing, which has not yet been specified. Dalmau stated that this new line will not mean fewer resources for Rodalies. "The money [for Rodalies] will still be there, but Catalan society deserves new infrastructure projects," argued the minister, who estimated that around five million users could benefit from it. This afternoon's Bilateral meeting also approved the change in majorities of the Consorci de la Zona Franca, which the Government also agreed with the Republicans, so that Catalonia will control the direction of the entity.

At the same time, it has been agreed to activate theSubcommittee for European Affairs and Foreign Action, to cede part of the Siza Building – on the Barcelona coast – to the Generalitat, and to promote Catalan in the administration of justice. In addition, the strengthening of competences in coastal management has also been agreed. In this regard, the Minister of Territorial Policy has specified that this transfer will be underway within a maximum of three months. It will be, he said, a transfer like the one already made to the Basque Country and Galicia.

More money for the Mossos

Before this afternoon's Bilateral Commission, the Extraordinary Security Board formed by the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of the Rang also met, which has given the green light to the expansion of the Mossos d'Esquadra corps. There are now around 22,000 agents, but the staff will be expanded to 25,000 by 2030. In total, the State will transfer around 210 million euros to grow this staff, as indicated by Dalmau, after the Mixed Commission for Transfers also met. Each additional officer has a fixed cost of 70,600 euros.

Conversations with Commons

In the eyes of the Government, this Wednesday's progress "paves the way" for the approval of budgets in Catalonia. "We are very satisfied", said Dalmau. In fact, this Wednesday's meeting takes place after ERC approved this Monday afternoon the agreement for new budgets. Salvador Illa and Oriol Junqueras ratified the agreement this Tuesday at the Palau de la Generalitat. To begin processing public accounts, the Government will convene an extraordinary executive council this Friday to approve the bill and subsequently send it to Parliament. After ERC's approval, the Government now has that of Comuns, which has asked to update the agreement it already signed in February. Taking this calendar into account, talks have accelerated in recent hours and an agreement could also be reached in the coming hours. The last outstanding issues revolve around housing and social investments. In this regard, this Wednesday they announced an agreement to create a general directorate to fine those who bypass the housing law.

Catalan budgets, therefore, may see the light of day before this session period in Parliament ends, the deadline that the socialists and republicans had set for reaching an agreement. The agreement, in fact, is the result of two months of negotiations and is born after the Government withdrew an initial draft budget bill after the failure of talks with Oriol Junqueras' party. Esquerra demanded an agreement for the transfer of IRPF to unblock the accounts, but the State refused to address this matter. Salvador Illa had to end up withdrawing the project he had presented with only the backing of Comuns and, in return, the republicans stopped making IRPF a red line to resume negotiations.