The PSC endorses the ERC's funding plan but deepens the gap with Junts

BarcelonaSalvador Illa's second general policy debate as president served to confirm that the PSC and ERC are pulling in the same direction on individual financing. This premise wouldn't be newsworthy considering that both parties signed an investiture agreement, but in a context in which the Spanish government has yet to make any move to comply with that pact, the alliance is no small feat. Especially since the PSC is distancing itself. de facto with its sister party in Spain, the PSOE. All of this was evident this Thursday in the vote on the resolution proposals that both parties jointly approved to consolidate this pact. An alliance that was not seen, however, in the case of Junts. The distance between the junts and the socialists continues to grow and fuels the possibility of a break with the PSOE, which Carles Puigdemont's party has been raising for months.

The Socialists and Republicans, in addition to the Comuns, mutually voted on the proposals defending the pact for new financing that respected ordinality. An issue that, paradoxically, the Catalan socialists agreed to leave out of the Bilateral Commission agreement because the PSOE does not support it. Both groups also debated the possibility of the Catalan Tax Agency (ATC) collecting personal income tax, as stipulated in the investiture agreement. The Republicans, in this regard, called for "pushing through" the bill they filed in Congress alone to legally protect the ATC "before the end of the year." This position has been endorsed by the PSC (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) and, in this way, distances itself from the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party), which does not support the reform proposed by Oriol Junqueras's party.

Isla finds no support for the 214,000 apartments.

However, the agreement on financing has not been evident on other issues, where both partners, ERC and Comuns, have sought to draw attention to the government. This occurred with the flagship proposal Illa launched on Tuesday in his opening speech for the general policy debate, when he announced the construction of 214,000 new apartments through the mobilization of land throughout Catalonia, the majority of which will be private.

Although the PSC's proposed resolution did not specify the figure, it did mention launching "the National Housing Agreement to imminently activate all the approaches throughout the country to provide more affordable housing." The proposal was rejected due to the abstention of both partners. Comuns, in fact, rejected all of the PSC's points related to housing as a protest measure because the government has not yet complied with the pending agreements on this matter. The PSC did save the 50,000-apartment plan it announced last year.

The Brussels Agreement

Junts had brought the Brussels Agreement they signed with the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) for Pedro Sánchez's investiture to the general policy debate. However, the members of the Junts had gone a step further and included the proposal that, in the negotiation space opened with the Socialists, they would consider "holding a self-determination referendum." This was something the PSC (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) did not accept and voted against. In the Brussels Agreement, Junts (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) adopted this approach, not the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party). The resolution proposal was rejected because it only received support from the pro-independence groups Junts, ERC (Spanish Workers' Party), and the CUP (Spanish Workers' Union), as well as from Comuns (Spanish Workers' Union). The pro-independence minority in Parliament was also confirmed by the CUP's proposal defending the right to self-determination, which was rejected.

However, the Socialists have endorsed the proposal put forward by Esquerra, which called for a solution to the political conflict that would be "endorsed" by the citizens of Catalonia. In other words, the Socialists have renounced incorporating a referendum in exchange for the PSC's endorsement of a minimal position, one that does not entail a self-determination referendum, but could instead be a reform of the Statute that would be endorsed by the citizens. The PSC has also endorsed the ERC's proposal "to promote a broad national understanding in defense of democracy, for the resolution of the political conflict, and to advance the national and social sovereignty of Catalonia."

The Socialists abstained on most of the resolution proposals from the pro-independence groups calling for amnesty, because they included other issues, explained PSC spokesperson Elena Díez during the plenary session. However, it has validated Junts' proposal that the Spanish government demand that the judiciary apply the law "immediately and effectively."

Immigration

In the immigration debate, Junts (Juntos) brought the delegation of immigration powers to a vote in Parliament, adding its "condemnation of the anti-Catalan attitude of the parties" that did not support the law in Congress, such as Podemos, but also the PP and Vox. The PSC (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) abstained, a position that angered the junts, who also complained that the Socialists voted against the preamble they approved in Congress. Separately, Parliament opposed Junts' proposal requiring ten years of registered residence to access subsidized housing. Only the PP and Vox supported the initiative. The Catalan Alliance abstained. However, the chamber did support requiring immigrants to know Catalan to "regularize their administrative status."

The PP, for its part, has endorsed 88% of Vox's proposals: all those on immigration and security, even recognizing Islamism as a "threat" and granting "national priority" in access to housing. Alianza has boycotted all of them because they were written in Spanish, abstaining or voting against. However, it did receive the support of Vox and the PP on a large number of the measures, forging a stable three-way understanding. For example, they have endorsed the deportation of criminal immigrants and the restriction of asylum policy with the creation of safe zones in Africa and the Middle East to accommodate refugees and economic migrants outside of European territory. A plan similar to the one Italy has implemented in Albania. Meanwhile, the PP's immigration measures have had the support of Vox and Alianza, but have not been approved. The Popular Party has proposed measures linked to social assistance, to increase the identification of irregular immigrants and in favor of making "agreements with third countries to deport foreign minors who are delinquents or not "integrated".

In parallel, the Parliament has also approved condemning the Comuns and CUP who brought resolution proposals in this sense, which have received in most cases the support of all left-wing parties, the abstention of Junts and the vote against of PP, Vox and Aliança.