Juntos threatens to cancel financing: "It's not like the economic agreement."
The Commons see the pact with the State as a "step forward" and are optimistic about its approval in Congress.
BarcelonaBefore the meeting between the State and the Generalitat (Catalan government), the Minister of Economy, Alícia Romero, convened the Catalan parliamentary groups to explain the content of the pact. This explanation was provided out of courtesy, but it has already generated initial reactions in Catalonia, as they await the fine print of the bilateral agreement. The Vice President of Junts, Toni Castellà, stated in a press conference that the new model "is not similar to the economic agreement" and that the agreement is "disappointing."
"There is no new financing model. There is not one euro more for Catalonia," he stated. Thus, the Junts MP, who met with Romero along with the group's spokesperson, Mònica Sales, questioned whether the agreement is a step forward for Catalonia, because it does not imply leaving the common system of the autonomous communities or reducing the fiscal deficit, as there are currently no figures on the table. "There is no reason for Junts to endorse the proposal," he said: "Anything that perpetuates our fiscal deficit will not have our support." It must be taken into account that the new financing must go through the Congress of Deputies and must obtain the endorsement of the plurinational majority. Until now, not only Junts had expressed doubts, but also several parties such as Compromís de Sumar.
Castellà also considered that the possibility that it would be the civil servants of the Generalitat and not those of the State who could collect personal income tax does not give the executive more self-governance but only "administrative work." "We will do the work for the State and it will be the one who decides how much money stays here," he summarized, emphasizing that the members of the Junts defend the "transfer of all taxes" to Catalonia and also the sovereign capacity to decide how many return to Madrid.
The Commons are optimistic.
Toni Castellà's assessment contrasts with that of the Comuns (England's Party), which is a partner of the PSC in the government. For the spokesperson in Parliament, David Cid, the new financing model is a "step forward," and he is also optimistic about the support the model can garner (the LOFCA and two other laws that follow must be reformed) in the Congress of Deputies. Cid welcomed the guarantee of the principle of ordinality, as well as solidarity with the other autonomous regions, and, at the same time, the recognition of the "uniqueness" of Catalonia through the financing of the powers of the Generalitat, such as the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police). He also emphasized that the new model includes the possibility of limiting "tax jurisdiction," which would affect the Community of Madrid.
At the meeting with the Minister of Economy, which was also attended by the Minister of the Presidency, Albert Dalmau, there were representatives of Esquerra, who avoided making an assessment of the State-Generalitat pact, even though they are its promoters. In fact, the party already made an assessment on Saturday through its leader, Oriol Junqueras, who warned that the Catalan Treasury could not be subordinated to the Spanish one with the new model. This Monday, in an interview on In the mornings From TV3, Junqueras has been cautious when making assessments: "The 2009 financing agreement has never been fully implemented. I'm sure everyone understands that experience teaches us that we must be cautious."
As for the rest of the parliamentary groups, they have chosen not to attend the meeting: neither the PP, nor Vox, nor Aliança Catalana, nor the CUP, were there. From the anti-capitalist party, Laia Estrada did have her say. She considered that this type of meeting is a "real farce" and that its objective is "to disguise the fact that the Generalitat is presided over by the delegate of the Moncloa." "We do not want to legitimize a marketing operation of the PSC," she emphasized. In her opinion, the singular financing "is a fake, as well as the transfer of Cercanías". "The singular financing that the PSOE is willing to grant has nothing to do with granting the key to the box, it is the coffee for everyone that has been left to Minister Montero."
From the State, this morning the Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, has sent a message. At the EU Trade Council in Brussels, he stated that today's Bilateral Commission will represent an "important step" in the agreement for the new financing of Catalonia, but he wanted to make it clear that the pact "will not harm" any autonomous community.
