Vox returns to Parliament the money from bills for meals with high-proof alcohol

BarcelonaThe expenses that political groups submit to Parliament are once again under scrutiny. A year and a half ago, the chamber already had to change the criteria to avoid loss of control and that the groups used them to pay bonuses to their members of parliament, as Vox had done. Now, a report from the Catalan Parliament's Audit Office on the groups' expenses during 2024 has once again stirred controversy. According to reports Vilaweb And as confirmed by ACN, the document criticizes the far-right party for using Parliamentary funds to pay for a retreat with members of parliament and advisors from the group organized in 2024, amounting to €2,605, including up to €184 spent on high-proof alcoholic beverages, which the party has already fully reimbursed. Junts is also under scrutiny: the Catalan Audit Office is questioning the travel, retreat, and organizational expenses for a working session in Belgium with 60 people, which cost approximately €47,500.

This is not the first time Vox has been in the eye of the storm for incorrect expensesTheir leader in the Catalan Parliament, Ignacio Garriga, already had to return 380 euros in personal expenses, such as his PTA dues. At the time, he maintained that he submitted the invoice to the Catalan Parliament by "mistake." In a statement this Thursday, the far-right party asserted that it has already reimbursed the Parliament for both the APA fee and the expenses of an event on agriculture in Lleida—around 5,000 euros—because the Catalan Audit Office (Sindicatura) informed them that these expenses "could exceed" the activities attributable to the parliamentary group. Vox sources claim they returned the money before the Audit Office's report was made public. In the case of Junts, the Audit Office is questioning the "proportionality" of the expenses for the events in Belgium, where the party's leader, Carles Puigdemont, is still in exile. Members of parliament from the previous legislature were present, as well as advisors and staff hired by the party. In this case, the party has neither returned anything nor commented on the matter.

The PP and the "gifts"

In the report, the Audit Office also criticizes the PP for using group subsidy funds to pay €1,900 worth of "Christmas gifts" to 30 people, including members of parliament, group staff, party officials, and parliamentary group collaborators. "These payments lack legal justification because they constitute a discretionary act by the business owner, which is unacceptable in a public administration," the report states, citing a Constitutional Court ruling that supports this conclusion. Another element audited is the amount of money each group transfers directly to the political party from the subsidies they receive for parliamentary activity. This is a permitted use, but the Audit Office also raises the possibility of establishing a "maximum limit" for these contributions. It should be noted that in 2024, changes were made to the system for allocating resources to political parties, so that the Generalitat—not the Catalan Parliament—would assume part of the cost of subsidies to political organizations, with an annual allocation of 9 million euros. In 2024, three groups allocated more than 99% of their subsidies to the party: Comuns, CUP, and PSC. Vox and Aliança Catalana, on the other hand, allocated none. According to the report, as reported by the Catalan News Agency (ACN), Aliança Catalana did not spend any of the 33,572 euros in subsidies it received in its first year of parliamentary activity, after winning two seats in the Catalan Parliament.