It was a debate with a predictable conclusion: a clash between the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, and the President of the Xunta de Galicia, Alfonso Rueda. The former, a staunch defender of the new financing model agreed between the PSOE and ERC; the latter, representing the PP, as a detractor of the proposal. And in between, Imanol Pradales, the Basque lehendakari, who watched from the sidelines defending his economic concert as a "rara avis" in Spain. All this, in a round table at this year's conference of the Cercle d'Economia. "I don't want any advantage or privilege for Catalonia, but I also don't want us to be left behind," argued Illa, before adding that Catalonia "will not ask for permission to lead and to make respectful proposals." "I will not ask anyone for permission either, but an agreement must be reached," Rueda replied.

It is now known that the end of the Spanish legislature will be a judicial ordeal for the PSOE. As we explain today, there are up to seven open judicial fronts against members of the party or the government, and that's if there are no secret cases underway that could appear at any moment. Many things can be said, but the only certainty is that the legislature began with right-wing protests in the streets and demonstrations by judges against the amnesty law, and it ends with a judicial siege on a party as has not been remembered at least since the end of the Francoist era.

The Community of Madrid "is doing very well" and claims to be "the economic engine of Spain". However, according to Isabel Díaz Ayuso's government, this positive scenario occurs "despite" Pedro Sánchez's executive. Sources from the Madrid Ministry of Economy and Finance denounce "the asphyxiation" to which, in their opinion, the State has subjected them. Since 2019, when Ayuso took the reins of the regional government, the "consolidated debt" of the Spanish government with Madrid already amounts to 12,367 million euros, according to the calculation of Ayuso's team. "Mr. Sánchez's government is holding hostage the money of the people of Madrid that goes to issues as important as healthcare, dependency, or education," says the counselor Rocío Albert, in charge of Madrid's economic affairs, in statements to the press.

The Spanish government and ERC formalized the agreement for a new regional financing in January, with a presentation by the then first vice-president and Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, after months of negotiations with the Republicans. The pact was brought before the Council of Fiscal and Financial Policy (CPFF), where it was met with a resounding rejection from the regional councilors of the PP. The Spanish government, however, defended the merits of the new model for weeks and explained that it was drafting the law that would allow it to be submitted for debate by the parliamentary groups in Congress. Three months later and with a new minister at the helm, Arcadi España, the regulation has still not been made public, there have been no bilateral meetings with the regional councilors, and it has not yet begun to be processed. The debate has taken a back seat in the public sphere, especially after the falling out between Esquerra and the socialists over the transfer of IRPF collection.

For better growth, we must invest in batteries to store green energy or attract talent, but the key to the future is fairer financing. There is agreement between the Minister of Economy, Alícia Romero, and three of her predecessors from different political families, who are clear that there are aspects on which there can be broad consensus.

The Generalitat has announced that it has awarded 292.75 million euros of new long-term debt to three financial entities at an average rate of "very advantageous" 2.331% and lower than the maximum initially set. The Department of Economy and Finance has specified that the entities' offers tripled the amount requested by the Government and the final cost of the loans is between 5 and 10 basis points above the Treasury, when the limit set was Treasury +20 basis points (T+0.20%). This operation marks the Generalitat de Catalunya's return to the financial markets for the first time in 14 years after more than a decade relying almost exclusively on the Autonomous Liquidity Fund (FLA) to finance the deficit.

Easter Week has offered a theoretical break to gather strength for what is to come, the Andalusian regional elections, the most important of this cycle that began in January with those held in Extremadura. This new date at the polls is the one that interests Madrid the most, but also Barcelona, due to its implications. We are talking about a territory with a population of 8,676,713 people, of whom 6,812,861 have the right to vote. It is not just because of the demographic weight of this community that there is a lot at stake in these elections. The full cycle has been and continues to be a testing ground with the prospect of the next general elections, and today it has been settled without a definitive diagnosis. The PP continues to fuel the idea that its arrival at Moncloa is very close, even if it is with Vox as an uncomfortable and essential travel companion. To confirm this, it needs to repeat its current absolute majority in the Andalusian Parliament. Anything less than that will lead to questioning the Popular Party's chances of achieving its main objective. For the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, this match is decisive. The president of the Junta, Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla, therefore, has a high responsibility in this electoral call, from which his party may emerge with its chest puffed out or with the obligation to ask many questions about the causes of the slowdown in its expectations.

Amid the debate over the budget proposal that the PSC ultimately withdrew, it's worth highlighting five key economic issues where Catalonia has a lot at stake in the coming years. Beyond the current situation, the essential thing is to ensure a solid foundation for facing the numerous challenges ahead.

The answers to this question can be diverse, and yet I venture one: without budgets, one can administer, but not govern. The distinction between these two concepts is not insignificant. Administering would be equivalent to guaranteeing the ordinary functioning of public services and the continuity of public policies already initiated. In contrast, governing involves setting priorities, transforming the present, and preparing for the future. To administer, a government is not necessary; public employees are sufficient. To govern in the sense I have mentioned, a government is indeed necessary.

Spain doesn't just have a problem with regional funding. It has a problem with its model. And as long as the fundamental debate continues to be avoided, any reform will be just another band-aid on a structure that has been showing cracks for years.

I am surprised that Miquel Puig, with whom I have shared analyses and diagnoses so many times, opposes arguments which he himself has strongly defended.

The GDP of the Catalan and Spanish economies has been growing at double the rates of the major European economies for several years, unemployment is falling, and inflation is trending toward the 2% target. Clearly, the macroeconomic figures paint a picture of a thriving economy. However, there is a growing perception among citizens and businesses that things aren't as good as they seem on the ground; rather, there's a general feeling that economic and social problems are piling up and that, despite the positive figures, things aren't quite working. More importantly, there's a sense that action is needed to prevent things from getting worse.

We recently learned of the agreement reached between ERC and the Spanish government on the ever-controversial issue of financing. It is crucial to note from the outset that this is a pact between a single party and Pedro Sánchez's government. Given that this party, ERC, only holds seven seats in Madrid, the first conclusion seems quite obvious: if other parties do not join, the agreement will be worthless. Assuming that neither the PP nor Vox will participate, the door is open to other political formations, primarily those that made President Sánchez's government possible.

The unemployment figures from the Labor Force Survey for the fourth quarter of 2025 have been released. Everyone is celebrating them as excellent news: unemployment in Spain has fallen below 10%. for the first time in eighteen yearsI reread the news and I wasn't wrong. With all the immigration that has been arriving for years in almost every autonomous community in Spain, the unemployment rate has just fallen below 10%. Data from the previous quarter in other neighboring and comparable economies shows Greece (often the European record holder), 8.2%; Italy, 5.7%; and France, 7.7%. Only South Africa, a world leader for decades, surpasses us among medium-sized/large economies, with 31.9%. In Europe, the Eurozone is at 6.3%; the United Kingdom at 5.1%. In other words, we still have a huge problem with unemployment.

A new tax cut in Madrid is in response to the financing model proposal agreed upon between the ERC and the PSOE. Isabel Díaz Ayuso announced this Monday that her region will lower the regional income tax brackets by half a percentage point starting next year. These brackets were already the lowest in the country. The minimum rate will be 8% and the maximum 20%, further distancing itself from Catalonia, where the rate ranges from 9.5% for low incomes to 25.5% for taxpayers earning more than €175,000 annually. With this income tax cut, Ayuso boasted that a Madrid resident with an annual salary of €35,000 will pay €635 less than a Catalan with an equivalent salary. Furthermore, the president frequently points out that Madrid lacks its own taxes and contrasts her model of "freedom" with the "confiscation" carried out by the Catalan government. According to the regional government's calculations, 2.9 million taxpayers will benefit from the new tax cut, saving them €500 million. Madrid has implemented 34 tax reductions since Ayuso became president in 2019, and overall, sources within the regional government estimate the savings for Madrid residents at €40 billion.

With the agreed financing model —but pending the necessary support in Congress to be enacted—, the hot potato of the Catalan legislature now lies with an issue that remains unresolved: personal income tax (IRPF) collection. This is a matter that ERC and PSOE have been grappling with since Salvador Illa's investiture. In fact, both negotiating teams shelved this topic in the summer when they realized the gap between them. The Republicans demand legal protection for the Catalan Tax Agency (ATC) as a first step towards enabling it to collect 100% of IRPF within two years, while the Socialists resist. After relegating this issue to the back burner, Esquerra has now increased pressure on the Socialists to comply with what they signed. Thus, the Republicans have conditioned opening budget negotiations on taking steps in this direction. However, at the moment, the positions remain as far apart as they were in the summer.

The battle for new funding is a long game in which several players vie to gain a foothold and pass the buck. This is what is happening with Junts and ERC following the pact between the Republicans and the Spanish governmentDespite pressure from the Catalan and Spanish governments for the Catalan parliament to approve the new model – far from a concerted agreement, with some generalizable features and an additional 4.7 billion euros for Catalonia – Carles Puigdemont's party has already moved to activate theconcert operation which will intensify in the coming days and takes into account factors such as time, the room for maneuver of the PSOE and ERC, and the outreach to economic actors requested by former president Artur Mas.

I would like to offer an analytical assessment, free from preconceived notions, without going into detail, but considering the most basic structural features of the new funding proposal. I don't believe its effects on final results can be fully anticipated, despite the important work on figures and ordinality rankings carried out, for example, by FEDEA and by this same newspaper based on government sources. We're missing some details about what's in the denominators of the ratios and how the calculations for the agreement were made. The final figures are difficult to guarantee, beyond the money one might assume will be involved in one way or another. (And if the current Spanish government wants it)It will reach every community. But I don't think the new formula, in the hands of some other government, will guarantee ordinality. And it's clear that it's not the same to be third in the order of per capita resources with one euro less than the second as it is with one euro more per capita than the fourth. I think that's why, regarding ordinality, the minister It hasn't gotten wet beyond voluntarily securing it for Catalonia in 2027.

The commuter rail service has resumed this morning.Trains are running, not with the same frequency on all lines, after two days of nationwide strikes by train drivers. Yesterday, only 6 out of 140 drivers showed up for work. While drivers in Andalusia did strike, those in Catalonia did. In the early morning, trains ran, but with delays and few passengers. This is understandable: if trains aren't running on Wednesday, and then again on Thursday, how can anyone expect them to run on Friday?

The PSOE-ERC-PSC agreement for a supposed new financing model is a prime example of the current political reality in Catalonia. Or, to put it more accurately: of the current state of affairs. Firstly, because in our country, both from the mainstream media and from those who always prioritize stability—even above their own economic interests—the agreement has been presented as a fait accompli, when in reality it is nothing more than a highly improbable possibility. In other words, ERC and PSOE have counted their chickens before they hatched, counting on anyone who denounces them paying a high price.