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.

"The new model will adhere to the principle of ordinality in the case of Catalonia." This phrase has been heard for days from the main political figures involved in the negotiations on regional financing. It has been uttered by the Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, as well as the President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa; the Minister of Economy, Alícia Romero; and the leader of ERC, Oriol Junqueras. Until now, however, there has been no publicly available data to corroborate it. ARA has obtained access to the projections of the new model, prepared jointly by all parties, which Montero used to present the proposal two weeks ago. The results confirm the ordinality in the case of Catalonia and point to the regions that would gain the most ground with the change: the Valencian Community, Catalonia, Madrid, and the Balearic Islands.

The more one delves into the data of the new financing system put forward by the Spanish government, the more one sees the number of variables that had to be incorporated. The goal of the ERC (Republican Left of Catalonia) was to be able to claim that Catalonia would benefit considerably, and the goal of Vice President María Jesús Montero was to present it as a more equitable model than the previous one, since this is the banner of southern socialists like herself. Looking at the numbers, it seems that the seemingly unsolvable puzzle has been successfully solved. Undoubtedly, the new system benefits Catalonia much more than the previous one, while also being more equitable, that is, more effectively guaranteeing equality for all Spaniards in access to public services such as health and education. The challenge here is to find a way for a resident of a neighborhood like La Mina in Sant Adrià to have access to the same resources as someone from the Las Trescientas neighborhood in Cáceres, something that is not currently the case. Based on the 2022 settlement figures, Extremadura had €4,018 per capita and Catalonia €3,264 to pay for exactly the same services. Therefore, the current model does not generate equality but inequality. Specifically, it penalizes the poor population in territories that, on paper, are wealthy, such as Catalonia. Therefore, the new system is more equitable because it focuses more on real people and less on territories. And as former president José Montilla once said, there are more poor people in Catalonia than Extremadura has inhabitants.

The Spanish government's skill in this first part of the year lies in forcing both its partners and the opposition to resolve dilemmas. This applies equally to domestic policy and the international situation. We must go back to last December, to Pedro Sánchez's final press conference and the subsequent Christmas reception at Moncloa Palace, and consider it the moment when many clues were given about the scenario the government would try to create to attempt to get back on track.

Carolina España (Málaga, 1969) is no newcomer to politics, although Catalonia has certainly become familiar with her this week. The Andalusian government's Minister of Economy is one of the voices that has risen up against the new financing model agreed upon between the Spanish government and the ERC (Republican Left of Catalonia). a phrase that spread through all the media"The Montero model gives champagne and caviar to the separatists, and to the rest of Spaniards, a pre-cooked set menu without dessert." The Andalusian government, led by Juanma Moreno, is one of the most vocal in its protests against the model presented by the Vice President and Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, who will also be the PSOE candidate in the Andalusian elections in June.

Reality is always changing, but the speed at which it's changing these days is impressive. France, Germany, Norway, and Sweden are sending soldiers to Greenland. And Denmark, of course. Spain says it's considering it. These are small contingents that will carry out "reconnaissance" work, in a clear symbolic message to Donald Trump: this is Danish sovereign territory, it's European Union territory, and we don't accept threats. Trump must be laughing, but these countries have done the only thing they can do, which is not to look the other way.