Father Aragonès reiterated this Monday the importance of the unique financing agreement for Catalonia, concluded between Esquerra Republicana (ERC) and the PSC. In an interview on RAC1, the former president of the Generalitat of Catalonia reminded the PSOE that the the agreement was signed “in writing” and in the presence of an international mediatora character who had been an indispensable condition for the Republicans in the negotiations for the inauguration of Pedro Sánchez.
Aragonès stressed that the agreement is “historic” and that when it materializes “it will mean a leap forward towards autonomy” for Catalonia, even exceeding the 2006 Statute. As explained in the interview, the agreement provides that the Generalitat will collect all taxes in Catalonia, a fact that will gradually materialize from 2026 with full transfer of personal income tax.
“This is an extraordinary conceptual breakthrough. Never before has the Spanish state accepted that the Generalitat collects all taxes in Catalonia,” he insisted.
Furthermore, he stressed that the agreement also provides for the creation of a solidarity contribution that Catalonia must agree with the State. “This is an extraordinary, unprecedented agreement, and one that the PSOE has formally accepted in writing,” he said.
These statements come at a time of growing tensions between ERC and the central government, particularly after recent comments by the Minister of Finance, Maria Jesus Monterowho suggested that the pact did not constitute an economic agreement similar to that of the Basque Country.
Montero clarified that, for the moment, the agreement only provides for the transfer of personal income tax to the Catalan Treasury, a point that was refuted by Aragonès: “The minister knows that the agreements must be respected and that, Otherwise, it would affect both the Catalan and Spanish governments. »he warned.
Internal crisis in ERC
During the interview, Aragonès also spoke of the internal crisis that his party, ERC, is going through and denied the recent accusations of Oriol Junqueras, who had highlighted the existence of a “parallel structure” within the party that made decisions without his knowledge. while he was in prison.
Aragonès categorically denied the existence of such a structure, assuring that “no relevant decisions were taken in parallel bodies” and that he maintained constant communication with Junqueras during this period.
In this sense, Aragonès takes advantage of the opportunity to urge a renewal within the management of the ERC: “We are in a new political cycle, and I think that with new faces everything is easier. If the same people remain in charge, it is more difficult for people to perceive a new impulse,” he said. -he declared.
Although he did not reveal who he would support in the upcoming internal party process, he made it clear that he would support whoever is elected, whether or not they are his preferred candidate.
He former president He also took advantage of the interview to discuss his political future. Since announcing his retirement from active politics after the May 12 elections, Aragonès has remained discreet, limiting himself to signing an internal ERC manifesto demanding the renewal of the party’s leadership.
On this occasion, he reaffirmed his desire to stay away from the political front, while hinting that he will continue to be linked to Esquerra Republicana and that he will support the decisions that the party takes in the future.
