The leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, and his barons The territorial authorities agreed this Friday on a document containing a series of commitments and demands, starting with demanding that the so-called Catalan quota agreed between the PSOE and the ERC be “stopped”. In addition, they demand an economic injection of 18 billion dollars from the Next Generation funds not executed by the government and negotiate the financing in multilateral forums, refusing to fall into the “deceptive bilaterality” and the “auctions” of the government of Pedro Sánchez.
“All together,” Feijóo proclaimed in an appearance open to the media during a break in the meeting he is holding with his barons territorial meetings at the Palace of the Dukes of Pastrana in Madrid, in which he sought to simulate the Conferences of Presidents that the popular They have been complaining to the Executive for months, given that they have not met since March 2022.
The meeting – which began with a family photo to visualize the unity and territorial strength of the PP – brought together 10 regional presidents of the PP, the presidents of Ceuta and Melilla, the vice-president of the Canary Islands and the vice-president of the Balearic Islands. The president of the Balearic Islands, Marga Prohens, was unable to travel to Madrid because she has the government council and the start of the school year on her agenda, according to sources. popular.
The opposition leader indicated that a new financing model is needed – the current one dates from 2009 – with “more resources for all the Autonomous Communities, much more than these 400 million” that, as he said, the government has announced. Of course, he reiterated that this new system must be agreed in multilateral forums such as the Conference of Presidents or the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council (CPFF).
“For the independence quota”
Feijóo explained that the first decision they agreed on at this PP summit is to “eliminate the independence quota”, so that “both the Government and the Generalitat return to the minimum principle of institutional loyalty”. It is about, he continued, that “what belongs to each one is decided between all”.
Second, they once again demanded the immediate convening of the Conference of Presidents so that “ordinary representatives of the State throughout the nation can be heard instead of being content with the impositions of a minority.”
Thirdly, he stressed that “all the presidents” of the PP “expressly renounce falling into a misleading bilaterality regarding the system of financing public services for all Spaniards.”
“The PSOE has put the general interests up for bids. “We will not participate in them,” he guaranteed, after Sánchez announced a series of individual contacts in Moncloa with each president and was prepared to offer “singularities” for each territory.
Fourthly, Feijóo indicated that he considers “it is necessary that there be an immediate economic injection into the communities” and explained that the PP believes that this is possible by decentralising part of the non-refundable European funds that Spain has.
“We demand that the Executive immediately make available to the autonomous communities 18 billion euros of Next Generation funds that they have not been able to execute,” he said, adding that they will also demand that, “as many funds from the remaining funds as the funds that the government does not allocate are transferred to the LACC, thus avoiding the return of funds to Europe.”
Create a temporary fund
Fifth, Feijóo and his barons They commit to “actively contributing to the realization of a new multilateral financing model with more resources, which, starting from the common regime, addresses the particularities of each territory and with particular attention to public health.”
Sixth, they propose the creation of a transitional fund that “compensates for imbalances until the renewed system is approved, with the aim of reducing the underfunding of the autonomous communities to ensure equality in the provision of services.”
“First decision, stop the independence quotas and commit to what belongs to each person being decided by all. Second, an immediate economic injection of more than 18 billion euros from the Next Generation funds that Spain has. Third decision, we will work together on a new model, on the updating of the regional financing system with more resources for all Spaniards, and not just for those that the independence movement says,” Feijóo summarized during his appearance.
Funding Update
The PP leader insisted that the commitment they agreed on is to be “all of one” in this multilateral financing negotiation, a day after Madrid President Isabel Díaz Ayuso asked her party colleagues not to sit down with Sánchez while the Conference of Presidents is not meeting because he will try to “bribe” them by seeking to “whitewash the territorial rupture.”
In addition, they committed to working “together” to modernize the financing system, “with more resources for all Spaniards, not just those who call themselves independentists,” because, in their opinion, “it is not admissible for this government to pretend that the Spaniards live off the remains of their agreements with the independentists.”
Feijóo stressed that what “brings solutions” to Catalonia and the rest of Spain is an update of the financing system agreed in the forums where “everyone” is present, “free from suspicions and ideological advantages on the part of the independence movement or personal advantages of the independence movement.” part of socialism.
In fact, he said that the Catalans are “deceived and used” by the PSOE, which has taken the “independence mistakes” as “its own.” “With the amnesty, impunity has been granted to past and future processes and with the quota that all Spaniards will pay,” he reiterated.
Claiming fiscal autonomy
The PP president also demanded fiscal autonomy for the autonomous communities. popular They have denounced these days that what the government and its partners are seeking is to “reduce” the autonomy of the autonomous communities to approve tax cuts.
“Fiscal independence cannot be granted to maintain pro-independence embassies and beach bars and, at the same time, put obstacles in the way of anyone who decides to stimulate economic activity by reducing taxes,” he said.
“The challenge of inequalities”
According to Feijóo, Spain “faces the challenge of inequality” with Pedro Sánchez. “It is not the first time that in these 45 years of democracy we have had to defend our rights against various threats. But it is the first time that these threats are carried out by the government of the nation,” he proclaimed.
In this sense, the PP leader said that “the only project of the Spanish government today is to maintain power” while “the project of the Popular Party is to improve Spain.” “General interests no longer count, only those of those who intend to extend their stay in power count,” he added.
Finally, Feijóo demanded that public resources be allocated to public services and distributed “fairly” to ensure that Spaniards “are equal.” For this reason, he said that the PP governments will be “the safety net of principles and responsibilities” in which Spaniards can trust in the face of the PSOE’s “leap into the void” with the independence movement and the government’s “abuses of power, excesses, delusions, deceptions and concessions.”
