The leader of the opposition in Catalonia, Salvador Illa, believes that the reform of the regional financing system, which has expired since 2014, “is a debate that must be addressed” despite its “complexity” and the “temptations to put it aside.” but the leader does not agree with the use that in his opinion the ERC Government is making of this matter, proposing a “singular” system for Catalonia. Furthermore, he considers that this debate is serving as a “permanent excuse” for Pere Aragonès’ Executive to “hide” instead of governing.
At the closing of a conference on regional financing organized by the Rafael Campalans Foundation, related to the PSC, Illa warned the president that “there are issues that greatly condition the future of Catalonia and that do not involve regional financing.” He gave as a paradigmatic example the expansion of the El Prat airport, on which he and his party have been insisting and pressuring the Government through the negotiation of the latest budgets and those of this year.
Hours after Pedro Sánchez ratified the investment of 2.4 billion euros to expand Madrid’s Barajas airport, Illa replied to Aragonès that the expansion of Barcelona or the possibility that “some sporting events could get out of hand.” In reference to Formula 1, “they do not depend on regional financing” but “on having a Government that governs and makes decisions.”
According to the PSC leader, “the worst favor we can do to Catalonia, which has many potentials, is to hide behind regional financing as a permanent excuse that nothing works.”
And regarding financing, Illa opted for a model “that is not a straitjacket for the development of Catalonia” and that respects the Constitution and the Statute.
