The Minister of Finance, Arcadi España, wants the first reform of the regional financing system since 2009—for which the State is putting €225 billion on the table—to be studied and approved within fifteen days by the competent multilateral body: the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council (CPFF), where all autonomous communities are represented (the majority of which are governed by the main opposition party, the PP). This is because the affirmative vote of the State plus just one autonomous community is enough, and the reform has already been agreed upon with the leader of Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, Oriol Junqueras, who in exchange is supporting Salvador Illa’s government in the Catalan Generalitat.
The Fiscal and Financial Policy Council (CPFF) will have this timeframe to evaluate a draft of the reform, which will be sent, according to Arcadi España, “this week” to the finance regional ministers (consejeros) of the fifteen common-regime autonomous communities. They will be able to voice their concerns next Tuesday, July 14, during a “technical committee” meeting ahead of the final approval on July 29. “They have plenty of time,” the minister assured.
Key Points of the Proposal
The draft is theoretically based on the reform proposal unveiled last January by Junqueras and confirmed by the then-Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero. However, as implied by the minister, it also incorporates contributions from the regions that agreed to meet with the Secretary of State for Finance, Jesús Gascón, in recent weeks, including the regional ministers of the Generalitat of Catalonia and the Valencian Community. The majority of the PP-led regional governments have refused to hold meetings regarding a model they consider to have been pre-arranged with the PSOE’s investiture partner.
Financial Estimate: The Treasury estimates that the new model will provide the CCAA (Autonomous Communities) with €225 billion as early as next year, should it come into effect, following an additional State contribution of €21.000 million. According to a study by Fedea, this will particularly benefit Catalonia to the detriment of lower-income regions.
Next Steps and Parliamentary Hurdles
Approval of the new model within the CPFF does not, however, guarantee that it will move forward. Because it takes the form of a law, it must be ratified in Parliament.
This presents a highly difficult hurdle, as the political party Junts considers what Junqueras agreed upon to be just another version of “café para todos” (coffee for everyone / a one-size-fits-all solution) with which they do not agree.
