The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the acting President of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, are set to meet on Wednesday, July 24, in Barcelona. Following their meeting, they will sign an agreement to transfer the management of the Ingreso Mínimo Vital to Catalonia, as announced by Moncloa.
This meeting takes place during a crucial week for negotiations between the Socialists and ERC regarding the potential investiture of PSC leader Salvador Illa. It is expected that an agreement should be reached within the next few days, certainly before the end of July, as stipulated by the republicans.
The meeting will occur at the Palau de la Generalitat and will begin at 12:00 p.m. Alongside the signing of the agreement, the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration, Elma Saiz, and the conseller of Social Rights, Carles Campuzano, will also participate. After the signing ceremony, both the minister and the conseller will address the media.
Sánchez’s visit to Catalonia follows a warning from ERC Secretary General Marta Rovira, who stated that the socialists would be walked away from negotiations if a pre-agreement is not established before the end of July.
The key to this pact revolves around regional financing, with ERC insisting on fiscal sovereignty to collect and manage taxes within the community. They have also rejected the proposal of creating a fiscal consortium of the Generalitat and the State, a suggestion put forth by the Socialists.
The government has consistently opposed the independentists’ demands, which would lead to Catalonia exiting the common regime to adopt an economic concert similar to that of Euskadi. Nevertheless, Moncloa and Ferraz have recently indicated that ERC’s positions are maximal and that negotiations are still ongoing; they remain optimistic about reaching an agreement.
This will be the first meeting between Sánchez and Aragonès since the regional elections held on May 12, where the PSC emerged victorious, causing ERC to drop to third place. This meeting also follows the implementation of the Amnesty Law.
The last time Sánchez visited the Palau de la Generalitat for a meeting with Aragonès was at the end of December 2023, shortly after he was confirmed as president of the government. During that visit, Sánchez expressed his willingness to develop the Catalan Tax Agency, as outlined in the Catalan Statute, although no concrete actions have resulted from this commitment thus far.
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