After PSOE and Podemos reached an "agreement in principle" for a Spanish budget for next year, now the central government is looking for the support it needs from the pro-independence Catalan parties. After this Thursday's cabinet meeting, the government's spokesperson, Isabel Celaá, has urged the Catalan government and the parties which support it to enable prime minister Pedro Sánchez to pass his accounts. "It's very beneficial for Catalan society", she argued, putting it in the context of the open negotiations. She says it would give financial support to the "advances" in Catalan self-government.
Following a meeting this Thursday morning, prime minister Pedro Sánchez and the leader of Podemos, Pablo Iglesias, have announced their agreement in principle to pass a budget. The plan includes increasing the minimum monthly wage to 900 euros (£800; $1,000), pensions adjusted to the real CPI and increasing the funding for the state housing plan. Despite this nascent agreement, the government still doesn't have the votes it needs in the Congress to pass a bill, leading it to have to negotiate with PDeCAT and ERC as well.
The treasury minister, María Jesús Montero, wanted to make it clear that they aren't considering giving anything else in exchange to the independence movement. "When we're talking about budgets, we talk about budgets", she said, calling for it to be put "ahead of any other question". She echoed her colleague, saying that "if it goes ahead, it contemplates very important quantities to improve the lives of the Catalans".
Celaá said that "political and legal solutions should never cross", after Catalan vice-president Pere Aragonès called for a gesture in the criminal case investigating last year's independence referendum. The spokesperson also said that, during the cabinet meeting, there was no discussion about reversing the previous government's executive order which made it easier for companies to move their headquarters out of Catalonia.
Abandoning "rhetoric"
The Spanish government spokesperson expressed concern over the clash which showed its face again between the pro-independence parties this week in the Catalan Parliament. "Far from leading to bringing the blocking of the institutions to an end, the latest moves indicated that it won't be easy to start on the path towards ending the conflict," she said.
Celaá urged the Catalan government and its supporters to give their support to "bringing an end to the blocking" of the Catalan institutions, to abandon the "rhetorical fight" and to continue the dialogue. She placed special emphasis on the fact that, next week, there will be new bilateral meetings on subjects like culture and infrastructure.