ERC agrees with the Government a transfer of 900 million for the Generalitat to dedicate to infrastructure

Esquerra has assured this afternoon that he has agreed with the Government a transfer of 900 million euros so that the Generalitat manages them and dedicates them to infrastructures in Catalonia.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
22 November 2022 Tuesday 09:34
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ERC agrees with the Government a transfer of 900 million for the Generalitat to dedicate to infrastructure

Esquerra has assured this afternoon that he has agreed with the Government a transfer of 900 million euros so that the Generalitat manages them and dedicates them to infrastructures in Catalonia. This announcement is part of the negotiation for the general state budget and although it represents a boost to Pedro Sánchez's legislature, the truth is that the yes this morning of EH Bildu and PDECat to the accounts had been announced a little earlier, with which the central Executive already had the vote this Thursday secured in favor.

This is one of the ways that ERC has found to guarantee part of the investments that have not been carried out in recent years, despite the promises and budget negotiations of other years. The lack of investment is evident: in the first half of this year, 16% of what was proposed by the Government for 2022 in Catalonia was executed. They are 348.38 million euros, compared to the 2,207 million budgeted, if the payment of 1,069 million to Abertis for the works on the AP-2 and AP-7 that were paid at the end of the concession is not taken into account. In 2021 only 36% of what was proposed materialized.

Be that as it may, the Republicans assure that despite this step forward they do not assure their definitive support for the accounts and consider that they are making "a gesture in favor of the negotiation with the registration of transactional amendments to the General State budgets." They warn that "there is still a long way to go until a definitive agreement can be reached", taking into account that after their approval in Congress they must go through the Senate.

The negotiation between Moncloa and ERC is also part of the one in which they are working in parallel for the repeal of the crime of sedition, the redrawing of the crime of public disorder and the possible modification of the crime of embezzlement. The PSOE and Unidas Podemos processed the proposal in Congress for the first two options last week and amendments are awaited to introduce the changes in embezzlement. With everything, and despite the public impetus from socialist, podemite and republican ranks, the option of decriminalizing embezzlement that does not imply personal or third-party enrichment, as had been pointed out, has cooled.

The ERC parliamentary group, led by Gabriel Rufián in Madrid, with these 900 million secure funds to undertake works on "key infrastructures in Catalonia" in the rail and road spheres. "The establishment of this mechanism to guarantee State investments in Catalonia is a great achievement to correct the historical disinvestment suffered by the Catalans," said the budget spokesman for the Republicans in Congress, Joan Margall. "We want more tools like country to help people, to make their lives easier. Any space of sovereignty that we conquer is a step forward," he added.

Esquerra has specified that among the agreements signed are the actions in the Maresme region derived from the transfer of the N-II highway, with a multi-year contribution from the State of 384 million euros. To this investment, we must add works to improve the connectivity of the AP2 and AP7 motorways, with a contribution of 250 million euros. And another multi-year item of 260 million will also be allocated for the execution of the Pyrenean Axis. In the railway field, an agreement has been agreed for the execution of interchanges between the state-owned railway network and that of the Generalitat.

The agreement between the PSOE and ERC also includes a whole string of items: 40 million for the Autoritat de Transport Metropolità (ATM); 60 million for the audiovisual hub Catalunya Media City, located in Sant Adrià de Besòs; seven million more for scientific research, and 43 million to develop the energy transition in Mossos d'Esquadra buildings and the renovation of Catalan police vehicles. Likewise, a political agreement has been reached for the transfer of the management of the Delta de l'Ebre and 24 million euros will be transferred to deploy the dental plan.

Other concepts to take into account in the agreement are seven million to materialize the Lleida agri-food science and technology park, one million for the Girona House of Culture Library, and two million for the project to build the bridge in the Entrevies de Tarragona.