They also agree to forgive 15,000 million FLA to Catalonia, which will save another 1,300 million in interest
The pact between PSOE and ERC for the investiture of Pedro Sánchez implies that the State will forgive up to 15,000 million euros of debt from the Autonomous Liquidity Fund (FLA) to Catalonia, which will also save about 1,300 million euros in interest. The Catalan region is the one that has received the most money from this mechanism, up to 102 billion, since it was launched in 2012.
Likewise, the text states that a bilateral commission will be established during the first quarter of 2024 between the Government and the Generalitat with the aim of reaching an agreement and enabling progress in achieving “adequate financing that guarantees the financial sufficiency of the services.” of Catalonia”, as well as “ensure compliance with the investment commitments contained in the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia”.
According to the text of this pact, the State will also assume the forgiveness of 15,000 million euros, 20% of the 71,000 million euros that Catalonia now has with the State. In addition, another 1.3 billion euros will be saved due to the interest that would have to be paid on that loan if it were not forgiven.
The Autonomous Liquidity Fund, FLA, was created by the Executive of Mariano Rajoy in 2012 during the economic crisis and, through it, the Government grants money to the attached autonomous communities that at the time did not have the solvency to finance themselves in the markets. .
Not all the autonomous communities are included in this Fund and only those that requested it from the Ministry of Finance are affiliated: Aragón, Balearic Islands, Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia, Extremadura, Murcia, La Rioja and the Valencian Community.
The acting Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños, has explained after this agreement that this debt forgiveness mechanism will also be extendable to the rest of the CCAA of the common regime and that are attached to this fund.
Since 2012, Catalonia is the autonomous community that has received the most money from this FLA, despite the fact that in 2019 and 2020 it did not receive any euros from this compartment, but rather from the Financial Facility Fund, a similar system.
Specifically, the community chaired by Pere Aragonès has received a total of 102,622 million euros from this FLA in the last eleven years, almost 40% of the total.
The year that received the most money was in 2021, when Catalonia received up to 13,469 million euros from the FLA. And last year and this year they have received a similar figure, 12,673 million in 2022 and 12,605 million in 2023.
After Catalonia, the Valencian Community has historically been the second region that has received the most money from this Autonomous Liquidity Fund in this decade.
MORE THAN 71,000 MILLION DEBT WITH THE STATE
Regarding debt, Catalonia remains one of the most indebted communities, with a total of 85,456 million euros, according to the latest data from the Bank of Spain. This translates into a debt of 33% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
However, the regional debt of Catalonia with the State currently amounts to 71,852 million euros, of which up to 20% has been forgiven and with interest savings, according to this pact.
After Catalonia, the next region with the highest debt to the State is the Valencian Community (46,274 million euros); Andalusia (25,276 million); Castilla-La Mancha (11,069 million); Murcia (9,762 million); Aragon (4,940 million); Balearic Islands (4,828 million); Cantabria (3.1 billion); Galicia (2,759 million); Extremadura (2,288 million); Castilla y León (1,966 million); Canary Islands (1,296 million); Asturias (858 million); La Rioja (758 million).
MORE DETAILS OF THE AGREEMENT
The agreement also includes the creation of a new match table and the comprehensive transfer of the Cercanías service (Rodalies). For this purpose, a new public company called Rodalíes Cataluña will be created, owned by the State and the regional government.
The minister has stated that the agreement includes specific financing for “unique” powers in Catalonia such as “the Mossos d’Esquadra and the judicial bodies.” He has also pointed out that through this agreement “a system of “management assignments” that was already agreed upon in the General State Budgets for the year 2023 is “improved and concretized.”
“So that the Generalitat will be able to execute the new investments of the State in Catalonia, strategic for the country as a whole” and therefore, the shared government between the General Administration of the State and the Generalitat of Catalonia continues to deepen, as indicated. .
Félix Bolaños has shown his satisfaction with the agreement signed this Thursday with the president of ERC, Oriol Junqueras, which also indicated that it allows “continuing progress” towards Sánchez’s investiture. According to him he has assured, he will also allow to guarantee stability in the new legislature.
Bolaños explained that “a party table” will be created in which PSOE and ERC will participate to facilitate and accompany the dialogue that is already taking place in the dialogue table that has already operated during the last legislature between the Central Executive. and the Government.
Thus, he has indicated that they want to deepen the political dialogue that they have already been maintaining and has pointed out that the dialogue negotiation table will present agreements that are “broad and representative of the vast majority”, which will also be “cross-cutting and logically within the legal system.” .
Regarding Rodalíes, Bolaños points out that this agreement will “complete” the transfer of this competence to the Generalitat “which began in 2009 and 2010”, as he stated. With the creation of the new public company they intend to continue collaborating to improve service to citizens.
