The president of ERC, Oriol Junqueras, has called on the PSC and PSOE to demonstrate their willingness to comply with the agreements already signed before negotiating budgets or other issues. This was reiterated by the Republican leader during his speech after the party’s National Council held this Saturday.
The meeting also served to endorse Bàrbara Lligadas as president of the body, replacing the president of the ERC parliamentary group, Josep Maria Jové. The general secretary of ERC, Elisenda Alamany, also had to intervene before the press but ultimately did not do so. His predecessor in office, Marta Rovira, was present at Junqueras’s speech and at the presentation of the new management’s report.
Junqueras and Alamany have headed the first National Council of the new leadership after the first phase of the congress. The president of ERC and the general secretary entered the room together, applauded by the national councilors – some of whom were making their debut today – who made the change in the presidency of the body official: Lligadas has replaced Jové, who will continue as president of the parliamentary group.
After speaking behind closed doors before the National Council, Junqueras offered an open speech to the press, where he highlighted that the agreements closed with PSC and PSOE in exchange for the investitures of Salvador Illa and Pedro Sánchez are “useful, very important and essential.” The president of ERC has reiterated the party’s “responsibility” to demand compliance in accordance with what the “majority” of the country demands.
In this sense, Junqueras has demanded that society also “accompany” the Government and the Moncloa in demanding that they comply with the agreements closed with ERC. He did it in a short speech, lasting 4 minutes, and accompanied by Alamany.
Budget warning
Junqueras has insisted that, if Illa wants to negotiate the budgets with ERC, he will first have to comply with all the agreements already signed with the Republicans. Thus, he has stressed that it is “impossible” for there to be a budget proposal that is “the best” without the income from an improvement in the collection capacity of the institutions, from an improvement in the financing model or from the Cercanías and metro infrastructures.
Along these lines, Junqueras has made it clear that ERC intends not to reach new agreements until those that already exist are met. Without “any desire to be strident or threaten,” the president of Esquerra has thus called on the PSC and PSOE to demonstrate “how much will and what predisposition” they have to comply with the agreements, if they want to negotiate other issues.
ERC’s insistence complicates the budgets of the Illa Government. The Republicans have been warning for weeks that they will not begin to negotiate the accounts until the Socialists have validated everything agreed upon. Among these signed agreements are singular financing, the forgiveness of 20% of the FLA and the transfer of Cercanías.
The National Council has been attended, among others, by the former president of Parliament Carme Forcadell, the first vice president of the Table and former candidate of Nueva Esquerra Nacional, Raquel Sans, and the national councilor with the most votes in the November congress, Joan Tardà. There was also Rovira, who was not present at the beginning of the meeting but was present during Junqueras’ open speech.
Illa guarantees “full” compliance with the agreements
This Saturday Illa tried to dispel the doubts of ERC and Comunes and assured that he will comply “in full” with the investiture agreements. “We have approved a Government plan that includes, as it could not be otherwise, the investiture agreements signed with ERC and the Commons. These agreements will be fulfilled in their entirety, from step to step, as we socialists have always done. Despite the difficulties,” he wanted to make clear to the National Council of the PSC.
In the midst of budget negotiations, the president of the Generalitat has stated that now is “time to seek agreements.” “This is not the time to confront or highlight division, nor for trench politics,” he said.
Source: www.eldiario.es
