Madrid boycott call targets Spain funding vote
Madrid is calling on other Spanish regions to boycott a vote on Friday over a new regional funding system. The Madrid regional government says it will not attend the Council for Fiscal and Financial Policy, the body where the proposal is due to be debated and put to a vote. Spain’s Finance Ministry has branded the appeal irresponsible and described it as “institutional thuggery”.
Madrid says Pedro Sánchez’s government negotiated the reform bilaterally with Catalonia’s government, leaving other regions out. It argues that only a lack of quorum at the meeting could stop the proposal from advancing.
A vote could still go ahead
The Finance Ministry says the meeting was originally due on 29 July but was postponed after regions run by the Partido Popular asked for more time and information. It says officials continued talks through July and August and sent the regions fuller details of the plan.
All regions under the common funding system had confirmed they would attend, according to the ministry. It also says no region indicated it would stay away at a preparatory meeting in Madrid on Thursday.
One regional backer is enough
Partido Popular-run regions, Castilla-La Mancha and Asturias have signalled their opposition to the draft, citing its earlier bilateral negotiation with ERC. Catalonia and the Canary Islands are expected to support it.
The government holds 50% of the votes in the council, meaning it needs backing from only one autonomous community to move the proposal on. The plan would then go to the Council of Ministers before being sent to the Congress of Deputies, where the reform will ultimately be debated and voted on.
The ministry says the current regional funding system has been expired for 12 years. It insists it will continue seeking support from all territories and parliamentary groups for a reform it says is needed to provide more money for health, education, social services and housing.
Topics: Social affairs · Health · Politics · Economy
Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com