Madrid skips funding vote as PP regions join talks
Madrid is staying away from Friday’s vote on Spain’s regional funding system. Other regions run by the People’s Party (PP) will attend the Council for Fiscal and Financial Policy in Madrid but say they will reject the proposal.
Madrid says the Finance Ministry had already negotiated the plan with ERC. The other PP-led regions respect that decision, but have chosen to take their opposition into the meeting instead.
Extremadura’s Elena Manzano said her region would defend its interests while showing institutional loyalty. Galicia’s Miguel Corgos said his government would press until the last moment for the proposal to be sent back, arguing that the national government has shown no willingness to negotiate.
Valencia’s José Antonio Rovira called Madrid’s absence its own choice, but said it served no purpose. Andalucía’s Carolina España said PP-run regions were free to decide for themselves, though their shared position was a clear rejection of what she called an unfair funding system.
Murcia’s María Isabel López Aragón declined to comment on whether other regions attended. But the PP ministers who spoke before the meeting all confirmed their opposition to the government’s plan, saying it had been agreed in advance with ERC.
Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com