The possibility of the Government giving Catalonia special financing occupies all the political debates, after ERC has demanded that the central Government recognize “singular financing” as a counterpart to its support for the first secretary of the PSC, Salvador Illa, to be invested as president of Catalonia.
The former president of the Government, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, has defended it and has assured that “Spain” as a country is interested in Catalonia being well financed and its “uniqueness” in this area recognized, since it has specific powers, such as prisons or citizen security.
Zapatero spoke in this way in an interview with Servimedia, in which he appreciated that the head of the Executive, Pedro Sánchez, has defended “unique financing” for Catalonia that allows it to meet its needs. In this regard, Zapatero maintained that guaranteeing income from the Catalan coffers is good for all Spaniards: “We are interested in Catalonia having good financing, it is in Spain's interest,” he stated.
The former president defended that this autonomous community is “one of the great engines of the Spanish economy” and that 25% of the country's exports come from the Catalan provinces. “We need that autonomous community to be strong,” he stated. Furthermore, Zapatero defended treating Catalonia in a unique way in terms of financing, since it is something “quite common” in countries considered “federal.” He maintained that each autonomy has needs, regardless of whether it is a territory that contributes to the whole versus others that receive.
“If you are in fourth place in per capita income, it cannot be that, after contributing to the whole in the financing model, you go to number 11” in what you receive, in line with what was stated in the same sense by the leader of the PSC, Salvador Illa.
Likewise, he defended that Catalonia should have a “singularity” in terms of financing, since it has specific powers, such as prisons or citizen security.
At the same time, Zapatero spoke out about the fact that former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont has called it “blackmail” that Sánchez has spoken of “singular financing” for his community, since he understands that something similar to the Basque quota should be granted. According to the former president, this is “the debate we are going to have.” Furthermore, he referred to the fact that the resolution that the Catalan Parliament approved in 2104 on financing could be a “good starting point model”, which had the particularity that the independentists and the PSC voted in favor of it.