The president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, has defended that the reform of the autonomous financing system "is also about uniting Spain," emphasizing that there is a widespread consensus that the current model needs a thorough review.
In an interview with 'El Periódico' collected by Europa Press this Saturday, Illa details that the proposal for a new model would involve an additional injection of 21 billion euros: "It has to be done without anyone losing and no one loses; naturally, the communities that are better financed will gain much less and those that are worse off will gain more," he specified.
He has insisted that the gap in resources per inhabitant "should be adjusted between those who receive the most and those who receive the least," so that the distribution is more balanced among territories.
"These criteria are met. All are susceptible to improvement and I do not refuse that contributions be made, but I would like to see them written black on white and this would give much more credibility to those who criticize. I ask for calm in this debate, I ask for rigor, and I say that it is a system that does not harm anyone," he emphasized, demanding a calm debate based on data.
Diada in Extremadura
Asked about his trip to Extremadura to commemorate the Diada in this community, he considered it a wise decision, as "Catalonia cannot be understood without the contribution of the 100,000 Catalans of Extremaduran origin."
He explained that with this gesture they seek to focus on the shared ties: "We want to emphasize what unites us at a time when there is a genuine obsession on the part of some to divide, to divide us: the Extremadurans from the Catalans, the Catalans among ourselves, with the rest of Spain, among Europeans, a desire to divide," he warned.
Nuclear energy and renewables
In relation to the extension of the Almaraz nuclear power plant and its possible impact on the closure schedule of the Catalan plants of Ascó and Vandellós, Illa has highlighted that Extremadura is "a model to follow" in renewable energies, a field in which, in his opinion, Catalonia lags behind and is at the lower end of the table.
"I do not have a dogmatic stance, we are going to analyze how things are. What I would not like is for this debate that some intend to anticipate when there is still time to make a decision to imply a relaxation regarding the work we have to do in Catalonia in renewable energies," he pointed out about the future of the Catalan nuclear plants.
Situation in Ceuta and future of Sánchez
Regarding the situation in Ceuta, he described the scenario as "frankly delicate" and assured that the central Government has activated all means at its disposal, reminding that in this type of crisis a minimum of institutional loyalty is essential.
In his opinion, there has been "little" of that loyalty and sense of State, despite the fact that the Executive "has deployed all the resources it could deploy."
About the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, Illa has expressed confidence that he will reaffirm victory in the upcoming elections and will continue at the head of the Executive, considering that the last 8 years have been favorable in terms of economic growth. However, he admits that there are still pending challenges in areas such as housing and the cost of living: "I predict a very tight campaign, and some are going to be surprised," he concluded.