The president of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Salvador Illa, has justified the trip to Extremadura to commemorate the Diada during this week, defending that it was an appropriate decision because "Catalonia cannot be understood without the contribution of the 100,000 Catalans of Extremaduran origin."
In an interview with 'El Periódico', reported by Europa Press, he explained that his intention with this trip was to send a message of unity: "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."
In the same conversation, Illa stated that the reform of the autonomous financing system "is also about uniting Spain" and recalled that there is a widespread consensus on the need to review the current model.
The head of the Govern detailed that the proposal for a new model involves an additional contribution 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 emphasized.
He also demanded that the gap in resources per inhabitant "be adjusted between those who receive the most and those who receive the least" and defended that "these criteria are met." He added that all elements of the system can be improved and that he is open to incorporating changes, but he asked that alternative proposals be formulated concretely: "All are susceptible to improvement and I do not refuse that contributions be made, but I would like to see them written down in black and 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."
Debate on 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 emphasized that Extremadura is "an example to follow" in renewable energies, a field in which he considers that Catalonia must advance because it is in a lagging position.
About the future of nuclear energy, he has reiterated that he does not come from a closed position: "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 Catalunya on renewable energies."
Situation in Ceuta and political future
Regarding the situation in Ceuta, Illa has described the scenario as "frankly delicate" and has assured that the central Government has activated all means at its disposal, while demanding a responsible institutional behavior: in his opinion, in these cases a minimum of loyalty between administrations is essential.
As he has lamented, there has been "little" of that loyalty and sense of State, despite the fact that, he insists, the Executive "has deployed all the resources it could deploy."
About the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, he has predicted that he will prevail again in the next general elections and will continue in La Moncloa, considering that the 8 years of mandate have been favorable for economic growth. However, he has admitted that important challenges persist in terms of housing and cost of living: "I foresee a very tight campaign, and some are going to be surprised," he concluded.