The Government and the Generalitat confirmed this Friday their enormous differences of opinion during the meeting of the bilateral infrastructure commission. In an atmosphere heated by the low execution of investments budgeted for 2021 in Catalonia -36%, while in Madrid, for example, 184% was reached-, the representatives of the Government estimated the total deficit of recent years at 12,383 million euroswhile those of the central Executive maintained that, in reality, the community is the leader in “absolute investment”.
Since the budget execution was announced at the end of May, the Government and the parties that support it have been trying to mitigate the impact that barely a third of what was planned has actually been invested in Catalonia. In fact, this Friday’s meeting was agreed by the President of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, and the Minister of Transport, Raquel Sánchez, to analyze the situation.
And there was analysis, because the meeting, held in Barcelona, lasted for two hours. But that does not mean that there were meeting points. “We have found that there are no objective reasons for this deficit“, said the Secretary General of the Vice-Presidency, Ricard Font.
The Generalitat assumes that the Statute of 2006 already detected serious deficiencies in infrastructure, and for this reason the third additional provision was agreed. It established that, for seven years, investment in that area should be equal to the Catalan GDP. According to the Government, “about 3,000 million euros” are still pending payment for that concept. But the Catalan representatives have used that provision to calculate what could be the accumulated deficit in infrastructure until 2021. And they have found that it is 12,383 million euros.
Apart from these figures, the Government does not believe that the meeting has served to verify a change in trend. “We have asked, and they have given us objective data. And there is disappointment about the solutions that are on the tableFont said.
The analysis of the General Secretary of Infrastructures of the Government, Xavier Flores, is totally opposite. Both in terms of the usefulness of this Friday’s meeting – “it has been positive, it is always good to be able to explain oneself” – and in terms of whether there is a grievance towards Catalonia.
“The disaster is not true”
“Catalonia is a priority. And, although we are not satisfied with that 36% [de inversión ejecutada]the disaster that is being talked about is not true and we are executing work like in no other community”, said the secretary general. The Government prefers to speak in absolute numbers than in percentages. And also prefers to speak of “concrete projects” for which the money is needed to calculate the millions of euros of infrastructure deficit.
In fact, Flores has quantified this investment made in infrastructures in Catalonia in 2021 in about 700 million euros. In this area, and always according to figures from the Ministry, the community is at the head of all of Spain, ahead of Andalusia -with just over 600 million- and Madrid, with a little less.
Government sources point out that this figure comes from subtracting from the global budget execution the payments received by Madrid as patrimonial responsibility for some radial highways and also the amount invested in trains. In addition, some 70 million euros from provisions of funds for litigation have been added to the investment in Catalonia.
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“It is not true that Catalonia is the last in line,” Flores insisted. Moncloa sources add that, in any case, The Government is aware of the “infrastructure deficit that has been dragging on for years” and point out the will to “increase the percentage of execution of investments in Catalonia” in the coming years.
After underlining that the report that reflects the famous 36% budget execution is an “accounting document” -that is, it does not reflect the work carried out-, the same sources stress to the Generalitat that “In order to continue advancing, collaboration between administrations is essential”.