Esquerra’s spokeswoman in the Spanish Senate emphasizes the importance of a singular model of financing for Catalonia to manage all resources and to put an end to fiscal plunder.

The spokeswoman for Esquerra Republicana in the Senate Sara Bailac emphasized on Wednesday that “fiscal sovereignty is not a privilege,” but “a necessity for our country and our public services,” and assured that “Esquerra Republicana will not cease until we get it.” Ms Bailac defended the singular financing model as the only way to reverse the fiscal deficit and collect, manage and settle all taxes paid in Catalonia: “We need a singular financing model that puts an end to fiscal plunder and allows us to manage our resources.”

In this regard, Senator Bailac recalled that the chronic fiscal deficit, the result of an opaque and arbitrary financing system, stands at around €22bn a year, “an unsustainable situation that undermines our economic and social capacities year after year.” The spokeswoman admitted that “Catalonia will not be able to fully dispose of its resources without its own State, that is why we want independence,” but that “until we achieve that, we must reverse the fiscal deficit and ensure that every euro that leaves Catalonia is reinvested in the well-being of our citizens and in the quality of our public services.”

Likewise, Ms Bailac has charged Spanish Vice-President Montero to “fully comply with the pact for a new singular financing model for Catalonia, as agreed,” recalling that “the agreements must be met, and that not doing so would have consequences.”

She also demanded that “the Spanish Government must meet its commitments in full.” The spokeswoman urged Catalan conservatives Junts to work in favour of singular financing, “a proposal that Junts set out in their election manifesto. And that we have now managed to reach an agreement on.” “Independence now has a decisive position in this legislature in Madrid. Let's use it together at the service of Catalonia,” Ms Bailac entreated.

Finally, Esquerra’s spokeswoman reminded the Spanish conservative People’s Party that in its manifesto for the 2012 elections to the Parliament of Catalonia, they included singular funding for Catalonia. Ms Bailac also accused them of using anti-Catalan bigotry as an electoral instrument: “led by the People’s Party, the Spanish right has made hatred of Catalonia a banner to win votes.”