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The Congress of Deputies has approved the new deficit path that the Government wanted with a surprise. The Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, has included the state spending ceiling of not only this year, as announced, but also next year, 2021. The deputies have found that in the text to vote the announcement is mentioned 2020 expenditure ceiling of 127,609 million, 3.8% more, as Montero announced. But it also appears that "the maximum limit of non-financial expenditure of the State in 2021 is set at 131,437 million euros . " Montero has not informed at any time so far that the Council of Ministers has agreed on that second expenditure ceiling, which represents an increase of 3% over 2020. Having cast it, the minister avoids passing a new specific parliamentary procedure with it before preparing the Budgets for 2021.
The spokeswoman for the Popular Party and former Secretary of State for Budgets, Elvira Rodríguez, has revealed in her intervention this surprise inclusion and has accused Montero of violating the Stability Law, since it does not accompany that second ceiling with the required reports of Brussels. Official sources of the Ministry of Finance point out that when approving the deficit path for the next three years, a second expenditure ceiling for 2021 had to be presented.
For Montero, the important thing is the parliamentary support received in which independence has become key again.
"ERC fulfills its agreements". With these words, the independence spokesman, Gabriel Rufián, anticipated minutes before the Plenary Session began the decision of his formation to support with his 13 votes the path of budgetary stability, including the expenditure ceiling, and thus open the door to the future approval of the draft General State Budget for 2020 and the continuity of the legislature.
The proposal of the Executive, the first essential step for the processing of a draft Budget, came forward with 168 votes in favor, 150 against and 19 abstentions.
The vote of the Catalan Republicans is decisive for the Government. If its subsequent support for the State accounts is confirmed, it will provide Pedro Sánchez with the oxygen necessary to extend his term of office for at least two years. The ERC decision is undoubtedly a way of responding to the bilateral negotiating table formed by the Government of the nation, the representatives of the Generalitat and the secessionist forces with the aim of seeking, outside the Congress, solutions to the "political conflict "between Catalonia and Spain .
In plenary, the ERC budget spokesman focused on the benefits of the dialogue table opened in La Moncloa as a prelude to the statement that "he does not like the expense ceiling or the deficit path", but will approve it to "give a chance" to the aforementioned negotiating table. ERC thus directly links the progress of the extra-parliamentary dialogue on Catalonia with the life expectancy of future Budgets and, with them, that of the Coalition Government itself. Exactly the opposite has been raised by JxCat, whose spokesman, Ferran Bel , has insisted that his vote, today, must be completely disconnected from the bilateral negotiating table and, in addition, does not prejudge the position they adopt on the State Budget. This training has not supported the Executive's proposal.
The Minister of Finance requested support for her proposal by preventively criticizing the "blocking" attitude of those who oppose it. The Government initiative contemplates a deficit target of 1.8% of GDP for all Public Administrations; 94.6% of debt and a limit of non-financial expenditure of 127,609 million euros, 3.8% higher than the current one. These parameters clearly exceed the stability path envisaged by the previous Executive. The budget balance will not be achieved before 2023.
María Jesús Montero attacked from the first stages of her intervention against the Popular Party knowing that her vote would be contrary to the Executive's proposal. On the contrary, he dedicated promises of easing the spending rule to minority parties to allow more room for local entities in the destination of the surplus. And for JxCat, the independence force most reluctant to agree with the Government, there was a direct message: "This path will allow the advance of a newly initiated dialogue to solve the problems of Catalonia."
"This country plays a lot; if this path is rejected today, it will be the most vulnerable who suffer. If they say no, they will say no to the increase in pensions, the revaluation of benefits for dependent children or for people affected by sexist violence. If you give your support, do not think that you are giving your support to the Government, "said Montero, who said that with his formula the autonomous communities will hardly have to make an effort to reduce the deficit of one tenth.
Elvira Rodríguez , on behalf of the PP, affected the worsening of the deficit target that the Government is considering and pointed out that this proposal should be accompanied by the approval of the European institutions. "You are asking us for an act of faith, but we are already a little burned," Rodriguez said, for whom 2019 will close with a deficit of 2.4% of GDP.
"Its policy is spending, spending and more spending," he reproached, before recalling that the Executive does not even have a schedule for the approval of the State accounts because "it depends on the concessions made to the PNV in matters of Security. Social or shameful table inaugurated with the independentists. "
"You can't spend what you don't have"
"With this agreement they violate the Stability Law, is this legal certainty? Do you remember the phrase?" Rodriguez asked, referring to the euphemism that the Government uses to avoid referring openly to the Constitution . The popular spokeswoman closed its intervention by demanding that the government not repeal the labor reform because job creation already offers "grudging" signs that may be aggravated by the effect of the "black swan" - the coronavirus - that "walks the world" .
Vox threaded a hard speech to make it clear that the path of budgetary stability and the ceiling of expenditure will be the result of the Government's pacts with independence. "Since the no es no de Sánchez, the GDP has been reduced by half (...), its government carries wasteful flag and its accounts are not credible to the European Commission," he accused the formation of a radical right, which insisted , like the PP, in which "you can't spend what you don't have".
Vox also warned that the fiscal landscape designed by the Government "begins to resemble hell" with the aggravating fact that the proceeds will "be devoted to beach bars." For this group, the path proposed by the Executive is "irresponsible."
"Vote of confidence in the Government"
United We welcomed the start of a phase of "expansive" economic policy and challenged the right-wing forces to clarify, since they are against it, what items they would cut. And once again the pensions were cited. Its spokesman, Txema Guijarro , defended the tax reforms prepared by the Government and the creation of new taxes on digital companies. "You have to raise the tax burden, yes," he said.
The spokesman for United We helped the Coalition Executive, of which he is a part, asking minority forces on the left to vote in favor and "thus renew their vote of confidence in the Government."
Citizens harshly criticized the Government's intention to uncontrollably increase spending to pay its "bills" with United We and independence, which are "more mouths to feed." Marcos de Quinto warned of the pernicious effects of a tax increase that will end up affecting growth and job creation. Cs asked for "rationality" and "reevaluate all spending items" criticizing the tendency to create ministries, senior positions, "beach bars" and subsidies. De Quinto offered Montero to develop together a path of stability, a ceiling of expenditure and some Budgets if he agreed to break his agreement and his mortgages with populists and secessionists.
The PNV set room ballots to the path planned to balance the accounts but assured its affirmative vote to it. Of course, the Basque nationalists warned that the digital taxes that the Government intends to approve will only be accepted by the Basque community, which has powers in fiscal matters, if they are negotiated bilaterally with them. This formation also warned that its affirmative vote today does not presuppose the sense of its position when the State Budget arrives at the Chamber.
Bildu, through its spokesman Oskar Matute , devoted much of his intervention to criticize the fiscal discipline of the European Union , despite admitting that the government's plan is better than that of its predecessor although they opted for abstention. Matute asked for "flexibility" because, he said, "we are not all the same." "Coffee is not worth it to everyone," he said. His main complaint was directed against the spending rule that grips municipalities that do have the capacity to invest in favor of their neighbors.
The CUP, meanwhile, announced its vote against the government proposal because it accommodates the "neoliberal" EU policy. His spokesman requested an audit of the debt. Canary Coalition, meanwhile, opted for yes because it believes it is necessary to start negotiating to try to approve a new Budget for the benefit of the country. Nueva Canarias also assured their support.
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