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The PP is going to demand the convocation of the General Commission of the Autonomous Communities so that the autonomous presidents and the representatives of the political parties debate on the crisis that the coronavirus has generated. This Tuesday, the spokesman for the Popular Parliamentary Group in the Senate, Javier Maroto , will take to the board of spokesmen for the Upper House a request for the Senate Table to approve the extraordinary convocation of this commission, which is the only body in that the legislative and executive branches debate on an equal footing.

"The framework is evident: we are facing the most obvious case in which the coordination of the autonomous communities and the General State Administration is being carried out more, but the differences between the two are being resolved through the media, when there is this forum in which a territorial coordination debate can take place ", assures EL MUNDO Maroto. "Never in the history of our country has there been a need for debate like this time," added the PP spokesman.

This commission is, in the words of the Senate itself, "the body that most clearly represents the Senate's will to convert it into a territorial Chamber in accordance with the mandate of the Constitution." In fact, this commission is one of the two great territorial prerogatives that senators have, after the activation of article 155.

Furthermore, one of the most important differences between Congress and the Senate is that only the latter can convene a commission like this one, in which the legislative and executive branches exchange their positions.

The largest committee in the Senate

"It is an ideal commission for a crisis like this," justifies the PP, because at the presidents' conference, which met this Sunday by videoconference, "only opinions from the PP, the PSOE, the PNV and JxCat are heard, but in the Senate Citizens, Vox or Podemos would also speak. "

One of the incentives of this unique commission is that the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, could attend the meeting if he so wished. In fact, all members of the Executive may appear, without being members, and have "preference" among the speakers.

With the activation of this commission, the PP wants to combine "control of the Government", which seems to him to be conspicuous by its absence in Congress, with the search for a communal "state position", in an arbitrated forum -with the procedure of regulated shifts- in which regional presidents or councilors can debate with their counterparts and with representatives of parliamentary groups on issues such as the purchase of medical supplies, the distribution of resources to combat the crisis or the implementation of restrictive measures.

"We will be proactive, but it is obvious that this commission serves as an element of control for the Executive, too," says Javier Maroto.

It is the largest committee in the Senate, since its composition is twice that of any common committee. Created in 1994, its objective, as a territorial Chamber, is to know any matter related to the autonomous State. Its current president is Manuel Cruz, from the Socialist Group and former president of the Upper House.

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  • Senate
  • PP
  • Javier Maroto
  • Pedro Sánchez
  • PSOE
  • Manuel Cruz
  • Coronavirus
  • Covid 19
  • Health
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