Junqueras warns the Spanish Finance Minister: “We won’t make any cuts”
The Catalan vice president and Catalan Minister for Economy and Tax Office, Oriol Junqueras, stated that the Government “won’t make any cuts”and emphasised that Catalonia already allocates 70% of its budget to social policies and that 90% of the Government’s expenses are final. Junqueras’ statements come after the Spanish Finance Minister, Cristóbal Montoro, sent a letter to several Autonomous Communities in Spain urging them to “comply with the budget stability”. Montoro also nuanced that Catalonia’s deficit target in 2015, which was 2.7%, surpassed the maximum deficit established by the Spanish government by 0.7%. “If the Spanish Ministry wants to make cuts or shut down hospitals, it will have to come and do it itself”, warned Junqueras. He also emphasised that “the Spanish Finance Ministry has imposed so many cuts in the last years that any additional ones are simply inapplicable”.
Barcelona (CNA).- The Catalan Government “won’t make any cuts”to correct Catalonia’s deficit target, which in 2015 surpassed the maximum deficit established by the Spanish Government. “If the Spanish Ministry wants to make cuts or shut down hospitals, it will have to come and do it itself”, stated the Catalan vice president and Catalan Minister for Economy and Tax Office, Oriol Junqueras. This warning comes after the Spanish Finance Minister, Cristóbal Montoro, sent a letter to several Autonomous Communities in Spain urging them to “comply with the budget stability”. Montoro gave a 15-day deadline for the Government to decide in which fields it will apply the additional cuts requested. Junqueras explained that Catalonia already allocates 70% of its budget to social policies and that 90% of the Government’s expenses are final. “The Spanish Finance Ministry has imposed so many cuts in the last years that any additional ones are simply inapplicable”, stated Junqueras.
Junqueras met the Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, this Thursday to analyse Montoro’s letter and agree on the next steps to take. Junqueras also asked the Spanish Finance Minister to specify the amount which needs to be reduced, as the letter “is not concrete”. “The letter doesn’t specify any amount. It simply says that we must make the necessary limitations to comply with the deficit target”, he lamented.
“We will defend our basic services”stated left wing pro-independence ERC’s leader. Although he assured that he understands the Spanish Ministry’s difficulties to comply with the deficit target established by Brussels, he emphasised that these difficulties can’t be transferred to the Autonomous Communities. “We won’t shut down schools nor hospitals, no matter how much the Ministry tries to transfer their responsibilities to the Communities”warned Junqueras and added that “the solution is taking everything out on the citizens”.
Catalonia exceeded the deficit target by 0.7%
Catalonia’s deficit target in 2015 was 2.7%, which represents 0.7% more than the maximum deficit established by the Spanish government. To redress this situation, Montoro urged the Autonomous Communities to “comply with the budget stability” at the sight of possible “coercive measures”in case they didn’t.
“If the Ministry would comply with its obligations we won’t have any difficulty to comply with the deficit target”stated Junqueras. “It is nonsense to urge a government to make decisions according to another government’s unfulfilment”.