Deal for new financial model 'nearly imminent' with €5bn extra for Catalonia 

Presidency minister Albert Dalmau says an agreement on Catalonia's new financing model is "almost imminent."

Esquerra Republicana (ERC) spokesman Isaac Albert has revealed that the new financing model would mean an additional €5 billion for Catalonia, a figure that his party agrees with.

The governing Socialists and left-wing pro-independence Esquerra are in the "final stretch" of negotiations, Dalmau assured in an interview with TV3, although there are still "some details" left to be finalized.

The minister said Thursday's meeting between Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez and president of ERC, Oriol Junqueras, in the Spanish government buildings as "important."

Asked if the agreement will comply with the principle of ordinality, Dalmau replied that the Catalan government has "always" worked with this assumption.

The 'principle of ordinality' ensures that regions contributing more to the Spanish public treasury do not receive fewer resources per capita than those contributing less. Catalonia is a net contributor to the Spanish purse, and the new deal will mean more resources available for Catalonia to spend on its public infrastructure.

ERC spokesperson Isaac Albert agreed that Thursday's meeting between Sánchez and Junqueras must serve to "finalize" the new financing model. 

Both Dalmau and Albert detailed that Spain's finance minister, Maria Jesús Montero, will explain the new agreement publicly in the coming days. 

However, Albert warned it was still needed to specify several issues such as the tax collection calendar, which he described as "key" to start negotiating new Catalan budgets. The Socialists have a minority government in Catalonia and would need the support of other parties, likely ERC, to pass a new budget bill. 

Minister Dalmau hopes that the new financing model will also have enough support to approve the necessary legislative changes in the Spanish Congress.