Parliament bureau approves chamber's budget ahead of plenary vote
€50,000 destined to Francophonie Assembly
The Catalan parliament bureau has approved the chamber's budget, which must then be submitted to the plenary, with the favorable votes of Junts per Catalunya, Esquerra Republicana, Ciutadans, and the Socialists.
The budget initially anticipated increasing MPs' salaries by 1.75%, which has finally been set at 1.1%. The €50,000 difference will be earmarked for parliamentary proceedings that are currently unspecified but understood to be the 2020 European Francophonie assembly summit, which will be hosted by Catalonia in the fall.
Ciutadans has voted in favor of the budget despite MP Carlos Carrizosa's claims that his party would not back spending on the Francophonie summit, and said that his party would back out of the "consensus" if the budget specifically allocated funds for it.
CUP and the People's Party abstained, although the People's Party did say they would possibly change the stance in the parliamentary plenary vote.
Catalunya en Comú was the only party to vote against them as they disagree with the salary raise, with Susanna Segovia, the party's spokesperson, asserting that the budget is not in touch with "the average person's concerns."