The abstention of commons and Bildu saves the accounts of Catalonia, Navarra and the Basque Country

The lehendakari, Iñigo Urkullu (on the right), and the counselor Pedro Azpiazu, this Thursday in Vitoria.David Aguilar (EFE)

Catalonia, the Basque Country and Navarra this Thursday joined the communities that will reach the end of the year with the budgets for the next fiscal year approved. The Government of ERC and Junts on Thursday surpassed the vote of the Generalitat accounts thanks to the agreement with the Commons, which certifies a turning point in Catalan politics: the independence majority of the investiture has remained in the air due to the uncheck of the CUP, who voted against. In the Basque Country, the Government managed to carry out the accounts with more support from the legislature: only eleven seats against the 75 in the Chamber. The 21 of EH Bildu abstained, as they did in the vote also held this Thursday to approve the Budgets of Navarra. Only Andalusia and Castilla y León, the two communities where elections will be held in 2022,They will face the year without new accounts.

The Budgets in Catalonia has certified the progressive distancing of the CUP from the parties that make up the Government, ERC and Junts. The Minister of Finance, Jaume Giró (Junts), summoned that formation to negotiate the next accounts to return to the horizon of "52%", alluding to the votes that the three pro-independence formations reached in the last autonomous elections. Giró, however, celebrated that these are the first Budgets approved on time in more than a decade.

The tone of the vote had already been served a month ago, when the agreement between the Government and the Commons rejected the amendment to the entire CUP. This gave way to the agreement a week ago between the same parties to carry out the accounts. The project, which includes an expenditure of 38,139 million euros (an increase of 17.3% compared to 2020), has materialized with 65 votes in favor of ERC and Junts; 62 against the PSC, Vox, CUP, Ciudadanos and PP and the abstention of the eight deputies of En Comú Podem.

In the Basque Country, the accounts went ahead with the support of the 41 seats of PNV and PSE-EE, the abstention of the 21 of EH Bildu and 11 votes against Elkarrekin Podemos-IU, PP + Cs and Grupo Mixto-Vox .

The Executive will be able to spend 13,107 million euros (6% more than in 2021).

Elkarrekin Podemos, who last year agreed the accounts with the Basque Government, has reproached EH Bildu that, with his abstention, "he is protecting the cuts" of the budgets of Euskadi.

EH Bildu justified his abstention in that his contributions provide a better response to the problems of citizens.

"The agreement opens doors that have remained closed until now," added EH Bildu spokesperson Nerea Kortajarena.

The abstention of EH Bildu also led to the approval of the Navarra accounts this Thursday.

The Budgets presented by the Government —PSN, Geroa Bai and Podemos— amount to 5,273 million euros, 8.2% more than in 2021, the largest expense in history.

The negotiation with Bildu was marked by discrepancies in tax matters, which both parties have agreed to study in a monitoring commission.

With information from

(Catalonia),

(Basque Country) and

(Navarra).