Oriol Junqueras, the leader of ERC, has ruled out the possibility of negotiating the Generalitat’s Budget for 2026, as he does not have guarantees from the Government that Catalonia will manage the income tax (IRPF), one of the conditions that the republicans are demanding to initiate dialogue. Junqueras has stated that the conditions to commence negotiations are not present because the PSOE continues to fail to comply and does not provide guarantees of compliance on fiscal matters. During his speech before the national council of ERC, Junqueras thanked the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, for his public statements, in which he expressed his commitment to the collection of the IRPF. Junqueras emphasised that these gestures have not yet materialised and there is no certainty that they will in the future. ERC sources have indicated that the Govern was already aware of Junqueras’ announcement and were ready to communicate the start of negotiations. Furthermore, they mentioned that they were informed about the content of Illa’s public statement and were willing to accept it, although they believe it is fair for not going beyond what has already been expressed on previous occasions.
