The PP is open to not blocking the deficit path in the Senate if the Treasury gives more spending room to the communities

The deputy secretary of economy of the PP, Juan Bravo, has revealed that his party may consider not obstructing the budgetary stability and deficit objectives in the Senate, where they hold an absolute majority, if the Ministry of Finance grants greater spending flexibility to the autonomous communities.

While Bravo emphasized that the PP has not yet made a decision on its vote for the objectives in the Upper House, he stated that providing the different regions with increased spending capacity would be “an initial gesture” to encourage the deficit path to pass through the Senate.

Specifically, the economic spokesperson of the PP in Congress also criticized the Ministry of Finance’s proposal, which allocates 97% of deficit capacity to the State and only 3% to the Autonomous Communities. “If there is a genuine willingness to cooperate, offering an initial gesture to the autonomous communities could potentially secure the PP’s support,” Bravo told RNE’s ‘Parliament’ program according to Europa Press.

However, Bravo clarified that he hadn’t received any proposal from the department led by María Jesús Montero and that she hadn’t shown any intention of discussing anything either. “There is still time to attempt to reach an agreement,” Juan Bravo added.

These budget stability and public debt objectives for all public administrations were already ratified by the Congress of Deputies on January 10. Despite the opposition from the PP, Vox, and UPN, the government managed to move them forward with the support of the other parliamentary groups.

The objectives establish a public deficit target of 3% by 2024 for all administrations. For the autonomous communities, the target was set at 0.1%, while local entities were expected to maintain a balanced budget (0%), and Social Security was given a deficit target of 0.2%.

Now, these objectives will be debated in the Senate, where they could be rejected if the PP, with its absolute majority, votes against them. This is not something that the government is considering, and if it were to happen, the objectives outlined in the Stability Program submitted to Brussels in April would have to be revised.

This strategy, which would limit the spending capacity of the autonomous communities, is supported by a report from the State Attorney’s Office, according to previous statements by the Minister of Finance.

They don’t believe the report exists

However, Juan Bravo believes that this report does not exist. “We are accustomed to hearing about reports from the State Attorney’s Office that simply do not exist,” emphasized the economic coordinator of the PP. Bravo made this comment in reference to the reports on ‘VAT Month 13’ and the advance tax payments for the year 2019.

In this regard, the popular deputy for Seville recommended that the minister seek agreement and consensus with the other political parties. “That’s how things are built, not through imposition,” he added.

In a different context, Juan Bravo believes that reducing the working week to 37.5 hours without salary cuts is something that should be negotiated between employers and trade unions. “Let the others reach an agreement,” he stated. In contrast, the PP advocates for a system that enables greater work-life balance, with a time bank that offers flexibility for both families and businesses.