Dalmau accuses Ayuso of being “unsupportive” and predicts that all PP autonomous regions will benefit from the FLA waiver

She also reproached Ayuso for, despite proclaiming herself a great defender of the unity of Spain, showing an attitude that harms the whole of the autonomous communities: “I am surprised that someone who believes himself to be so patriotic is the most unsupportive person with the whole of Spain. Someone who puts Spain in his mouth so much surprises me that he has this dynamic of trying to burn everything down,” said Dalmau.

In response to Ayuso's criticism, the minister has insisted that the waiver of the FLA benefits not only Catalonia but also other communities governed by the PP, and has expressed his conviction that, despite initial opposition, all of them will end up accepting it. "What will they do? Will they not participate in the waiver? I bet a lot that they will all participate," he said.

The FLA debt forgiveness proposal, agreed between the Spanish government and ERC, plans to eliminate 83 billion euros of regional debt, especially benefiting communities such as Catalonia, the Valencian Community and Andalusia. According to Dalmau, this agreement will allow the Generalitat to have greater resources for social policies such as housing, security and the reinforcement of public services.

“The resources we will save will be used to improve the health system, guarantee access to housing and strengthen public services, which are the Government's priorities,” said the minister. He also highlighted the strengthening of the Catalan Tax Agency to manage personal income tax from next year, within the framework of the advances in terms of individual financing in Catalonia.

Regarding the criticism of some parties who consider that this agreement “consolidates the coffee for everyone”, Dalmau has stressed that the elimination of the FLA is a necessary step to reverse the situation of underfunding of Catalonia and has argued that “it was a perversion that the money that left Catalonia was returned to us with interest”.

At the Bilateral Commission held on Monday, the Government and the Spanish executive also agreed on measures to strengthen security and justice in Catalonia. Dalmau highlighted the creation of 60 new judicial units to combat multiple recidivism and the expansion of the Mossos d'Esquadra staff, which will grow by 25,000 agents by 2030. "In five years we will have 5,000 more Mossos," explained the minister.

He acknowledged that multiple repeat offenders are a serious problem, especially in the city of Barcelona, ​​where 50% of the cases are concentrated, and insisted that the Government is taking concrete measures to address it.

Dalmau was not the only member of the Catalan executive to defend the cancellation of the FLA. The spokesperson for ERC in the Parliament, Ester Capella, also responded to criticism from the PP and Junts per Catalunya, saying that the cancellation is “good news for the Catalans”.

Capella has accused the PP of incoherence, recalling that the FLA was created by Mariano Rajoy's government and that now the PP is criticising a measure that will benefit several communities governed by themselves. In addition, she reproached Junts for not supporting ERC in the negotiations with the Spanish government: "If they had a better formula, they could have accompanied us in this negotiation," said the Republican leader.