The Minister for the Economy admits Catalonia will use capital from the Regional Liquidity Fund

Barcelona (ACN).- Catalan Economy Minister, Andreu Mas-Colell, warned the Spanish government that the Generalitat "will never accept political conditions" in exchange for finance from the Regional Liquidity Fund (FLA). Repeating the phrase three times, he revealed that the Catalan government has accepted financing from the fund and has so far employed “all available instruments of liquidity” but “only” those that are linked to exclusively economic conditions. Andreu Mas-Colell disclosed that the Catalan government will welcome the FLA due to “the liquidity pressures” that Catalonia is facing. A specific figure has not been revealed but Mas-Colell assured that “it will be what is necessary.”

The Catalan government has also reiterated its position on the Regional Liquidity Fund. It does not consider its utilisation a “bailout” as has been reported by many media organisations. From Mas-Colell’s point of view the fund is effectively an ICO credit program which the Catalan government, as well as the Spanish government, has had to use in the past. Since the Regional Liquidity Fund is a relatively new system and the first formal application from Valencia came so quickly, the significance of its use appears exaggerated. The Catalan government is especially keen to stress that the use of the funding and the strict guidelines that come with it will be solely economic and will not stray into political conditions between the Spanish state and Catalonia. The application is politically sensitive at this time given the recent denouncement of the Spanish government’s attitude towards the autonomous communities by Artur Mas regarding the unbalanced adjustment of the region’s deficit targets.

The president of the People’s Party in Catalonia, Alicia Sánchez-Camacho, said she would only commit to a fiscal pact that "is real, possible and will not create frustration." In an interview, she warned that Catalan frustration is a result of Catalan politicians asking for “difficult things to accomplish”. She warned "those responsible for generating expectations," referring to the President of the Generalitat, that the fiscal pact might be unachievable. In this regard, she said that Spanish President Mariano Rajoy will tell Mas that "it is not possible to submit a model that does not respect the democratic rules." The Catalan government, however, thinks that the model does actually respect all the rules, including the Spanish Constitution. 

The President of the ERC, Oriol Junqueras, said that there have never been so many Catalan people ready to "move so far in the interests of Catalonia" and said that the most important thing is to know where the country is headed. In this regard, he said that the country needs to be prepared to hold an election or a referendum if the fiscal pact fails. This, according to Junqueras will determine the future of Catalonia.