Torra accuses Spain of ‘suffocating’ Catalan finances in regional Covid-19 fund

The Catalan president, Quim Torra, has lashed out at the Spanish government over a 16-billion euros emergency fund to be shared by the state’s 17 regions, which he sees as insufficient and "suffocating" for Catalan finances.

In contrast, Torra’s proposed plan for economic recovery demanded €15 billion for Catalonia alone: five coming directly from Spain, five more from a European Stability Fund loan, and the other five evenly split from the town council’s surplus and a 1% rise in the Catalan government’s deficit cap.