The Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, affirmed this Thursday that the amendment approved in Congress for a covid fund of 9,362 million euros for the autonomies in 2022 “cannot be instrumentalized“, given that “technically not possible” run it.
In general, when the Budget bill incorporates an amendment that entails greater expense, the text must specify which item for the same amount should be removed. In this case, the item of expenditure that the amendment promoted by Junts intends to remove from the Budget project to accommodate the new item of expenditure is less than the 9,362 million planned for the new covid fund. Specifically, the amendment adds a new expense of 9,362 million but only removes an item for 7,005 million. “Technically, there is no program on canceling the new credit and therefore it cannot be used,” Montero said this Thursday before appearing in the Finance and Public Function Commission of the Congress of Deputies. The minister said, in any case, that she is waiting for “some legal consultation” to clarify this controversy.
Autonomous money
In addition, Montero explained that the amendment of Junts -which came out with the votes of PP, Vox, Cs, ERC and EH Bildu and the rejection of PSOE, UP and PNV– intends to obtain the 9,362 million for this fund at the cost of canceling the item of 7,005 million that the Government has incorporated in the Budget project to compensate the communities for the negative settlement of the autonomous financing system corresponding to 2020 (3,904 million) and by the system of ‘immediate supply of information’ VAT (SII) (3,100 million), among other issues.
“Curiously, the new amendment for the autonomies tries to withdraw resources that were already going to the communities,” Montero said to underline the contradiction that, in his opinion, the groups that have voted on the amendment have incurred. In particular, Montero charged against the Popular Group: “What strikes me is that the PP has voted on an amendment presented by Junts, they who always criticize that alliances can be established and vote for things equal to those proposed in this case Mr. Puigdemont’s party. When it comes to trying to make a fault with the Budget, they don’t care who to vote with, just like when they went to Europe to discredit the Spanish economy. “
“Frankly optimistic”
Regarding the 2022 Budget negotiations, Montero was “frankly hopeful and optimistic” to close an agreement that would allow them to be approved in the plenary session of the Congress of Deputies next week, before going to the Senate.
The minister pointed out that the negotiations with the groups that did not veto the accounts “advance”, also with ERC, that it will take its amendments to plenary session, “although it cannot yet be said that there is already an agreement,” he admitted.