ERC puts pressure on Sánchez with the 2026 Budget: it demands financing and its own treasury

The Republican's second-in-command laments the lack of progress on tax transfers.

Spring isn't over yet, and the start of summer vacation is still a long way off for many, but ERC already has its sights set on one of the traditions that mark the start of the political year: the talks surrounding next year's General State Budget (PGE) .

During this legislative period, and faced with the lack of agreements with the parties that supported Pedro Sánchez 's continued presence in La Moncloa, the government has opted for two consecutive extensions. This Sunday, the deputy leader of the ERC party in Barcelona City Council, Elisenda Alamany , stated that the same thing will happen in 2026 if the government does not yield to her demands.

In an interview with Efe , Alamany recalled the main points that ERC launched in the fall of 2023 in exchange for supporting Sánchez's investiture: the transfer of Cercanías ( Commuter Rail), the reform of the financing system, and the creation of its own Treasury with the collection of personal income tax starting in 2026.

Regarding the first point, Alamany assured that steps have been taken. However, in the remaining files, everything "is more delayed," he emphasized.

For all these reasons, the Republican leader was very clear: she demanded that the Socialists make "irreversible" and "strongly guaranteed" advances that "protect" Catalonia's "sovereignty." In this way, she wants the PP to be unable to reverse these decisions if it ends up in power.

It's a message that, he said, both Sánchez and the president of the Generalitat , Salvador Illa , "know," who also failed to approve the budget this year precisely because of the Republicans' refusal to reach an agreement . His diagnosis is very clear: "the ball is in the Socialist Party's court," he concluded.

The Republican leader recalled that, last summer, the agreement by which her party supported Illa's investiture specified that the new, one-off financing system for Catalonia must be formalized during the first half of 2025.

It should be in effect next year, so that the Catalan Tax Agency (ATC) , which has been responsible for managing its own and transferred taxes, can take over the collection and inspection of the next personal income tax campaign.

Alamany called for a "stronger" Catalan treasury with more staff, and lamented that no specific details have been announced so far. Illa's government did announce a public employment offer to strengthen the workforce, and this year the ATC (Agricultural Agency) is participating in the 2025 Income Tax campaign.

Alamany asserted that five months ago, the party led by Oriol Junqueras already gave the Socialists a "scare" when it refused to support the 2025 budget.