Puig seeks Andalucia alliance

NADIA CALVIÑO, Economy minister and vice-president of the Spanish government, admitted that reforming the regional finance system will be complex.
Speaking after meeting the Valencian Community’s president Ximo Puig, Calviño was asked if the central government regarded as a priority the reform which the Generalitat insists is a matter of urgency.
“The priority is recovery,” the vice-president replied.
“It will be necessary to tackle regional funding when the time is right for reaching a satisfactory agreement,” she continued, while declining to fix a definite date.
Neither would Calviño reveal if, as Puig and his Catalan counterpart Pere Aragones have asked, the central government would extend the Covid-19 fund.
Under the present system and despite its size, the Valencian Community is at the bottom of the funding list, receiving €2,582 per inhabitant – behind Murcia and Andalucia with €2,679 – compared with the national average of €2,785 per head.
Ximo Puig and Andalucia’s regional president Juanma Moreno, who belongs to the Partido Popular, will join forces in requesting a different funding system.
“The PSOE governs in Valencia but we both agree that we are underfunded,” Moreno said.
The Generalitat considers that Valencia’s problems and Andalucia’s might not be exactly the same but they are similar and Puig will be travelling to meet Moreno in Sevilla later this month.