Salvador Illa, the president of the Catalan government, urged parties in the Parliament of Catalonia on Tuesday 1 July to support a new regional funding model for Catalonia, with a pointed appeal to Junts to be, in his words, "up to the task". The debate matters for residents because the agreement is tied to the 2026 Catalan budget and would affect how public services in Catalonia are financed.

The intervention came after ERC parliamentary leader Josep Maria Jové demanded that Illa press "where necessary" to secure progress on funding and on the share of personal income tax, according to an ERC statement. Illa's appearance was requested in the Parliament of Catalonia specifically to address the new financing model, according to the chamber's official record of the comparecencia request.

"We have to be up to the task," Illa said in Parliament, in remarks directed at all groups and particularly at Junts, as he defended the funding pact agreed between the Spanish government, the Catalan government and ERC.

The funding model at issue forms part of a wider political agreement already set out by the Catalan government and ERC in documents linked to the 2026 budget. The Catalan government said in an official notice on the 2026 budget agreement that the Govern, meaning the Catalan executive, and ERC had signed a deal that included the new financing framework.

ERC presses for concrete steps on funding and IRPF

Jové's criticism was not general. In ERC's published statement, he called for visible advances on financing and on IRPF, the Spanish acronym for personal income tax. ERC has also previously tied its support for Illa's government to what it calls "singular financing", according to the Parliament's record of Jové's position.

That pressure reflects a broader negotiation involving Barcelona and Madrid. In a La Moncloa press release, Spain's central government said Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and ERC leader Oriol Junqueras met to finalise the financing model agreement.

  • ERC says the agreement must now produce concrete progress on funding and tax powers.
  • The Catalan government has linked the deal to the 2026 budget agreement.
  • Spain's Finance Ministry has said the new model is due to be presented in January or February 2027, according to its official statement.

For readers trying to follow the institutions, the Parliament of Catalonia is the regional legislature, Junts and ERC are pro-independence parties, and La Moncloa is the office of Spain's prime minister. BARNA's Source Transparency page explains how official statements are used in reporting, and our Editorial Policy sets out how we handle contested political claims.

What is agreed, and what is still disputed

The existence of a political agreement is documented. ERC said in its official press release on the 2026 deal that it had confirmed a new financing model agreement with the Catalan government. The Catalan government has also published its own notice confirming that budget and financing arrangements were signed.

What remains disputed is whether the agreement is moving fast enough and whether all parties in the Catalan Parliament will back it. Junts has warned over the terms, according to the Generalitat's portal version of the political dispute published at gencat.cat, while an earlier Generalitat notice said Illa had ratified the financing agreement before what it described as an unsatisfied ERC, in an official update from October 2024.

For residents, the immediate next step is political rather than administrative: the funding model needs parliamentary backing to advance as part of the 2026 budget framework. Anyone wanting to track the process can follow the Parliament of Catalonia's official records of Illa's appearance and subsequent debate.

Primary sources: Generalitat de Catalunya (via Ara.cat official portal), Generalitat de Catalunya. Reported by Parlament de Catalunya, Presidencia del Gobierno (La Moncloa), Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC), Ministerio de Hacienda (Spain), Generalitat de Catalunya, Europa Press Barcelona.