www.iht.com/getina/files/279763.html Catalan assembly passes contentious statute reform
Motion now heads to Congress, but government warns of possible changes
El Pais Spain | M. E.
Madrid
After two days of marathon debates, the Catalan regional parliament passed on Friday the controversial reform to the statute that governs the regional government's powers.
Despite initial opposition from the Convergence and Union coalition (CiU) concerning the financing of the regional government, known as the Generalitat, and the education system, Artur Mas' party ceded some ground yesterday to reach an agreement with the regional governing coalition made up of the Catalan Socialist Party (PSC), the Catalan Republican Left (ERC) and the Catalan Green party (ICV-EUiA).
Only the Popular Party (PP) voted against the statute, but its 15 votes were not enough to derail the process against the 120 votes in favor. Mas and Regional Premier Pasqual Maragall embraced following the vote, although the reform must now face a vote in Madrid's Congress. And because there are some aspects of the reform that may not fit within the constitutional limits called for by the central government, some changes may be made before it becomes law.
The financial plan was the main issue of contention between the CiU and the other parties. The former wanted Catalonia to adopt a similar system to that of the Basque Country, where the regional government collects its taxes and then pays the central government for the services rendered by the state.
The agreed plan is not much different. It holds that the Generalitat creates its own tax agency, collects regional and national taxes, and will agree on a percentage to be paid to the state. In addition, it will pay another percentage to the state to be divided among poorer regions.
Concerning education, the CiU wanted the state school system to offer religious classes, but the final agreement says that schools can offer religious courses, but they must be secular and not dogmatic.
Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has said that he will support what the Catalan parliament approves as long as it does not violate the Constitution.Yesterday after the weekly Cabinet meeting, Deputy Prime Minister María Teresa Fernández de la Vega told journalists that many of the reform's points will face scrutiny by the congressional constitutional committee, such as the creation of a regional Supreme Court and calling the region a nation.
The reform is expected to reach the committee next week. Once that phase is ended, it will be voted on in Congress, where a majority vote is needed for it to be passed. Afterward, it must be subjected to a national referendum - as were the original statutes in 1979.
The debate surrounding the Catalan reform goes further beyond the region's borders, as other regional governments have criticized Zapatero's support for extending power to Catalonia while not to others. His Socialist party formed a working government with the Catalan Socialists and the ERC after winning the March 2004 elections.
The PP said on Friday that it will request the government to call early elections if the statute is not debated as a constitutional reform instead of a statutory one. With the former, a two-thirds vote is needed to approve it rather than a simple majority. A two-thirds vote would need the support of the PP.
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