The President of the Junta de Andalucía, Juanma Moreno, has requested an agreement from the Spanish Government to provide sufficient resources so that Andalucía can compete on equal terms with other autonomous communities. He has emphasized the need for fair and sufficient funding to guarantee public services and to convene the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council urgently to propose a new funding model.
During his intervention after the Conference of Presidents meeting held in Barcelona, he has deemed it a top priority to address the issue of regional financing and to amend the current system, which has caused Andalucía to lose 1.522 million euros in just the last year, according to Fedea, putting it at a disadvantage compared to other communities.
He recalled that María Jesús Montero, as the Minister of Finance of Andalucía, demanded in 2018 from the then President of the Government, Mariano Rajoy, an additional 16.7 billion euros per year, of which 4 billion would be for Andalucía.
Additionally, he has advocated for the creation of a temporary leveling fund to bring the worst-funded communities up to the average and for the Spanish Government to withdraw the debt forgiveness bill.
Moreno has also addressed other issues discussed in the meeting, such as the lack of investment in infrastructure, especially in rail transport, and has called for investments of 544 million in electric networks in Andalucía to address the areas with the greatest deficits. He highlighted that provinces like Almería, Granada, Jaén, and Córdoba were among those where the power was restored later after the blackout on April 28.
He emphasized that Andalucía is the second-to-last community in the execution of State investments in infrastructure, and that there are thirty major railway projects pending that are crucial for the integration of the territory, including the Atlantic and Mediterranean railway corridors, Algeciras-Bobadilla, Zaragoza-Algeciras railway highway, the Huelva AVE, and the Costa del Sol Coastal Train.
On another note, he stressed the importance of having a National Health Pact with more funds, more MIR positions, and better conditions to retain the doctors and nurses being trained.
Juanma Moreno, moments before the start of the Conference of Presidents held in the city of Barcelona.
Regarding housing, he noted that if there is an impetus plan, it should not impose conditions on the communities, and highlighted that Andalucía has the largest public housing stock in Spain, around 41% of the total, and has multiplied the number of protected housing units by four, with 13,010 new homes in 2019-2024 compared to 3,216 in 2013-2018.
The President of the Junta also referred to the fear of occupation as one of the obstacles to the rental market and advocated for the need to implement a National Anti-Occupation Plan with legal security for property owners in case of rental defaults.
In conclusion, he lamented the current situation, the political turmoil, and the fact that the Spanish Government is not even able to present a budget proposal, stating that in this paralyzed and blocked situation, «the most sensible thing is to dissolve the Cortes and let the Spanish people speak to decide what they want for the future.»