Second major clash between the Catalan Government led by Salvador Illa and Esquerra Republicana and Comuns Sumar, the two formations that allowed the investiture of the socialist. If the first clash was in August, on the subject of the real scope of the singular financing agreement agreed between the PSC and the Republicans, the second has come this Tuesday following the announcement of the president to activate the technical commission between the central government and the Generalitat for the modernisation of El Prat airport. A statement from the Executive spoke of “lengthening” the runway, without specifying the figure. The ERC spokesperson in the Parliament, Marta Vilalta, has warned that choosing to extend the runway to the sea “is a red line” and would violate the agreement that allowed Illa to reach the Palau.
In the interview with TV3 on Monday night, Illa announced that this Tuesday the Executive Council would reactivate the technical commission for the “modernisation” of the airport, the term used in the documents between both parties as a point of consensus. During the last legislature, in 2021, the divergence between the Government partners – ERC and Junts – sent the El Prat expansion project to the trash bin, which conditioned the construction of the satellite terminal to the lengthening of one of the runways, which meant affecting the natural protection zone of La Ricarda. The Government of Pere Aragonès and the socialists had agreed to reactivate the technical commission at the beginning of this year but the work did not continue.
The president assured that he hopes that the technicians will calmly debate the best proposals so that El Prat can receive larger aircraft, although with the utmost environmental rigor. “We cannot let this issue lie dormant or be put aside,” he stressed. The announcement has not gone down well in the Republican ranks. Vilalta recalled on Tuesday that the agreement with the PSC includes “working towards the modernisation of the airport within the framework of the technical commission and with protection of the surroundings” and that this is “totally incompatible with lengthening the runway.”
The spokesperson for the Catalan Executive, the minister Sílvia Paneque, has responded to the warnings from both ERC and the Comuns and has assured that setting up the commission does not in any way violate the content of the investiture agreements. The head of Territory has insisted that the setting up of this forum will be done with a meeting between her and the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, and that the idea is that the more technical teams will then have the report ready in about four months.
Paneque has denied that the Generalitat has arrived at this commission with a closed proposal. And here the new Government has also suffered a serious slip-up. The press release on the decisions of the Executive Council stated that the agreement “considers it necessary to increase the current capacity of the airport, with the improvement of the acoustic impact and the lengthening of the runway to the sea to satisfy the demand for intercontinental flights.” This, said the note, would be thanks to “a length that will be determined by technical and environmental criteria.” The spokesperson herself and the press service have later corrected that the wording of the agreement does not mention any specific option. In the statement, however, not only is there express mention of the “lengthening,” but it later points out that this extension will be done “with a length that will be determined by technical and environmental criteria.”
The Comuns, for their part, have also recalled in a press conference in the Parliament their opposition to the expansion of the airport that serves the Catalan capital. The spokesman for the group in the Chamber, David Cid, has reiterated the refusal not only to make the infrastructure bigger, but also to gain capacity and that this will lead to the arrival of more tourists. However, he has separated this issue from the pending budget negotiations.
What matters most is what happens closer to home. To make sure you don’t miss anything, subscribe.
KEEP READING
The activation of the commission also comes just the day after Illa met with the top brass of one of the entities that is putting the most pressure on the expansion of El Prat: Foment del Treball. The Catalan employers’ association, within its own technical studies, has even proposed an extension of the runway to the sea but of a shorter length than that initially projected by Aena and which, therefore, would not be so invasive of the protected area of La Ricarda, part of the Natura 2000 network. Paneque has stressed that the calendar for a possible extension is also medium-term, since the next Airport Regulation Document (DORA) will be carried out in two years.
You can follow EL PAÍS Catalunya on Facebook and Xor sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter
#Illas #government #investiture #partners #clash #proposals #expand #Prat
