MADRID (Reuters) -Spain’s minority government on Tuesday reached a deal with the Catalan separatist party Junts to approve several economic measures in parliament, breaking a deadlock that has raised doubts over the government’s ability to legislate.
The agreement could bode well for this year’s budget bill, which is yet to be presented by the administration of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. In the meantime, Spain is rolling over its spending plan from 2023, as it did last year.
In a statement, Junts said the agreement covered measures included in a wide bill that was rejected last week such as an increase in pensions, relief funds for the Valencia area that suffered from deadly floods in late October, and a six-month extension of public transport subsidies, but excluded a tax on energy companies.
Junts has previously argued that the levy impacted investments in wealthy Catalonia.
Sanchez confirmed the deal in a news conference later in the day.
His administration faces a balancing act in every vote as it weighs concessions to parties from across the spectrum with opposing demands, such as hard-left Podemos and centre-right Junts.
Junts leader Carles Puigdemont earlier this month said his party would not support the government unless a “trust crisis” between them was resolved.
(Reporting by Inti Landauro, editing by Andrei Khalip)
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