The Conference of Presidents convened this Friday in Barcelona highlighted a widespread rejection among regional leaders towards the privileged financing model proposed by Pedro Sánchez for Catalonia, akin to the Basque quota system.

This proposal garnered explicit support only from the President of Catalonia, Salvador Illa, and María Chivite, the President of Navarra.

In contrast, other socialist leaders, such as Emiliano García-Page of Castile-La Mancha and Adrián Barbón of Asturias, expressed strong opposition, arguing that the Catalan quota undermines solidarity among regions and unfairly benefits one of Spain's wealthiest communities at the expense of others.

During the conference, Illa urged his fellow autonomous leaders to rise above "noise, prejudices, and stereotypes" to accept the commitment Sánchez made to Catalonia.

Following the conference, he expressed disappointment over the reluctance shown by other regional presidents towards what he views as a reflection of Spain's diversity.

However, many regional leaders firmly opposed both the Catalan quota and the cancellation of regional debt promised by Sánchez to ERC, effectively precluding any possibility of reaching an agreement.

After the 13 conservative regional leaders from the PP requested, without success, the calling of early elections, Pedro Sánchez adhered to the Conference’s regulations, refusing to vote on the proposals put forth by the PP. Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the PP, later asserted that the failure of the Conference indicated a "collapsed government" and claimed that Sánchez intended to use the Barcelona summit as a platform to obscure his administration's scandals.

García-Page criticized the Catalan quota, demanding that Sánchez present a specific date and proposal to discuss a new regional financing system, one that ends the practice of "I invite you, and you pay." He emphasized the need for a common regime for all autonomous communities, devoid of any special privileges.

Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the President of the Community of Madrid, declared that the Catalan quota is "unconstitutional," similar to the amnesty law.

She condemned governmental attacks and campaigns against the judiciary, insisting on the necessity for Sánchez to call for general elections to allow voters to express their views.

Jorge Azcón, President of Aragón, argued that the separatist parties and the government aim to "disrupt the common regime by providing Catalonia a system similar to the Basque quota," which he deemed unconstitutional as it "gives more to those who already have more."

María José Sáenz de Buruaga from Cantabria stated that her government would not permit the new regional financing model to be determined by separatist parties.

She asserted that "Spain includes us all" and emphasized the need for a decision that is made collectively, through multilateral negotiation and consensus.

Amidst these tensions, the controversial issue regarding the use of earpieces by Ayuso overshadowed the day’s discussions centered on regional financing, housing policies, immigration, justice, healthcare, and energy.

No agreement was reached during the conference.

Sánchez blocked a vote on the PP's proposed resolutions to prevent the expression of majority support for these measures.

The PP's proposals included halting the transfer of control over border management and immigration to Catalonia, which they argued remains an exclusive state competency, and retracting the draft law for debt forgiveness promised by Sánchez to ERC.

Additional demands from the PP included the withdrawal of legislative reforms proposed by Minister Félix Bolaños, the repeal of the housing law initiated by Podemos, and modifications to housing policies to lower VAT on construction and rehabilitation to 4% while increasing public land availability for housing development.

In areas beyond financing, the PP leaders also called for the central government to fund 50% of early childhood education and dependency care, and to expand the number of healthcare specialists while implementing urgent care training programs.

Sánchez invoked the Conference regulations to block voting, adhering to a 2022 approval that did not explicitly entail a voting mechanism.

Consequently, none of the PP initiatives would have passed due to Sánchez's veto.

According to the rules, any decision at the Conference requires unanimous approval from all present participants, while recommendations need the backing of at least the Prime Minister and two-thirds of the present autonomous communities.

Due to this arithmetic, Sánchez's proposal to allocate €7 billion, which constitutes 40% of the regional budget, for public housing construction from 2026 to 2030 also failed to gain support, despite it being a tripling of previous housing investment plans.

Only five autonomous communities—Basque Country, Catalonia, Navarra, Asturias, and the Canary Islands—expressed willingness to participate in this housing initiative.