Mariano Rajoy reiterates to Susana Díaz that Government of Spain is fully committed to people of Andalusia

Moncloa Palace, Madrid

The State Secretary for Parliamentary Relations, José Luis Ayllón, said that the meeting was used to speak about such issues as unemployment, i.e. those that concern everybody and that form part of the priorities set by Central Government.

They also discussed the financial sustainability of the regional governments. In this regard, José Luis Ayllón said that the priority of the Central Government has been to recover from the economic crisis and regain a capacity to grow and create jobs. Since the start of the legislature, he added, the Ministry of the Treasury and the Central Government in general have been working on all sorts of solutions to specific problems as they have arisen, such as the Regional Liquidity Fund (Spanish acronym: FLA) and the supplier payment plans.

The most pressing matter at this time, he said, is not so much to seek new formulas as to ensure that those already in place are working and achieving the desired results; because this is not an arbitrary distribution of resources between the regional governments but rather a way of guaranteeing the essential services being provided to the people, such as education and healthcare. Furthermore, the State Secretary for Parliamentary Relations argued that the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council is the forum where the future of the regional financing system should be debated.

On the subject of the amount of interest that Andalusia has to pay, José Luis Ayllón stressed that, "in order for us to have that figure on interest, there must have been an additional 23 billion euros of financing for that autonomous region" via such measures as the FLA. He also said that the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council will discuss "new facilities" tomorrow so that the administration services can tackle their current financial commitments.

Juncker Plan

Pool MoncloaMariano Rajoy and Susana Díaz also spoke about the investment plan announced by the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, aimed at mobilising 315 billion euros over the next few years.

Cristóbal Montoro and the Councillor for Economic Affairs of the Regional Government of Andalusia will seek formulas that enable projects in Andalusia to receive financing under this plan, such as the Mediterranean Corridor and the connection between the Port of Algeciras and Bobadilla.

José Luis Ayllón stressed that the President of the Regional Government of Andalusia "has once again left here with a clear commitment from the Government of Spain and the President of the Government to the people of Andalusia".