The unique funding issue pits Catalonia against the Balearic Islands.

PalmThe issue of regional funding has pitted Catalonia against the Balearic Islands. The presidents of both territories, Salvador Illa and Marga Prohens, met this Friday in Palma, but their disagreements over regional financing proved irreconcilable. While the Catalan president, Illa, called for a united front before the meeting to secure funding that addresses the unique circumstances of both Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, Prohens rejected any bilateral approach and urged Illa to negotiate with Spain exclusively in multilateral forums. If he fails to do so, she warned, the Balearic Islands will appeal "to every possible authority." "How does Catalonia's desire for greater self-government harm the Balearic Islands?" the Socialist leader asked at a breakfast briefing prior to the meeting. "Let each region go its own way; Catalonia will go its own way," he stated. "They're talking about reforming the financing system when the debate hasn't even begun," Prohens retorted in statements following the meeting. "If it's only been opened for Catalonia, I reject it outright." Following the directives from the People's Party headquarters in Madrid, the Popular Party representative called for "alliances and points of agreement among all the autonomous communities, but not specifically for Catalonia": "There's nothing in our Constitution that grants it special status; the only recognized special status is that of the non-peninsular territories." In this regard, she called on Isla to close ranks and demand that the reform of the financing system take into account "population growth, the transient population, the principle of ordinality, and insularity." "We are the second largest contributor to the system, behind Madrid and ahead of Catalonia," she explained. "We can defend these issues together, but it is essential that Catalonia participate in multilateral forums, like everyone else," he argued. In this regard, Isla urged Prohens to put aside "the recriminations" and work together at the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council (PFF), scheduled for next Monday.

Institutional normality

The meeting between the two presidents also served to reflect their shared desire to project an image of institutional normality, despite the head-on clashes that the PP's regional leaders have had with the Spanish government this legislative term. Minutes before meeting with Prohens, Illa defended the need for Catalonia and the Balearic Islands to maintain a collaboration that transcends disagreements and changes in government, because "the ties between both territories will continue to exist regardless of who governs." For her part, Prohens applauded the fact that, under Illa's presidency, "the institutional relationship with Catalonia, which was nonexistent for several years, has been restored." In September 2024, Isla announced her intention to tour the entire country to defend her "vision of Spain," which began with a meeting with the president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo (Canarian Coalition), in January 2025. She also expressed her willingness to meet with all of them. For her part, the president of the Canary Islands has distanced herself from other male regional leaders, such as her Madrid counterpart, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who refused to meet with the Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez. Prohens, on the other hand, has already met with him on three occasions.

Debate on the official status of Catalan in Europe

Despite differences on funding, Isla and Prohens agreed on their rejection of degrowth in tourism, a policy advocated by the left in the Balearic Parliament. "We agreed on the need to better redistribute tourist flows and also on our rejection of the rhetoric calling for degrowth," Prohens explained. "She hasn't had any problems with me; I don't know if it was the same with the PSIB." They also agreed on their main proposal to address the housing access difficulties affecting both territories. "Build, build, and build," Prohens said. However, they disagreed on the rent cap established in the national housing law, which is applied in Catalonia but not in the Balearic Islands. They also failed to reach consensus on immigration and language issues. Sources from Illa's team explain that he has proposed "strengthening foreign policy between Catalonia and the Balearic Islands to ensure that Catalan, along with Basque and Galician, are official languages in European institutions." Regarding this matter, sources from the president's team explain that the Balearic government "is not doing so and has not fought against it," but believes that "the language has other needs."