A motion to demand institutional respect and collaboration with the Government
The coalition of independent municipal groups Tots x l’Empordà, which has a presence in 25 councils of Empordà, the regional councils of Alt and Baix Empordà and the Diputació de Girona, will present to the municipal meetings where it is represented a motion that demands the government of the Generalitat institutional respect and more dialogue and collaboration, “without threats or impositions”. In a statement, the coalition affirms that it also does not accept that councils that are investing and acting to minimize water consumption be sanctioned. In the text of the motion, it is also highlighted that “councils are administrations willing to get involved when things don’t work, far beyond even what the current regulations establish as their own powers”.
A fair network interconnection policy with the territories
The motion, with 5 points in the proposed agreement, asks the Government to prioritize “the multi-year investments necessary to provide Catalonia with the water it needs, both for people’s day-to-day life and to maintain its economy”. In this sense, it requests “to establish new extraordinary lines of aid to municipalities to carry out improvements to the drinking water distribution networks. It should be possible to supplement these lost funds with interest-free ICF credits and with long-term return.” Likewise, he urges the Generalitat “to carry out, in emergency situations, a network interconnection policy that is fair to the territories and that avoids drying up some rivers while others are not touched”, referring to the different treatment received by the rivers Ter and Ebre: “we observe with perplexity and indignation, once again, how the Ter is dried up without any consideration for the people of the territory with the aim of bringing water to industry and services in the ‘area of Barcelona, by virtue of the Franco law of 1959 on the transfer, but at the same time the Ebro remains untouchable, regardless of its capital. We cannot understand that there is a population and economic activities of first and others are secondary depending on the area of Catalonia we live in. We also do not understand the requirement that has been applied to our primary sector from the very beginning of the emergency, despite being a strategic sector for the country, as to be demonstrated during the pandemic. We must also regret the lack of empathy with the tourism sector, an essential part of the GDP of our counties and the country.”