The plan, endowed with 400 million euros distributed over four calls of 100 million each, aims to revitalize, protect, and improve urban centers and economic activity areas in municipalities with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants. The objective is to recover architectural heritage, historic centers, improve housing, and energy efficiency.
According to the timeline presented by the minister, the call is expected to be published between October and November of this year, with a provisional resolution in December and the final one in April 2027, after addressing any appeals. The four-year plan, agreed with ERC, is considered one of the most significant budget projects for territorial rebalancing.
Dalmau also highlighted a new 20-million-euro fund aimed at ensuring the presence of secretaries and controllers in rural municipalities. Grant lines will be created for municipalities with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants to cover the salaries of these civil servants, with €45,000 annually for municipalities between 501 and 2,000 inhabitants, and up to €22,500 per year for those under 500.
The minister emphasized the importance of these resources for the "structuring of the country" and the relationship with local councils, which he described as "allies of transformation".
It cannot be that we have municipalities in Catalonia where council meetings are not convened, where payrolls are not paid, where a subsidy cannot be justified because a secretary or controller position is vacant.
During the debate, deputies from PSC, Comuns, and ERC defended the budgets, highlighting their ambition and response to the current moment. Conversely, PPC and CUP criticized the time elapsed since the initial presentation of the accounts and pointed to aspects like "empty promises" or "continuity." Junts raised questions about the Presidency's budget, while Vox warned about the Generalitat's "bankruptcy" situation.
