Matas prepared to demand the same as Catalonia

THE leader of the Balearic Government, Jaume Matas, yesterday warned that if the statute text for Catalonia is approved without any change than the Balearic courts “will demand” the same sort of finance system that Catalonia is asking for. He underlined that “a debate between two cannot be accepted, it must be a debate between everyone”.
During a television interview, Matas announced that he respects the decision made by Catalonia for declaring itself a nation within Spain, although he is against the statute text, because if it goes ahead, it will mean, in his opinion, that “someone will take a bigger slice of the cake to the cost of other regions”. “The financial negotiations must not be bilateral, but multilateral with the governments of the autonomous regions and with the central government”, the Balearic leader added. If a financial agreement is reached then the “Balearic Islands will have to demand the same financial set-ups as others” Jaume Matas said. “If Catalonia has a bilateral debate it will be at the cost of the islands, which we can not allow”, he added. Matas made these declarations on a visit to the Serra de Tramuntana, where he was accompanied by the Minister for the Environment, Jaume Font.