Comuns has given its approval to the Generalitat’s budget agreement for this year after reaching an update with the Govern of the agreement already reached in February, highlighting an additional investment of 2.5 billion euros in housing policies added to the 1.2 billion already agreed then for the Pla de Barris, and a new law to convert empty offices and premises into official protection housing (HPO).
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The first agreement, which contained various investments and measures in the areas of housing, education, and mobility, established that in the first half of this year the Parliament would approve a bill to amend the urban planning law and enable municipalities to “limit speculative purchases in the real estate market.”
The update of the agreement includes these measures in the areas of housing, energy poverty, sexual and reproductive health, rail mobility, and gender-based violence:
Housing
The agreement plans to allocate 2.5 billion euros to housing policies in this legislature: 1.5 billion euros in own resources and 1 billion euros from the Catalan Institute of Finance (ICF). It also proposes creating the Directorate General of Housing Discipline.
Maintain the double call of the Plan de Barrios (40 neighborhoods and 400 million euros annually) in 2027 and 2028.
Work jointly on a bill to urgently increase the stock of official protection housing (HPO) and to fight speculation, guaranteeing that new free-market homes are destined for habitual and permanent residence. To this end, it is planned to convert offices and commercial premises into HPO.
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Energy Poverty
According to the document, the Govern commits to promoting the Solidarity Care Fund before summer 2026. This fund should serve to rescue families in energy poverty and to respond to the end of the agreement with electricity companies that will forgive the accumulated debt of vulnerable families. This agreement ended on December 31, 2025. This fund would be financed by electricity companies and the Generalitat, with an initial budget of three million euros for 2026 and ten million euros for 2027.
Sexual and Reproductive Health
The Govern commits to developing a plan to increase the number of midwives and to retain those trained in Catalonia, to ensure the improvement of care at Sexual and Reproductive Health Care centers throughout Catalonia, also guaranteeing gynecological assistance.
Rail Mobility
It is planned to commission a study to incorporate into the Pla de Govern the transformation, in a second phase before 2030, of the planned Sant Andreu – Airport service (R Aeropuerto) into an extended route operated by Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC). To this end, analyze the definition of an R4 North between the Airport and Terrassa or Manresa and the possibility of an R4 South, operated by Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat, as an alternative to balance the tunnels at Plaça de Catalunya and Passeig de Gràcia, thus maximizing the capacity gained with ongoing works at the main network bottlenecks, and maximizing the benefit for the entire rail system. For this purpose, a working group will be created for its monitoring with the Public Transport Defense Platform and the Rodalies Users Association.
The Govern commits to studying the advancement of the feasibility study of the Terres de l’Ebre tram-train to be completed in 2028.
Gender-based Violence
Create, before the end of the first half of 2027, the General Commissariat for the Prevention and Reporting of Gender-based Violence, strengthening and expanding the Victim Support Groups of the Mossos d’Esquadra, as well as the investigation units for crimes related to gender-based violence.
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