The Generalitat’s legal services are wary of the moves coming out of the Council of Ministers and Congress. How the central government handles Junts’ request to push companies that left Catalonia to return their headquarters could open new business for those offices. Carles Puigdemont’s party has proposed sanctions against firms that do not relocate back to Catalan soil, a plan that has not found favor in the Valencian Community. The Consell warned that such a measure could be implemented if it gains traction before the Constitutional Court.
During the press conference after Valencia’s government plenary session, spokesperson Ruth Merino labeled the proposal an incident and an attack on corporate freedom. The president of the Generalitat, Carlos Mazón, then stated that the Valencian Administration’s legal mechanisms have already been alerted to object on constitutional grounds if the idea advances.
Describing Junts’ demand as extortion, Mazón added that if necessary, the matter will be taken to the Constitutional Court and pursued to the end. The head of the PPCV emphasized that the Valencian Government will safeguard the 974 companies already based in the Valencian Community and urged Catalan firms seeking to relocate to Valencia to consider a friendlier environment offering greater support for job creation, promising protection and assistance from the regional authorities.
The debate over incentives or sanctions for companies that left Catalonia to relocate headquarters within this autonomous region has become a source of tension in Valencia. Of the roughly 7,000 people who have left Catalonia since the start of the process, around a thousand are now in Valencian territory. The PP has pressed the Valencian socialists about possible actions by Madrid, which recently agreed with Junts to modify the corporate law approved in 2017. The exact meaning of that modification remains unspecified.
A press statement from Puigdemont’s party after the agreement not to obstruct Catalonia’s ratification notes that reforming the capital companies law via the Council of Ministers would reverse the 2017 royal decree and allow companies to return to Catalonia. The decree was voted on in Congress the day before.
In response to the measures taken by Consell and the possibility of court challenges, the public pressure has extended to PSPV and Compromís through parliamentary action. Minutes after Mazón spoke, the PPCV ombudsman in Cortes, Miguel Barrachina, introduced an NLP calling for respect for the free choice of a business center and opposition to privileges or sanctions for transfers.
The Catalan Ombudsman clarified that the motion carries a triple request: respect for the freedom of Valencian companies to stay within the Valencian Community, a call for the Spanish Government not to treat some communities differently, and a commitment that Catalonia’s Companies Act since 2017 will not compel companies to return by force or face sanctions for staying put.
What will Morant and Soler do?
Barrachina also questioned the positions of PSPV leaders in both Cortes and state bodies. He asked what Diana Morant would do as a minister if Sánchez’s party adheres to the Junts agreement to support the separation of Valencian companies. He also pressed what Alejandro Soler might do in Congress or how Ximo Puig, serving as PSPV secretary-general, might vote in the Senate. The questions hint at broader leadership considerations within the party as three potential successors to Puig emerge in the Valencian political landscape.
As Mazón’s stance remains firm, Puigdemont has rejected the proposal, arguing that it makes little sense within the European framework. He emphasized that if companies choose Valencia, it will be because the region offers a stable framework, trust, and robust investment conditions. Mazón tried to steer the conversation toward a broader, more constructive angle.
The core issue remains whether central government policy should leverage relocation as a tool to influence regional economies. Valencia asserts that any coercive move would undermine the free operation of businesses across the union and could destabilize a market already shaped by regional autonomy and EU standards. Analysts have noted that the political clash unfolds at a time when local constituencies are watching closely how Madrid balances national uniformity with regional autonomy. In this atmosphere, both sides claim to defend growth, opportunity, and employment for their residents, but the path forward remains unsettled, with legal channels and parliamentary maneuvers poised to shape the outcome.