If the Parliament ratifies the Generalitat’s accounts for 2026, thousands of young Catalans will receive new direct aid. The agreement between the regional government and the Comuns includes the creation of a €25 voucher for the purchase of menstrual hygiene products and another of equal value for the purchase of condoms.
The proposal on menstrual hygiene is aimed at people between the ages of 12 and 25. According to Jéssica Albiach, leader of the Comuns, the aim is to mitigate the “extra expense” that menstruation entails for women. Unlike previous initiatives focused on reusable products, this voucher will allow the purchase of any item from a pharmacy or specialized store.
On the other hand, the condom voucher will be given to young people between the ages of 16 and 25. With this measure, negotiators aim to curb the rise in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) through education and free access to barrier methods. The total cost of both vouchers will amount to €25 million.
More scholarships and rent limits
This agreement is in addition to other commitments recently reached, such as the injection of €100 million in rental assistance and the expansion of 100,000 school meal scholarships for vulnerable families. In addition, a €27 million plan has been designed to improve reading comprehension in schools.
Despite the progress in the negotiations, Albiach has warned that the budget agreement with President Salvador Illa is not yet finalized. The Comuns are now demanding that the government pass a law within a maximum of six months to limit speculative purchases of apartments.
The party is also making its final support conditional on improvements in mobility and on the government backing down from its plan to pressure doctors in primary care centers (CAP) to reduce the number of sick leaves.