MADRID – The Spanish government has paid back EUR 2.5 billion it owed to the regional government in Andalusia Thursday amid accusations that the Socialists would make political capital from the affair.

Jordi Sevilla, minister of public administration, announced the deal with the regional Andalusian government after a complicated series of legal appeals over the affair which stretched over seven years.

But the opposition conservative Popular Party (PP) in the region claimed that the Socialist administration in Andalusia would use this to score political points.

The PP said the agreement should not be made public.

The agreement ended a drawn-out row between the central and regional government.

Andalusia had launched 13 appeals throughout a variety of different courts over the  period.
 
They claimed the central government owed it money for a series of projects including repairing roads, building hospitals and other civic schemes.

During this time the Socialist administration in Andalusia was appealing against the former conservative PP government of  Jose Maria Aznar, which opposed the claims.

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news