The Catalan regional government (the governing body of Catalonia, Spain's semi-autonomous northeastern region) has reversed a controversial policy that would have tied financial incentives for healthcare teams to reductions in worker sick-leave durations, defusing a 72-hour crisis with its junior coalition partner, the left-wing Comuns party. Comuns had warned that its support for the regional budget was at risk over the measure, which critics argued subordinated medical decisions to economic criteria, but the government's climbdown has restored cautious optimism about reaching a budget agreement. Meanwhile, the separatist party ERC is maintaining pressure of its own, demanding that the socialist-led government honour commitments to establish a joint infrastructure investment consortium and warning that its congressional votes depend on Madrid fulfilling pledges on Catalan fiscal autonomy.