How much can the autonomous communities spend? The Spanish government communicates the data to the Finance ministers

MadridLa Moncloa is determined to present the budgets for the year 2027 despite not having support in the Congress of Deputies. And, for this reason, it has already begun to take the necessary steps to bring the accounts to the Spanish chamber this autumn. The Minister of Finance, Arcadi España, has met with all the heads of Finance this Monday in the autonomous communities and has communicated the spending limits that the State government foresees for the regional and municipal governments for next year. According to sources from the Ministry of Finance, while the meeting is still ongoing, Arcadi España has informed the autonomies that they will have the possibility to spend up to 4% more, this being the new spending rule for all administrations, although it maintains the deficit margin for regional administrations of 0.1%. A figure that the Finance advisors have already warned at the entrance of the meeting, which is being held at the ministry in Madrid, is insufficient for the autonomies to finance the welfare state.

At the same time, the Ministry of Finance has also emphasized that the income that the general administration of the State will transfer to the governments of the communities will increase by up to 8% due to the increase in collection. "The communities will receive the largest amount of resources in their history," say sources from the Ministry of Finance, adding that they could still be greater if the new financing model agreed upon by the Spanish government with Esquerra is approved. However, the Ministry of Finance did not want to talk about the financing system this Monday. The Minister of Economy, Alícia Romero, has supported Arcadi España's strategy at the entrance of the meeting: "Today the topic on the table is another: it is to approve the budgetary stability objectives, and there will be time to talk about the financing model," she said, as the ministry plans to hold a specific meeting at the end of this July to address the financing system.

It should be taken into account that 2027 is an election year for a large part of the autonomies and municipalities, as elections are to be held on May 23. This implies that, in an election year, the Spanish government makes a show of giving more resources to the autonomies, while the councilors of the autonomous governments, most of them from the PP, attack the Treasury because they consider that it only benefits Catalonia. "This government wants to subject us to a tax impossible to comply with," said Elena Manzano, the economic head of Extremadura. While Carolina Spain, from Andalusia, directly dismissed the meeting as a "charade" because, she said, the state budgets will not be approved. A very different assessment from that of the head of Asturias, governed by the socialists, Guillermo Peláez, who celebrated the Spanish government's determination to present the 2027 budgets.

In fact, Moncloa's intention is to approve the spending ceiling this Tuesday in the Council of Ministers and also the budgetary stability objectives to take them to a vote in Congress this very July. With what perspective? Junts has already said it would vote against it because it considers that more deficit margin should be left to the autonomous communities and municipalities, which are obliged to have a deficit of 0: Junts sources believe that the general administration of the State keeps the largest spending margin —1.7% of the total 1.8% set by Brussels— when they are not responsible for the welfare state. A threat that the Treasury responds to in the following way: the 0.1% given to the communities implies being able to spend an additional 5,849 million euros without having to balance the books; if this is not approved in the Spanish chamber, they warn, they will have to comply with a deficit of 0.

The PP does not believe it

In Génova they don't believe the Spanish government's attempt to move forward with a budget. The PP spokesperson, Borja Sémper, has opined that it is a "trick" because they are "unfeasible". Sémper has insisted that the populars "will not participate in this discursive pantomime". According to the populars, these accounts will only serve for Sánchez to have an excuse to call elections once Congress rejects them — reports Andrea Zamorano.