The Generalitat will be able to spend more than 40 billion euros next year for the first time.

BarcelonaThe Catalan government will be able to spend up to €40.524 billion next year, representing a real increase of 3.3% compared to the budget extended from 2023. This amount, which does not include targeted spending or that of the rest of the public sector and which exceeds €40 billion for the first time, is the so-called €2 ceiling, for which Salvador Isla's government has yet to secure support. Precisely due to the lack of agreement, the Catalan government is currently operating with the extended 2023 budget, because Pere Aragonès's administration, from the ERC (Republican Socialist Workers' Party), failed to approve the 2024 budget, which precipitated early elections; nor did Isla's administration. The government estimates that the established limit increases by 7.1% compared to the extended budget, but deviations in expenditures such as healthcare and the need to finance debt mean the increase is actually 3.3%. The figure allows compliance with the spending rule, as explained by the spokesperson and Minister of Territory, Sílvia Paneque. The planned deficit target is equivalent to 0.1% of the gross domestic product (GDP), or €429 million.

The forecast for non-finalized non-financial revenue for 2026 is €39.672 billion, 6.9% more than in the 2025 budget extension. This section includes the amounts of advances and settlements of the financing model by the Ministry of H and other non-finalized non-financial resources.

With this procedure, which includes figures that could change depending on tax revenue or increases or reductions in State transfers, the process of obtaining accounts begins, led by the Minister of Economy, Alícia Romero. If these budgets are not approved, this will be the third consecutive spending ceiling that has not been applied. The current spending ceiling for 2025 was set just weeks after taking office at €37.783 billion, 12.8% more than in 2023, the last year with approved budgets. Even then, the priority objective was to have a budget as of January 1, 2025, which was not possible due to opposition from the ERC (Republican Revolutionary Party).

Credit supplement

In return, the Republicans supported three credit supplements totaling 3.9367 billion euros to mitigate the effects of the lack of approved accounts. In all cases, these were implemented through decrees, which have been approved throughout this year. The third and final decree was for 467.9 million euros, in addition to the other two, for 2.168 billion euros and 1.301 billion euros, respectively. One of them was issued to increase the staff of the Catalan Tax Agency (ATC) in preparation for the implementation of the new regional financing system, which provides for the collection by the Generalitat of all taxes, starting with personal income tax. Overall, the credit supplements have allowed the extended 2023 budget to increase by 3.9367 billion euros.

To secure support for the budget, the government's priority objective is to secure support for the budgets. When Isla's new government took office, it had the option of presenting a proposal for the 2024 budget—whose spending ceiling was set at €36.684 billion, 3% less than the figure set for next year—or abandoning it and focusing on the budget. It ultimately abandoned its proposal when it realized that the Republicans, who had also failed to guarantee their support for the current budget, would not back it. The lack of parliamentary support for the budget proposed for 2024 is what prompted then-President Pere Aragonès to bring forward the elections to May 12 of last year.