Catalonia, at the bottom of the state budget execution list with 20%
Madrid once again leads the way with real investment of 57.5% in the first half of 2024.
MadridOnce again, Catalonia is at the bottom of the state budget execution list, with 20% of its budget being spent. This is based on data from the General Intervention of the State Administration (IGAE), released by Catalunya Ràdio and TV3 and accessed by ARA. In total, spending was €456.6 million in Catalonia during the first half of 2024. As for the Community of Madrid, spending was 57.5%, with a total of €694.3 million. It should be noted, therefore, that these are not figures for the entire year and, furthermore, refer to a prorogued budget. This means that it is possible that the budget will be spent as early as 2023.
In fact, sources from the Ministry of Transport assured this Saturday that in 2024 as a whole, Catalonia was the first community in investment received, with 1,227.8 million euros executed in December 2024, 27.75% more than in 2023. According to these sources, 2.2.1% less than in 2023.
The Spanish government no longer publishes these budget execution data in the autonomous communities, which usually generate comparative grievances. However, they are sent to the parliamentary groups in Congress. Those for the first half of 2024 arrived this Friday afternoon. Catalonia continues with the usual trend: Actual investment for the entire year 2023 was already 45% lower than budgeted. On that occasion, the difference with respect to the Community of Madrid was much more significant because in the state capital, the Spanish government executed 165% of what was planned. Reactions from the pro-independence parties, essential partners for Sánchez, were swift, and both Junts and ERC criticized the state's investment grievance with Catalonia. Oriol Junqueras (ERC) called on the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, to put Catalonia before the interests of the PSOE, and Jordi Turull (Junts) urged Catalan deputies to "stand up" to what he considers "a new plunder."
As mentioned, these figures should be taken with a grain of salt. For example, Renfe's budget execution for the first half of 2024 is €34.8 million, compared to a forecast of €151 million for 2023 (23%). But it should be noted that Renfe's actual investment in Catalonia in 2023 was 194 million, i.e., more than budgeted (128%). However, Adif's investment (on the conventional network, not the high-speed network) has been low: for the whole of 2023 it was 24.3%, and for the first half of 2024, 16.7%.
More caution
Furthermore, in a scenario of extended budgets, it should be noted that governments often approve what are called "credit extensions" for the budget. This, which has its limits, is done by the Spanish government, but also by the Generalitat (Catalan government) or local councils. Credit extensions basically allow for the incorporation of money into the current budget that is extended (in this case, the 2023 budget) for very specific purposes. This makes it difficult to know if part of the money spent in the first six months of 2024 is entirely for the 2023 budget or if there has also been some credit extension.
As the ARA has explained on other occasions, some investments are multi-year, that is, they are items that extend beyond the corresponding fiscal year and are executed over a period of time. A hypothetical example: if the goal is to spend €200 million over four years and divide it equally in each fiscal year, €50 million would need to be invested each year. However, the annual budget will not show the figure of 50 million, but rather 200 million, so if 50 million is invested, it will appear that execution has been lower than expected, but this is not the case.
Finally, it should also be noted that the IGAE (Spanish Institute of Statistics and Geography) defines a "recognized obligation," that is, an executed amount, as when the investment process is completely completed, from the bidding to the final award. When an award is halted because it has been appealed to the courts or its price is revised, as has occurred in some years, especially in infrastructure bidding, it is automatically excluded from the execution report.
