Government and Commons reach an agreement for the 2026 budget

BarcelonaThe Catalan government and the Comuns party have reached an agreement on the 2026 budget. President Salvador Illa and Jéssica Albiach will sign the agreement at 11:00 AM in the Gothic Gallery of the Palau de la Generalitat, according to the Catalan government. This is an important step, but not enough for the budget, for which the Catalan government will also require the support of Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC). The pact with the Comuns comes after both parties announced on Tuesday... an understanding for the expansion of rental assistance and to create vouchers for menstrual products and condoms. But the detachment from the final understanding, according to Ser Catalunya reported this morning And as confirmed by ARA, it has been an agreement to regulate speculative housing purchases, which until now has been the main sticking point in the negotiations. The agreed formula is to bring a bill to the Catalan Parliament that will limit housing acquisitions for "large property owners" in "areas of tight residential market," which in Catalonia comprise 271 municipalities where more than 90% of the population lives. It should be remembered that owners with five properties in the same tight area are considered large property owners. The text that will be taken to the Catalan Parliament gives these owners two options in the event of a new purchase: acquire a property for personal and habitual use or acquire an entire building to rent out the units, always respecting the limit set by law. The law will allow other owners—those with fewer than five apartments—to acquire apartments and rent them out, provided they respect, again, the price cap set in the tight areas.

While awaiting full details of the overall agreement, it was announced late Wednesday that the Catalan government's budget pact with Albiach's party will also include a commitment to transferring the R1 commuter rail line in 2026, as already planned in the timetable agreed upon with ERC.