Meeting of the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council: What is María Jesús Montero bringing?

MadridThe Ministry of Finance and the autonomous communities under the common regime are meeting again in a long-overdue fiscal summit. The department is headed by María Jesús Montero (PSOE). He will meet this Monday at noon with the councilors of the rank Within the framework of a new Fiscal and Financial Policy Council (CPFF), the deficit and debt targets for 2026 will be communicated to the autonomous communities. Normally, the Treasury also reports on the resources it will transfer to the regions in the next fiscal year. However, this year, due to the delay in the schedule – it is usually announced in the summer – Montero He already sent them a letter with the figureThe autonomous communities will receive €156.99 billion in 2026 (6.5% more than in 2025), of which €30.062 billion will be transferred to Catalonia as advance payments. They were also informed of the available liquidity: €13.506 billion – €2.687 billion for Catalonia.

The most contentious issue will be the deficit and debt targets – or stability path – for the autonomous communities, which, once approved by the Council of Ministers – expected this Tuesday, along with the spending ceiling for 2026 and the macroeconomic framework with a revision – will be submitted to the Congress of Deputies. The vote will take place amidst the Junts blockade. which already knocked down the targets in 2024Sources at the Ministry of Finance confirm that the initial plan remains unchanged: the autonomous communities will have a deficit target of 0.1% of GDP, which for Catalonia represents €1 billion in spending leeway. Given that positions haven't shifted, it's difficult to imagine the proposal being approved.

What about the financing model?

But beyond the economic details—these allocations allow the regions to know how many resources they will have to prepare their budgets—Monday's Fiscal and Financial Policy Council meeting will have a strong political component due to the ongoing negotiations between the Treasury, the Catalan Republican Left (ERC), and the Catalan Socialist Party (PSC) regarding a new regional financing model—the main reason for the delay in convening this meeting. For the Treasury, which is trying to appease the regions with record resources, this is a major headache because it knows that the People's Party (PP), which governs in most territories, will vehemently oppose the negotiations, as they have done repeatedly. In fact, at the last Fiscal and Financial Policy Council meeting in February, when debt forgiveness for the regions under the common regime was discussed, the PP walked out en masse.

However, the Treasury will not have to face, for now, the challenge of unpacking the details of a new regional financing model, around which the ministry hopes to unite all the autonomous communities despite the bilateral negotiations with Catalonia. Esquerra Republicana and the PSOE have given themselves more time, and although the ministry will have its arguments ready, especially in light of the PP's demands, All it will contribute will be "generic" issues

The truth is that the Republicans had asked the Minister of Finance not to address the system yet in this forum, as they didn't see it as possible to reach an agreement before it was held, as explained by ARA. Another point that altered the planned schedule is the calling of elections in Extremadura on December 21. This means that Montero has to take into account how this region fares in the new model so as not to harm the Socialist candidate in the elections, Miguel Ángel Gallardo. Now, all parties are leaving that hot potato for later.