Montero promises funding "as soon as possible" and calls for the PP's involvement.

BarcelonaThe First Vice President of the Spanish government and Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, holds the key issue at the heart of the Catalan legislature: the one-off funding agreement between the ERC (Republican Socialist Workers' Party) and the PSC (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) to inaugurate Salvador Illa. The drafts continue to bounce back and forth between Madrid and Catalonia, with no date yet finalized. Amid this shuffle of paperwork, Montero participated this Monday in a forum organized by the Prisa group in Barcelona, ​​where she sought to send a message of reassurance. This is especially true given the pressure from the ERC (Republican Socialist Workers' Party) to take any steps forward on this matter, without which they will not sit down to negotiate the budgets, either the Catalan or the Spanish ones. "My intention is to do it as soon as possible. Rest assured that, when it is done, it will be clear that the commitments are being met," Montero assured. She said the new funding model will be based on "solidarity" and will respect the vocation for "greater self-government." "No region is going to lose resources," he added, in statements to the press.

ERC highlighted progress in the negotiations with the Spanish government on the new financing model, but warned that the new system cannot depend on the agenda of one minister, referring to María Jesús Montero, for whom ERC predicts a poor result in Andalusia: "She will surely lose the elections," said the spokesperson. The Republican leader stressed that the increase in the amount of resources for Madrid in the financing system is not yet finalized, but that it is "very close" to the figure proposed by Esquerra: "We are approaching a figure that could be interesting," added Albert, who warned, however, that "the financing model is not a figure." The Republican leader insisted that these resources are one thing, and the new model is another.

And Montero has avoided limiting the debate on financing to the commitments signed with Catalonia, which have been made official. at the bilateral commission on July 14In fact, the vice president has said that the "main" problem in this debate is that each territory demands that its "unique characteristics" be addressed. And that is why she has called on the PP's autonomous regions to sit at the table with a "common position." Communities governed by the Popular Party, such as the Balearic Islands, the Valencian Community, or the Community of Madrid, would benefit from a distribution in which the principle of ordinality is applied, as Catalonia demands.

The PP's fierce opposition to the Spanish government has also led the PP's autonomous regions to reject the cancellation of regional debt worth 83.2 billion euros -17,000 of them in Catalonia-, and which must still pass the Congressional process. Montero wanted to use this measure as an example of how pacts with a Catalan party, ERC, can end up being "extended" to the rest of the territories. Of this particular region, the most likely to benefit would be Andalusia (18.7 billion), where the PP governs and where Montero is running as a candidate in next year's regional elections.

At a press conference on Monday, PSC spokesperson Lluïsa Moret applauded the minister's "commitment" to the new model based on "solidarity," "self-government," and "increased resources." Asked about the principle of ordinality, she avoided clarifying whether the Spanish government would guarantee it, although she maintained that they are working "intensely" to ensure that the final agreement reflects what they agreed to in the investiture agreement, which did mention it. The Commons also assured that, to the extent possible, they will apply "pressure" within the Spanish government to prevent its decline.

Budget movements

Before the financing model, however, Montero plans to present the stability path and the spending ceiling, the preliminary steps to approving the draft state budget in the Council of Ministers. As she explained, she will do so "in a few days" before the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council, a date still to be set. In parallel, Montero said that she has already begun the "initial approaches" with the groups, while finalizing the "details" of the accounts. Pedro Sánchez's government has pledged to present a new state budget for 2026, despite the difficulty of approving it given that the relationship with the investiture partners is not at its best - in fact, Republican sources in Madrid assured last week that no talk of a new PGE had begun.

One of the great unknowns in this negotiation is what Junts will do, which has warned that this fall he will make "decisions" Regarding her relationship with the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party). Speaking to the media, Montero admitted that her relationship with the regional government has gone through its ups and downs. "Now we are at a time of greater dialogue," she celebrated, following the failure of the delegation of immigration powers in Catalonia, as agreed between the PSOE and Junts (Junts). The PP, Vox, and Podemos defeated it in Congress, and two Sumar deputies also did not endorse it. In any case, the regional council members rule out supporting the Spanish budget at this time.

Commitment to NATO

Be that as it may, the Spanish government is already late in presenting its public accounts, and it is assumed that it will launch its 2023 budget in 2026. The spending ceiling is expected to be expansionary, taking into account the Spanish government's need to spend more on defense, but also due to the revaluation of pensions. Specifically, the Spanish vice president has not failed to defend the coalition government's position on Spain's contribution to NATO, following repeated attacks by US President Donald Trump. "We are a country absolutely committed to the Atlantic Alliance," she emphasized, adding: "Spain is the one who chooses its own path sovereignly."

In any case, the Treasury expects the good performance of tax collection to continue, so that resources continue to grow. Likewise, the deficit and debt targets are what should allow the autonomous communities and local councils to prepare their public accounts for 2026, and which will be presented to the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council. These stability targets are precisely what partially derailed the State accounts for 2025. When they reached the Congress of Deputies, Junts overturned them. —reports Núria Rius.

"Locomotive of economic growth"

Montero also wanted to focus on the positive economic data that Spain has been recording for years. In this regard, she pointed to the IMF's recent upward revision of its growth forecasts, with a forecast of 2.9% this year and 2% in 2026. "We will once again be the fastest-growing advanced economy. We are the driving force behind economic growth for the world's major economies," she emphasized.

However, she acknowledged that inflation and the housing shortage make these figures feel distant to citizens. Aside from measures already being implemented by the Spanish government, such as increases in the minimum interprofessional wage (SMI) and pensions, Montero argued that "fiscal policy has a lot to say," with an eye toward moving toward higher taxation of the super-rich. In his speech, the President of the Generalitat (Catalan government), Salvador Illa, defended the "founding values" of Europe. In the face of the crises shaking the world, he has advocated a "federal" EU that speaks "with the accents of all languages," while the official status of Catalan remains stalled. This very Tuesday, which is holding a General Affairs Council of the European Union again, the issue of the Catalan language is not expected to be debated.