The government is accelerating its efforts to approve the budget in the coming days.

BarcelonaThe Catalan government is determined to have a budget in place this year. The 2025 budget wasn't even presented: with Salvador Illa barely having taken his place in the executive council, the government had to get through its first year in office with supplementary credits due to the refusal of its investiture partners, especially ERC, to open budget negotiations. This year, the government has already begun talks with the Comuns, who consider the agreements they signed last year fulfilled and have already set their conditions for this year's budget. However, the other investiture partner, Esquerra Republicana (ERC), whose support is essential for the budget to be approved, has not yet entered the equation. The executive had planned to approve the draft bill next week in the executive council and have all the parliamentary procedures completed before the end of March, or at the latest, after Easter. In fact, according to sources consulted by ARA, the executive had warned the ministers to be prepared for this scenario.

However, this timeline is currently up in the air because the government is waiting to reach an agreement with ERC (Republican Left of Catalonia) to try to unblock income tax collection and begin negotiating the budget. Talks are taking place daily among three parties – the government, the regional executive, and ERC – and, according to some sources, the current scenario is to accelerate the talks so that, if not next week, the executive council can approve the budget the week of February 23rd. What path is currently on the table to get Esquerra (Republican Left of Catalonia) to agree to negotiate the budget?

The way to bring ERC closer

In recent days, a new element has come into play that could derail the negotiations. This is the investment consortium that the Republicans agreed to with the PSC in exchange for Salvador Illa's investiture, and which until now had been stalled. This body was supposed to include the Spanish State and the Catalan Government and was intended to oversee the execution of investments in Catalonia. Following the recent chaos on the commuter rail network, this consortium stands out as an element that could help the State bolster its narrative about its investment commitment to the Catalan rail network and, at the same time, fulfill one of the commitments blocked with ERC. One way to materialize this consortium would be for ERC to present a bill in Congress. Could this consortium become the new condition for the Republicans, replacing the previous agreement on income tax? Esquerra insists it cannot. The way to avoid resigning would involve shelving the bill the party has registered in Congress to legally protect the Catalan Tax Agency (ATC) and transferring its content through amendments to the financing law, which María Jesús Montero is due to present to Congress soon—and which must incorporate the new model she presented in January—according to the party. Then, it would depend on the PSC, but above all on the PSOE (and the other parliamentary partners), whether these amendments pass and, therefore, whether the personal income tax collection stipulated in Salvador Illa's investiture agreement is brought forward—and which the Spanish government is now resisting implementing. In fact, the Republicans maintain that they need a commitment that this issue will not be dropped. The Republicans maintain that it is the PSC that must take action if it wants to update the budget and ask it to pressure the Spanish government in this regard. ERC had planned to bring the admissibility of its proposed Personal Income Tax (IRPF) bill to a vote in Congress on February 24, but that debate could be replaced by the one on the investment consortium bill. The Catalan government and ERC are thus negotiating a way for the Republicans to have a seat at the budget negotiation table.

Publicly, the executive continues to say that it maintains its objective of having the budget approved before the end of March. "We'll give it our all," said spokesperson Silvia Paneque this week, using an expression that Spanish President Pedro Sánchez has used in recent months. Looking at the timetable, if the government doesn't present the budget next week, or at the latest the following week, it will be very difficult to meet the deadline.

The negotiation with the Comuns

The Comuns, with whom the government is formally negotiating the budget, have explicitly requested that the executive not approve the budget law before reaching an agreement with them and submitting it to Parliament. This situation is therefore identical to that of ERC. Talks with Jéssica Albiach's group have only been underway for a week, and so far, they have met three times—they will meet again on Monday. Sources within this party maintain that everything is still in its early stages and that they need more time. This was stated by the Comuns spokesperson, David Cid, this Friday after the latest meeting with the Catalan government, and he asserted that they are still "far" from reaching an agreement because the executive is not making enough progress on two issues that the party considers priorities: housing and trains, reports [reportedly]. Martina AlcobendasThey are also demanding clarification of the "essential" condition they have set: a ban on speculative housing purchases. According to Jéssica Albiach, leader of the Comuns in the Catalan Parliament, the expert report commissioned by the government deems the measure "constitutional." However, Paneque deflected questions about the issue, explaining that he will not comment until there is an "agreement" on the proposal. While awaiting details, sources within the Comuns explain that they are making progress on other issues, such as the commuter rail reinforcement plan and the alternative bus network, in addition to the housing measures they are demanding, which include increasing the budget for this area to €1.2 billion. The government, for its part, stated this Friday that the talks are progressing "at a good pace to try to reach an agreement as soon as possible."

Legislative budgets?

The Catalan government is still operating under the 2023 budget, the last one approved by Pere Aragonès's administration with the support of the Socialists and the Comuns. If Salvador Illa manages to pass the 2026 budget—he will return to work on Monday after nearly a month's leave due to the osteomyelitis he was diagnosed with—it would be the first budget of this legislative term. And perhaps the last. Why? Internally, the government points out that there are municipal elections next year and that this pre-election context is not the most conducive to parties agreeing to negotiate a budget. There would still be the 2028 budget, but this could be even more difficult because it would be Salvador Illa's last year in office and the parties would once again be in election mode, preparing for the Catalan elections.

That's why the government wants to step on the gas this year, aware that it may be its only opportunity to pass the first budget of the socialist administration. Without a budget, it would show signs of weakness in a context where crises are piling up. Commuter rail is the main hot potato it has to solve—although it knows it won't be in the short term—but teachers, doctors, and farmers have also rebelled against it. However, it's also true that there is no arithmetically any alternative to Isla in Parliament, and the context of the rise of the far right benefits a socialist president who presents himself as the antidote.