No sooner said than done. The Spanish government has accelerated its efforts to finalize its state budget for next year and end the extension of the 2023 budget. Official State Gazette The Spanish Official State Gazette (BOE) published this Wednesday the general guidelines and criteria for these accounts, which Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez stated he would present during an interview on TVE1 on Monday.

Pedro Sánchez has gone on vacation with a challenge: have a general state budget in 2026, although it's already late in the usual procedures. During this term, the Spanish government has not attempted to present public accounts to the Congress of Deputies—the State is operating with the 2023 budget. It hasn't even presented a draft budget, that is, a text that will at least pass the Council of Ministers. Now, however, Sánchez himself has stated that he wants to leave behind the accounts of two years ago. To achieve this goal, he will have to convince the plurinational majority that allowed his investiture—no one foresees an agreement with the PP—and that requires presenting a budget that pleases everyone from Junts to Podem, parties that usually have distant positions, which has been an obstacle on many occasions. The outlook, therefore, is not peaceful. "There will be no [budget]," says a former Catalan member of Congress, who has firsthand knowledge of the negotiating structure behind the State's public accounts.

Catalonia will receive 17.2% of the Spanish government's regional investment. In total, the figure is equivalent to €2.23bn, according to the draft general state budget for 2022 presented this Wednesday in the Spanish Parliament. Once again, this figure is below Catalonia's weight in the Spanish economy (19%). Regional governments will receive €13bn (last year they received €12.1bn) if the budget for 2022 is met, that is, if all the budgeted investment is executed.