Extension Confirmed Ahead of 29 November Poll
The Generalitat will be forced to extend its current budget into 2027, as negotiations with coalition partners ERC and Comuns have stalled ahead of the 29th November regional elections. Economy Minister Alícia Romero confirmed the extension during remarks to ARA following the Economists' Day event in Barcelona on Friday 13th November 2026. With the electoral campaign now underway, formal talks on the 2027 budget have been suspended. The government will operate under an extension decree from 1st January 2027, which legally allows the continuation of public services and administrative functions based on 2026 spending levels.
Impact on Public Spending and Reforms
Under the extension, initial expenditure credits for all Generalitat departments and public sector bodies will continue, except for programmes scheduled to end by 31st December 2026. This marks the fourth consecutive year that Catalonia’s budget has been extended beyond the legal deadline of 31st December in the preceding year. The last on-time approval was in 2022. Since then, budgets have been delayed, with the 2023 accounts only ratified in March 2023 and subsequent years relying on extensions until July 2026, when the current budget came into force.
We do not want the budget to be used for electoralist purposes.
The early election call has also halted progress on two major financial initiatives: a new financing model expected to bring €4.686 billion in additional annual funding from 2027, and the proposed forgiveness of €17.104 billion in debt from the Autonomous Liquidity Fund (FLA), which would have saved over €200 million per year in financial costs.
Financing Model and Credit Supplements
The proposed new financing system, detailed on the Generalitat’s official portal, aims to increase Catalonia’s resource sufficiency and financial autonomy. It includes greater fiscal co-responsibility and ends the reliance on state advances. Catalonia would receive 22.3% of the €20.975 billion the state plans to inject into the system, placing it third in funding per adjusted population. In the absence of a full budget, the government has relied on credit supplements to address funding gaps. In 2025, these included a €2.168 billion and a €1.301 billion supplement. The most recent, in 2026, added €467.9 million, bringing the total supplementary funding to €3.9367 billion for the extended 2023-based budget. These supplements are financed by higher-than-expected revenues, primarily from the state financing system, including the 2025 advance and 2023 settlement.
Sources: Ara, Generalitat de Catalunya, barcelonapress.com.
