Complaint Filed Over Post-Event Funding Approval
On Tuesday 10th November 2026, the People's Party (PP) municipal group in Barcelona formally lodged a complaint with the Office for Anti-Fraud of Catalonia, calling for an investigation into a €168,500 subsidy granted by Mayor Jaume Collboni’s administration to the trade union UGT. The funding supported the 44th Federal Congress of UGT, held at the Barcelona International Convention Centre (CCIB) from 25th to 27th November 2024. The core of the complaint, signed by PP municipal group president Daniel Sirera and obtained by El Periódico, centres on the timing of the approval. The City Council’s Government Commission, chaired by Collboni, did not authorise the subsidy until 24th December 2024–27 days after the congress concluded.
Questions Over Legality of 'Advance' Payment
The PP challenges the classification of the payment as an advance, given the event had already taken place. In their filing, they ask: "It is necessary to clarify how a delivery agreed upon when the subsidized activity had already ended could be classified and justified as an advance payment." The subsidy covered 9.62% of the congress’s total budget of €1,752,054 and was charged to the 2024 municipal budget. It was granted under a procedure of "direct award and on an exceptional basis," bypassing a public tender, which the Council justified on grounds of public interest.
Demand for Full Financial Review
The PP is requesting that the anti-fraud office examine the complete subsidy file, including technical, legal, and economic reports, accounting documents, and expense justifications. According to the municipal agreement, UGT was required to submit an activity report, economic justification, and an audit report within three months of the project’s completion. The party wants to verify whether these obligations were fulfilled, whether the expenses were actually incurred, and whether other public or private contributions might have resulted in over-financing.
Public documentation also does not allow us to know what singular circumstances made a public tender objectively difficult,
the complaint states, adding that it seeks clarity on what specific benefits for Barcelona justified the funding and what measurable outcomes were expected. The original subsidy agreement was approved between the City Council and UGT on 29th December 2023, as confirmed in the municipal repository BCNROC, and published in the Gaseta Municipal de Barcelona on 9th January 2024.
Union Event Tied to Broader Municipal Agreements
The funding falls under broader collaboration agreements between the City Council and social entities. Similar agreements, including past subsidies to UGT and other unions like Comissions Obreres, are publicly accessible via the BCNROC repository. The decision to grant this particular subsidy was formalised during the Government Commission session of 24th December 2024. The Office for Anti-Fraud of Catalonia has not yet announced whether it will open a formal investigation.
Sources: El Periódico.
