The General State Budgets (PGE) are once again in the eye of the hurricane once the rise in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Spain in the third quarter has been confirmed. This indicator marks an increase of 0.6%, reducing by two tenths and moderating the year-on-year advance to 2.8%. Although the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez assured that there would be PGE in 2026the president of AIReF, Cristina Herrero, has pointed out that “you cannot live forever on an extended budget.”
In this way, the Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility has considered that this budget must have a “temporary vocation” since each year that passes with the extended accounts there is “less flexibility” to adapt to this reality.
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Extend the PGE, as the president of this organization has indicated in statements collected by Europa Presshas indicated that it is well planned with the intention of not paralyzing the administration and being able to give continuity to public policies. “Now, it must have a clear temporal vocation,” he said.
The project for the 2026 PGE has not been presented, nor has the budget plan, so The Government has passed the legally stipulated dates. In the last Council of Ministers, the minister spokesperson, Pilar Alegría, announced that the first meetings with the Autonomous Communities in order to advance in the presentation of these public accounts.
The presentation of the budget and debt stability objectives of the Autonomous Communities (CCAA) in the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council, which is accompanied by the report on the Spanish economic situation, has not yet materialized. And that is where the reference rates are collected for the purposes of the national spending rule.
Regional administrations do not need more margin in the deficit rate
In order to set the reference objectives for the Autonomous Communities, which will be debated in the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council, Herrero has considered that the regional administrations do not need more margin with respect to the deficit rate proposed by the Treasury last year and which was not approved (0.1% for the years 2026 and 2027).
“With the forecasts we have that point to a budget balance in 2026 and with the national spending rule, it does not seem that the subsector as a whole needs a higher deficit objective,” said Herrero, although he warned that there are important differences between Autonomous Communities.
For its part, Junts has warned that if they plan to recover the same objectives as last year, they will reject them again.
Europe proposes changing the regulation of budget plans
The president of AIReF has indicated that the Government has not presented for the second consecutive year the budget plan that it must send to the European institutions before October 15. “It would be the second year of non-compliance with the obligation that exists at this time to send a budget plan to the European institutions, whether there is a national budget or not.”
Until now, as Herrero points out, the delay in sending the budget plan to Brussels is only allowed when the country was immersed in an electoral process or government formation. These issues have happened in several countries in the year 2025 and they have presented the plan later, contrary to what has been done in Spain.
But, from the AIReF they have said that the reform of the regulation of the budget plans is being considered and what is known is that the option of more flexible interpretation is opened in its submission.
In the event that a country cannot carry out the project, the sending of the Budget Plan is changed to a technical dialogue between members and the commission. “We don’t like it,” Herrero concluded.