The Government has called this Monday November 17 to the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council (CPFF) with the objective of agreeing on the path of budget stability 2026-2028 with the autonomous communities, within the framework of the preparation of the General State Budgets (PGE) of 2026.
This is the first formal step of the budget calendar. As reported by Europa Press, the first vice president and Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, has confirmed that the Council of Ministers will approve this Tuesday the limit of non-financial spending of the State, known as the ‘expenditure ceiling’, along with the objectives of budget stability, deficit and public debt, for subsequent referral to the Cortes Generales.
The status of the reform of the regional financing system will also be debated, although its substantive discussion will be moved to future meetings.
The ‘expenditure ceiling’ is key for public accounts
The ‘spending ceiling’ defines the limit of non-financial public spending that the State can assume in the next financial year and serves as the basis for preparing the Budgets. “It is the first step, because it allows us to know the economic capacity that the different administrations will have,” said Montero.
Once approved by the Government, the next step will be to achieve the support of Congress for the path of stability, a necessary condition for the Executive to be able to formally present the 2026 Budget project.
Junts threatens to block accounts again
The Government will have to overcome the current parliamentary blockade, after Junts will announce that it will reject the path of stability if last year’s path, already overturned by the Cortes, is repeated. “If he presents the same thing, he will have the same vote that he had last year,” warned the group’s spokesperson, Míriam Nogueras, insisting on the need for more resources for the autonomous communities.
This new budget attempt comes after a blank year, since the public accounts for 2025 were not processed and those for 2024 were cut short due to the early elections in Catalonia.
Despite the difficulties, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has reiterated his desire to exhaust the legislature until 2027, with or without new Budgets. “We will continue to move forward with a clear roadmap,” he stated recently, minimizing the impact of Junts’ rejection.