The fourth vice president and Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, requested this Monday that the matter be recorded in the minutes of the General Assembly meeting. The Fiscal and Fiscal Policy Council (CPFF) indicated that there had been no bilateral talks with Catalonia to design a distinct financing system for that autonomous community.
Montero confirmed this during a press briefing after the gathering with regional Finance Ministers, where Catalonia was not fully represented by the Minister Natalia Mas, but by the general secretary Josep María Villarubia. Mas defended his absence by saying the CPFF is not a forum for debate but a venue where the central state communicates goals and sustains what he described as unfair funding for Catalonia. He also noted that the ERC agreement with the socialists includes a bilateral dialogue table with the state to discuss a unique financing model for Catalonia.
Montero stated, at another press conference, that there had been no bilateral meeting with Catalonia about the financing model. The remark referenced earlier protests from PP-led autonomies and concerns raised by Castilla-La Mancha (PSOE) amid the current crisis. While there is no certainty about future talks, the door remains open for possible new discussions given the evolving political landscape and ongoing negotiations with ERC and Junts.
Budget deficit targets for 2024
Catalonia emerged as a reluctant focal point of the meeting. The CPFF vote initiated by the Ministry of Finance, the first since July 2022, addressed the path for deficit and debt targets across autonomous communities for 2024 to 2027.
The stabilization path presented by the Finance Minister proposed a 3% GDP budget deficit for all public administrations in 2024, with 2.7% assigned to the State and 0.1% to autonomous communities. Local governments and Social Security would aim for a balanced budget and a 0.2% deficit, respectively. These targets aligned with the reference rates submitted to Brussels on October 15 by the current government.
With a 51% voting majority in the CPFF, the unfavorable stance of the 14 communities governed by the PP did not derail the government’s stabilization path.
The meeting also served to enable the Treasury to communicate with autonomous regions. In 2024, the financing system is expected to deliver a record 154.467 million euros, about 20 billion more than 2023, an increase of 14.9%. Regional funds for municipalities are projected to reach 28.557 million, a 22.6% rise from 2023.
There was no progress on the issue of forgiving regional debts. The Finance Minister announced that meetings with each region will begin in January to determine the scope of debt forgiveness, with an agreed amount of 15,000 million euros already secured for Catalonia.
Expenditure ceiling and parliamentary procedure
Following the approval of the budget deficit and debt targets by CNAL (National Local Government Commission) and CPFF, the Council of Ministers prepared to approve the spending ceiling on Tuesday, paving the way for the 2024 State Budget project.
The Council of Ministers would also formally approve the deficit and debt targets for referral to Congress and the Senate, since both chambers must endorse the stability goals.
The PP’s absolute majority in the Senate could veto the targets. Up to now, concerns lingered about the repercussions of such a veto on the approval of the State Budgets and, by extension, the budgets of autonomous communities.
Yet Montero announced a legal opinion from the State Attorney’s Office stating that if the Senate vetoes the deficit targets twice, the Stability Plan targets sent to Brussels last April would be implemented. In that scenario, autonomous communities would be required to prepare their budgets aligned with a balanced-budget objective, losing the larger spending margin a 0.1% deficit would have allowed. Montero underscored that if the PP obstructs the path to the goals, it would be tantamount to shooting at one’s own foot, since the communities governed by them would face tighter spending margins in 2024.
Concerns in the rest of the communities
Politically, the CPFF meeting was marked by the absence of Catalan parliament member Natàlia Mas. Some PP-led regions interpreted this as evidence that Treasury had already settled with Catalonia on its figures, a two-sided arrangement acknowledged by some. The Treasury Secretary noted that if an autonomous community opts not to attend, it may indicate that all pertinent work has already been completed. Extremadura’s Elena Manzano highlighted the absence of some funded regions before the session began, suggesting a perception of inequality among communities with varying levels of influence. PP councilors questioned the possibility of a singular financing model for Catalonia and the forgiveness of Catalan regional debt, while acknowledging the Government’s stance that amnesty would be extended broadly. The criteria for applying this policy remain unclear, and the minister has not provided additional details. No fresh guidance on this issue emerged during the CPFF meeting.
There were expressions of concern from socialist ranks as well. Alfonso Ruiz Molina, advisor for Castile-La Mancha (PSOE), indicated that the CPFF attended to urge the government to clarify or deny whether a unique financing model was being negotiated with Catalonia, given the claims from some independents. The analogy was offered: many here eat a daily menu while some seek an à la carte arrangement. The reasons remain unclear, considering the shared competencies across regions, Ruiz Molina remarked before the discussion.
At the session’s close, Montero asserted that there were no bilateral meetings in progress. Yet, his comments did not entirely dispel doubts about the possibility of future talks.
All told, some regional advisers left the meeting reassured while others remained cautious. Alfonso Ruiz Molina from Castile-La Mancha suggested that the minister’s remarks helped ease concerns about bilateral negotiations with Catalonia on regional financing reform. Madrid adviser Rocio Albert Lopez-Ibor (PP) added that there is no ongoing bilateral negotiation, and the minister requested that the minutes reflect this, a claim that did not fully align with statements from Catalonia’s own representative.