The electoral advance in Catalonia announced on Wednesday afternoon set off a first ripple with Valencian implications: a sharp narrowing of possibilities to push through reform of the Autonomic Financing System in a legislature already troubled by more twists ahead. And this is not the only consequence. Within hours of Catalan President Pere Aragonès revealing plans to call elections on May 12, the government decided not to draft the 2024 General State Budget law, a cornerstone for public policy that, when delayed, amplifies the Catalan shock across the Valencian Community.
The budget law is the instrument that codifies how resources are distributed through the financing system to different territories. By year-end, the government had told the Generalitat that 2024 would bring 12.555 billion euros via this channel. But with no General State Budget for the current year, those projections stay frozen and 2023 figures, which already showed an 8 percent rise, remain in effect and imply about one billion euros less for the Valencian Community this year.
To avoid creating gaps for the autonomies, many of which already have approved budgets based on these income estimates, the government confirmed to this newspaper that planned amounts would be updated. Officials explained that additional advances will rise in 2024 as promised by the administration. They noted that unlike the PP government, the Pedro Sánchez administration has already shown in 2019 that it is possible to adjust advances to match budget projections even when budgets are prorogued.
However, the mechanism for this update remains unclear, and timing is uncertain. In line with past practice, it is recalled that in 2019 a royal decree was used to align transfers with the levels set by accounts that were not approved. That decree was validated late in the year, causing regions to endure strict limits for almost the entire year.
The Consell blames the delay on the weakness of Sánchez
From the Consell, officials insist they continue receiving the same monthly funding from the financing system as in 2023. The finance minister criticized the budget delay as a sign of weakness in the government and urged the socialist leadership to take charge and push forward with the budget plans despite political tensions.
In that stance, the council member lamented that postponing the budgets means the government will not deliver a leveling fund designed to give underfunded communities the same resources as the regional average while the financing system reform is addressed. This mechanism had been proposed by the Consell and had already been cooled by the minister, which eliminates it at least until 2025 due to the absence of approved budgets.
From Ivie, researchers welcomed the decision to update the advances. They argued that delaying updates would have created an asymmetry where the state would hold funds that do not reach the autonomous regions, potentially widening gaps in local finance. A prominent Ivie analyst pointed to the need for timely adjustments to prevent systemic underfunding from dragging on into the year.
The private sector and union leaders expressed frustration over the new delay, warning that Alicante could bear the brunt. The Valencian Employers Confederation and Uepal criticized the political paralysis and the impact on the province’s investment climate. The Alicante chamber president argued that delaying the General State Budget for 2024 keeps the province at the rear of the investment path, intensifying the deficit in infrastructure projects such as coastal rail links, the Mediterranean Corridor, improvements to the Alicante-Elche rail line, the third rail on the A-70 highway, and a second runway at the airport.
Uepal warned that political paralysis and the budget delay threaten the province’s future and called for urgent measures to correct the investment shortfall this year to preserve competitiveness. The head of Chamber Alicante branded the budget extension as a stab in the back for the province and described it as the worst budget extension in Alicante’s history. The Ineca president called the delay irresponsible, predicting that the province will slide to the bottom of investment rankings again, unless extraordinary investment policies are adopted this year to counter the persistent shortfalls.
Labor unions reflected a similar view. They argued that the province remains underfunded and needs solid General State Budgets to guarantee high-quality public services. Leaders from UGT and Comisiones Obreras stressed that infrastructure investments, including commuter services and the Mediterranean Corridor, are essential to restore balance and improve regional productivity. The overall message from these groups centers on immediate action to prevent further erosion of funding for Alicante and neighboring areas.