The government warns Vox that it will extend the budget before giving in to further demands.

PalmThe Catalan government has not forgotten the agony of reaching an agreement with Vox on the 2025 budget, which finally arrived, but seven months late. First Vice President and Minister of Finance Antoni Costa announced this Friday that he has already urged the regional ministries to approve the preliminary draft of the 2026 budget, but he also issued a warning to his only potential partner. "The 2025 budget can be extended until March 2027 if necessary: the government's intention is to approve the 2026 budget, but if it weren't approved, it wouldn't matter either," he said, insisting that the situation has changed and they will not give any more ground to the far right.

"All the citizens of the Balearic Islands know perfectly well that the government's conditions regarding the 2026 budget are not the same as those in 2025 or 2024," he emphasized. With this declaration of intent, Costa makes it clear that, having passed the halfway point of the legislature, the PP is not willing to accept any more demands from the far right on sensitive issues (such as language), and warns that Vox will have to lower its expectations. "We are processing the bill with complete calm, with the desire to reach agreements," he said. "If we don't achieve that, we will extend the budget," he insisted. "We will manage a prorogued budget, period."

The PP is still searching for a formula to introduce the demands Vox put on the table in exchange for approving the second legislative budget. The repeal of the Democratic Memory Law is the first concession Vox has demanded compliance with, and it is already being processed in Parliament. However, other issues remain, such as the amendment to the Education Law to introduce the vehicular use of Spanish, the modification of the rules for accessing the Guaranteed Social Income (which will exclude newcomers), and the rejection of the European Green Deal.

A higher spending ceiling

The First Vice President has announced that, if approved, the spending ceiling for 2026 would be higher than the 2025 ceiling, at €6.5629 billion. The Executive's current approach is to put the far right on the ropes with high budgets and reduce its negotiating power.