Projects funded by the Aragón government were reaching nearly 500,000 people, according to the latest survey cited by the Federación Aragonesa de Solidaridad (FAS). The federation says the draft regional budget for 2027 would end that support, setting the cooperation allocation at zero.
The previous approved budget included €1.45 million for international cooperation. The funding line had remained in place under administrations of different political parties for about 30 years. FAS, which brings together more than 60 organisations, says the cut is ideological rather than financially driven. El Periódico de Aragón reported that cooperation funding had already fallen from €6.2 million under the last government led by Javier Lambán to about €1.2 million in an earlier PP and Vox budget.
The draft totals €9,594.7 million, 12.3% more than the 2024 budget, which remained in force after two extensions. That is an increase of €1,048.4 million, making the proposal the largest regional budget to date. The government presented it on 4 November 2026, with cuts to personal-income and inheritance taxes and a stated principle of “national priority,” EFE reported. President Jorge Azcón has described the plan as the region’s most expansive budget and its largest in social spending, even as the cooperation allocation falls to zero. The proposal is now going through parliamentary processing in the Cortes de Aragón. It has not been enacted.
The measure was assigned to the Consejería de Desregulación, Familia y Bienestar Social, led by Vox vice-president Alejandro Nolasco. Vox had announced the cut in its agreement with the PP. El Periódico de Aragón reported that the department’s proposed budget is about €548 million, roughly €90 million, or 20%, above the last approved accounts. Nolasco has framed the budget around “national priority,” saying scarce resources should go to “our own,” a translation from Spanish. The Tarragona unit closure was a separate public-sector decision.
El Diario Aragón reported that the 184-page draft replaces the cooperation program with one titled “Voluntariado” and provides no money for international development cooperation or humanitarian aid. The report identified €130,000 in named grants under that program. Asociación por la Diversidad Funcional Las Cañas and Asociación Autismo Bajo Aragón-Matarraña are each listed for €50,000; Special Olympics is listed for €30,000. The report said none of the grants supports projects abroad. FAS warns that ending the fund could leave people without basic services the projects support, including clean water and healthcare. Its coordinator, Estrelicia Izquierdo, said the federation’s latest enquiry to member NGOs found that Aragón funding was reaching almost half a million people. Those organisations operate in 46 countries.
The federation also argues that removing the fund conflicts with Aragón’s Statute of Autonomy and the regional cooperation law. That is FAS’s legal assessment. Medicus Mundi and Aldeas Infantiles are among its members; Cáritas is also part of the federation. FAS has urged the regional government to restore development-cooperation funding, calling the proposed elimination a severe blow to international solidarity in Aragón.
