Junts per Catalunya has confirmed it will oppose the government’s proposed deficit targets in Congress, adding a new obstacle to Pedro Sánchez’s plans to pass the next State Budget. Led by Carles Puigdemont, the party said on Monday it would vote against the deficit path in the plenary session. The decision threatens the government’s fiscal agenda for the coming year. The dispute reached a decisive point on 23 July 2026, when Congress rejected the stability objectives for a third time, with opposition from the Partido Popular and Vox joined by Junts.
Josep Rius, Junts’ national spokesperson, said the party’s stance reflects what it sees as insufficient flexibility for regional spending. The Ministry of Finance’s proposal would cap regional expenditure growth at 4% and set a maximum deficit of 0.1% for the next three years, terms Rius called unacceptable. He also criticized the lack of deficit margin for municipalities, saying the government had failed to hold meaningful negotiations with Junts in Madrid. The 0.1% limit was the basic point of contention in the rejected fiscal path, which left the autonomous communities little room to plan spending on public services.
The dispute goes beyond the deficit vote. Junts has also announced plans to submit a full amendment to the upcoming law on regional financing, joining the Partido Popular and Vox in challenging the government’s approach. The party intends to use the amendment to seek a fiscal arrangement for Catalonia similar to those of Spain’s charter-based territories. Rius accused other Catalan parties, particularly ERC, of watering down their commitments to tax management and Catalonia’s fiscal autonomy. The deficit targets and the regional financing reform are separate issues, but both have become part of a wider dispute over revenue distribution and tax administration, including how fiscal room is divided among basic, regional and local government.
Last December, Junts voted against the government’s deficit proposal, helping bring down the previous budget attempt. Rius blamed the current impasse on what he described as Pedro Sánchez’s electoral motivations, claiming the government is more interested in political maneuvering than updating the budget structure in place since 2023. He warned that if early elections are called, Sánchez will be responsible for undermining the coalition that enabled his investiture. The Ministry of Finance resubmitted the same fiscal path on 21 July 2026, before Congress rejected it two days later. The move showed the government was still trying to keep its budget timetable on track despite the opposition.
The government recently set a record spending ceiling of €226.032 billion, a step that does not require parliamentary approval. The deficit targets, but, must pass through Congress. If the vote fails, the executive will have one month to present new objectives. The ministry’s non-financial spending ceiling sits within a broader structure covering public-debt objectives and the expenditure rule, alongside the State’s spending limit. Those measures are monitored separately from monthly deficit execution figures for the State, regional administrations and other public-sector subsectors.
Official Ministry of Finance figures put the State deficit at 1.30% of GDP at the end of June 2026, equivalent to a financing requirement of €23.210 billion. That figure concerns the basic State, not the 0.1% deficit margin proposed for the autonomous communities. The distinction reflects Spain’s multi-level public-finance system: Congress is debating how fiscal capacity is divided among administrations, while the June figure records the basic State’s budget execution. The ministry’s stability-monitoring structure covers the Budgetary Stability Law and debt objectives, as well as the expenditure rule and the State’s non-financial spending limit.
The parliamentary group led by Miriam Nogueras is also preparing to challenge the regional financing law as it moves through the Council of Fiscal and Financial Policy and the Council of Ministers. After Congress rejected the deficit path, the government faced an unusual procedural question: could it keep preparing the State Budget without congressional approval of the stability objectives? Reporting cited the State Attorney’s Office as supporting the possibility of continuing the process, while the government signalled it intended to proceed. The episode put pressure on the budget calendar and on regional financing negotiations.
Junts’ push for a new fiscal model for Catalonia comes amid wider debate over Spain’s regional funding system. The party argues that only a concerted shift toward greater fiscal autonomy can address what it calls the “fiscal deficit” suffered by Catalonia. The dispute reflects persistent tension between the central government and regional actors over budgetary control and tax management, alongside the distribution of public resources. Spain’s regional financing system has long been a source of political friction, with Catalonia and other communities seeking greater control over their finances. The votes in Congress will shape the State Budget’s immediate prospects and the wider balance of power between Madrid and the autonomous regions.
