Barcelona, the Catalan government has approved its 2026 budget project, a step that gives Salvador Illa his first viable budget since taking office more than 18 months ago.
The approval came after agreements reached in recent days secured support from ERC and Comuns. Economy Minister Alícia Romero is now due to present the budget project to Parliament for debate and expected approval in the first week of July.
This is a significant moment for the Catalan legislature, because it gives the government a clearer path through the rest of the parliamentary term. For broader coverage of regional political developments, see our news page.
The extraordinary meeting of the Executive Council gave the green light to the budget on Friday, 22 May 2026, at 9am. Around 10am, Romero was scheduled to deliver the bill to Parliament President Josep Rull, after which the Parliament Bureau was expected to admit it for processing.
Romero was also due to explain the main figures and key lines of the budget to parliamentary groups in a meeting with spokespersons, before holding a press conference to set out more details. Later, some parliamentary groups were expected to give their first assessments of the accounts.
The expected timetable points to a final vote in the Catalan chamber during the plenary session from 30 June to 2 July, unless a group asks for a ruling from the Council of Statutory Guarantees, which could delay the vote by about a month.
Once the Bureau accepts the budget, ministers are expected to appear before committees to explain their departments’ figures between Tuesday and Friday of the following week. Parliamentary groups then have ten days to table amendments to the whole budget, followed by 20 days to negotiate amendments to the articles before the final vote in early July.
