The Congress debates this Tuesday the write-off of €18.791 billion of debt to Andalucía. The Government urges the Junta to accept the reduction, which would nearly halve its liabilities and free up €1.092 billion in spending margin.
The full Congress of Deputies is debating this Tuesday the Organic Law project of exceptional financial sustainability measures for the autonomous communities of the common regime. The regulation includes the write-off of regional debt incurred with state financing mechanisms, a measure that directly affects Andalucía.
According to sources from the Ministry of Finance, the write-off planned for Andalucía amounts to €18.791 billion. This amount would reduce the regional debt by 49% compared to the end of 2023, leaving it at approximately half. The Government estimates that, in addition, the community would save €1.163 billion in interest payments.
The central Executive argues that the write-off would allow Andalucía to increase its spending margin by €1.092 billion. This money, they claim, could be allocated to health, education or other public services. "It will free up resources to dedicate to the welfare state," officials from the Ministry of Finance state.
The bill also includes the validation of the Council of Ministers' agreement on the objectives of budgetary stability and public debt for the administrations, as well as the limit on non-financial expenditure in the state budget for 2027.
Technical criteria and distribution
The same sources defend that the methodology for calculating the write-off is based on "objective, transparent, technical criteria that are the same for all communities." Of the total €83.252 billion that the State would assume across Spain, nearly €60 billion corresponds to communities governed by the PP, so "seven out of every ten euros written off benefit citizens in PP regions," they emphasize.
The Government also highlights that Andalucía is receiving a record funding of €30.678 billion this year, 61.6% more than in 2018, the last year of Mariano Rajoy's Government. They add that the debt write-off is compatible with the future reform of the autonomous financing model, and that for Andalucía it would mean an additional €4.846 billion in that new framework.
Rejection from the Andalusian PP
The Government delegate in Andalucía, Pedro Fernández, has criticized the PP's stance, which is expected to vote against the stability path and the write-off. "The deputies of Moreno Bonilla voting against the stability path does have an impact on the budgets of the Junta de Andalucía, it means renouncing, no more and no less, to almost €1.100 billion for merely partisan interests," he stated.
Fernández described the rejection of the write-off as a "show of arrogance from the Andalusian PP," a decision he attributes to a "merely partisan interest and not for the interests of the Andalusians." According to the delegate, accepting the write-off would benefit those who "most need public services to have good healthcare or study under the best conditions."
For their part, sources from the Ministry of Finance consider the opposition of the Popular Group in Congress to be "incomprehensible" to measures that, they assert, would provide a direct benefit to Andalusian citizens. The total debate of the law is held this Tuesday and its processing will continue in the coming weeks.
You may also like
