Briefing
The Coordinadora de ONGD de Castilla y León and other civil society organisations accuse the regional government made up of Partido Popular and Vox of effectively setting funding for development cooperation at zero in the 2027 draft budget. According to spokesperson Nacho Baeza the Coordinadora said on 10 November 2026 at the Cortes of Castile and León that the draft included budget lines totalling €1.9 million but that these amounts were payments for projects already approved in 2026. According to this account, no new projects were planned for 2027.
Baeza objected that the decision ran counter to the spirit and aims of the Statute of Autonomy, as well as relevant national and regional cooperation rules. He pointed to the region’s hitherto comparatively modest but impact-focused contributions, illustrated on a per-capita basis by the phrase “the price of one cola a year”, and warned of direct consequences: education and awareness-raising work, support for local partner projects and elements of humanitarian aid could be lost if funding was not reinstated.
The Socialist group said it wanted to open the Cortes as a forum for dialogue with the social sector and use the budget debate and the amendment stage to prevent or mitigate the cuts. The governing coalition said the draft contained technical accounting entries and that work was under way on improvements; however, no specific commitments to new funding had been made in public statements on 10 November 2026.
According to the information currently available, the dispute relates exclusively to the regional remit of the Junta de Castilla y León. Legal assessments of possible effects on projects already approved are still pending. Further developments depend on deliberations in the Cortes of Castile and León and the outcome of the amendments. The key question will be whether the coalition changes course or the opposition succeeds in getting changes passed.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).