The Consejo de Política Fiscal y Financiera on 4 September 2026 approved the reform of financing for the Autonomous Communities put forward by the Ministerio de Hacienda According to the information provided, approval came from Cataluña and Canarias; most of the other regions voted against. In parallel, the Finance Ministry announced the creation of an additional equalisation fund outside the new system. It is intended to support those territories that, under the reform, receive per capita funding below the national average.
According to Hacienda, the instrument will take into account criteria such as Depopulation, reindustrialisation, digitalisation, the impact of Tourism and the existing forest area. No binding details have yet been provided on the fund’s exact size or distribution mechanism. The government puts the total additional state funding for the Autonomous Communities under the reform at around 21 billion euros. According to the government, beneficiaries include Cataluña and regions such as Andalucía and Comunidad Valenciana; other territories, however, fear relative disadvantages and are therefore calling for supplementary compensation.
The ministry also points to a safeguard clause intended to ensure that, at the outset, no Autonomous Community receives less funding than it would have been entitled to under the previous model. Several regional governments nevertheless criticised the process and complained of prior political agreements. They withheld their approval at the CPFF and called for more precise details on the scale, duration and criteria of the announced equalisation instrument.
Politically, the decision marks a delicate balance between a substantial increase in resources and changed distribution ratios. Supporters point to greater fiscal capacity for the regions, while opponents highlight possible unequal treatment and the need for transparent criteria. Economically, it remains unclear how much weight factors such as the burden of tourism or depopulation will carry in the allocation of funds. Placing the new instrument outside the system could also trigger further debate over predictability and its classification under budget law.
The facts: the CPFF took its decision on 4 September 2026; the additional fund was announced at the same meeting. The Ministerio de Hacienda has yet to finalise specific amounts or the operational arrangements for the equalisation instrument.
Editor: Daniel Mayer (Article created with AI assistance).