The 2023 State General Budget (PGE) was automatically extended for the third time this January 1st. This occurs while Pedro Sánchez’s government prepares to present and attempt to pass new public accounts for the 2026 fiscal year in Parliament during the first half of the year—an outcome that, at this stage, appears unlikely.
During the final Cabinet meeting of 2025, the Government approved an agreement establishing the application criteria for the 2026 extension of the 2023 Budget. These accounts, approved during the previous legislature, remain in effect because no new budgets were passed in 2024 or 2025.
What the Executive does have ready is the non-financial spending limit for the 2026 State Budget—commonly known as the “spending ceiling”—which has reached a record €216.177 billion. However, the deficit and debt targets for public administrations have already been rejected by Congress.
