The 2008 crisis led the European Union to adopt a very strict fiscal policy, resulting in strong cuts in all countries, but especially in southern Europe: Especially Greece, Italy, Spain and France. The European Union made its policy of managing public budgets more flexible in order to facilitate the outbreak of the crisis and boost economic growth after the worst moments of the crisis, especially after the pandemic.

However, the European Union is going to implement new policies by 2025. In Spain, for example, the Independent Tax Liability Authority (Airef) has announced that Spain’s public budgets for the coming years will not grow more than 2.7%. According to this body, public spending in Spain is currently at 105% of GDP and if nothing is done it would rise to 113% in 2038. It is therefore essential to adjust public spending and by that date I would like to leave public spending at 80%; the EU is more demanding and its objective is to leave spending at 60% and the public deficit below 3%.

This will have significant consequences for all public administrations. So, they either cut or increase revenue, and in the face of that dilemma, most administrations decide to reduce it, because the main way to increase revenue is tax reform, but that lure almost nobody wants to bite.

Cutbacks forecast in Navarre

The independent body of the Spanish Ministry of Finance, Airef, has already made two communications to the Government of Navarra to inform it that too much is being spent in recent months. And although the Government of Navarra has said that these warnings are generic, they will be effective and as a result of the new policies the budget for 2025 is expected to increase by 1% (the 2024 was 10% more than the 2023). The 2024 figure is EUR 5.836 million and is expected to be EUR 5.829 million next year.

According to News Journal journalist Ibai Fernández, councils with a high number of jobs will not have cuts in their budgets, such as the departments of Interior, Public Service and Justice or those of Education and Health. Of the three, they have a budget of more than EUR 2 billion, which is more than a third.

For most other departments, and always according to the forecast made by the quoted newspaper, the forecast is bad: Housing, youth and migration policies will be the ones with the largest cut (from EUR 125 million to EUR 86 million, -31.5 million). Culture, Sport and Tourism - 17.4% - Memory and Coexistence, External Action and the Basque Country - 13.6% - Industry and Ecological and Digital Transition of Companies - 11.8% - Presidency and Equality - 6.4% - University, Innovation and Digital Transformation - 4.4%.