MADRID, 23 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) -
The fourth vice president of the Government and Minister of Finance and Public Function, María Jesús Montero, hopes to have the General State Budgets (PGE) approved for 2024 throughout the first quarter of the year with the support of the PSOE partners in Congress, since his support for public accounts "was part of the conversations" of the investiture pacts.
"It was part of the conversations that the accounts had to be successively approved and specifically those for the year 2024. But before a bill enters the Chamber we have to talk to them to see that the commitments that they made are actually fulfilled. The agreements also stated that they had to be reflected in the Budgets," Montero stated in statements to TVE reported by Europa Press.
Thus, the minister has stressed that they will speak with each of the parliamentary groups and hopes that the processing of the PGE "will go as quickly as possible" so that in the first quarter of the year the accounts will be approved.
Montero recalled that the Official State Gazette (BOE) publishes this Thursday the Order with the rules for the preparation of next year's Budgets, and in which "tasks are set" for the different ministries.
"First it requires that each of the departments study their priorities and be able to incorporate into our database, into our system, all the items they would like to have next year. Then, the Ministry of Finance "You have to do the work, which is the really intense work, of determining which of all those elements are the ones that are going to mark the budget lines. We are right at that moment," he explained.
Subsequently, he added, contacts will begin with the parliamentary groups to ensure the processing of the Budget and to report the spending ceiling to both the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council (CPFF) and the different Chambers.
"So we are at full capacity and right now analyzing all the priorities," said the fourth vice president, who highlighted that the green light from Brussels for the Budget Plan of the Government of Spain is "very important", since countries such as Germany, France and Italy "yes they have found some inconvenience on the part of the European Union."
Montero has assured that the 2024 Budgets "will be well-being, progress, and capacity so that citizens can continue improving and can continue moving forward."
Regarding the recovery of fiscal rules in 2024 and the need to reduce the public deficit, Montero has assured that economic growth will be used to absorb the downward path of the deficit and debt.
"The Government has scrupulously complied during the previous years, despite the pandemics, despite the war and all the incidents we have had, there has been exemplary behavior on the part of public finances, which allows for the year that comes, we are around 3% and Spain has been one of the few countries that has passed the Brussels filter without any problem regarding how the public accounts are going to be formulated," he noted.
The minister continued explaining that prioritizing items very well, eliminating inefficient expenses and taking advantage of the increase in income will contribute to reducing the deficit and debt, "in addition to addressing emerging needs that may arise due to the different programs and also the continuation of the war in Ukraine".
Asked if the Government will maintain the tax reductions on electricity and gas bills, the minister stressed that the economic area is "monitoring" how both growth and inflation will behave next year and that a decision will be made. what measures are extended (some have already been announced) close to their expiration date (December 31 of this year).
"It must be said that Spain is at the head of the growth of the eurozone countries and this means that for next year we have a strong economy, a solid economy that will provide us with greater income and this is what is important for the time to formulate the Budgets," said Montero.
