Mariano Rajoy describes "the first step" towards approval of the 2018 Budget as an "excellent message"

2017.7.11

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Lower House of Parliament, Madrid

After the vote, in the corridors of the Lower House, Mariano Rajoy highlighted that this is "good news" for both Spain and for the government. "The fact that we have approved the ceiling on spending means that we have taken the first step towards approving the Budget".

The President of the Government added that "we are consolidating the economic recovery, jobs are being created and more will be created in the future, provided that we are capable of maintaining a reasonable economic policy". In this regard, today's approval of the ceiling on spending is an excellent message for the Spanish people, for the social and economic agents, and for the markets outside of Spain", he claimed. Mariano Rajoy thanked all those groups that lent their support by voting in favour of this text.

The agreement, approved at the last Council of Ministers and defended by the Minister for the Treasury and Public Function, Cristóbal Montoro, before the Lower House of Parliament, received 175 votes in favour, 173 against and one abstention. Should it also receive the support of the Upper House in the vote to take place on Friday, 14 July, the government may then begin to draw up the draft General State Budget for 2018.

Accordingly, the deficit target of the public authorities as a whole stands at 2.2% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for 2018, at 1.3% of GDP for 2019 and at 0.5% of GDP for 2020. For its part, the limit on State non-financial spending for 2018 amounts to 119.83 billion euros, an increase of 1.5 billion euros on the limit on spending for 2017, up by 1.3%.