The Government of Spain reaffirms its support for the Valencian Community and remains ready to collaborate on reconstruction efforts

Moncloa Palace, Madrid

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, greets the President of the Valencian Generalitat, Juan Francisco Pérez Llorca (Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa)

The president reaffirmed the Government's continued support for the Valencian Community and its commitment, as it has demonstrated from the outset, to continue working in coordination with the Valencian Government and other administrations until the reconstruction efforts following the devastating DANA storm are complete.

This was stated by the Minister for Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres, who addressed the media at a press conference following the meeting, which he described as "productive" and "cordial".

Torres stressed that the Government of Spain has stood with the Valencian Community from the beginning and recalled that, faced with exceptional circumstances such as the DANA storm, the Executive carried out ongoing and unique coordination with the Generalitat (Valencian Government) and the various administrations involved from the outset. This is evidenced by the presence of ministers at the CECOPI (Provincial Coordination Centre for Infrastructure and Emergency Response) meetings, as well as bilateral meetings between ministers and their counterparts in the Valencian Government.

The Government continues to support this coordination, Torres explained, and for this reason, the head of the Executive has proposed to Pérez Llorca the creation of a Joint Commission comprised of representatives from all affected municipalities, the Government, the Generalitat, and the Provincial Council of Valencia. This body must adhere to two fundamental principles: loyalty and accountability.

The minister stressed that 8 out of every 10 euros that have arrived from public administrations to the Valencian Community to tackle the reconstruction have come from the General State Administration, and that €8.942 billion have been transferred to this community by the Government of Spain in aid and subsidies, to which must be added the €7.469 billion that have come from the Insurance Compensation Consortium. He also mentioned infrastructure projects totalling €681 million and another €791 million in guarantees and ICO (Official Credit Institute) funds.

Regional financing, water and housing

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, together with the President of the Valencian Government, Juan Francisco Pérez Llorca | Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

On the subject of financing, the president informed Pérez Llorca that the Government of Spain "has the will, the intention, and the commitment" to present a proposal for the regional financing system to the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council in the first quarter of 2026, as the Minister for Finance had previously announced. "We hope that this proposal will be supported by the autonomous communities" and that each of them "will defend the criteria they consider valid in that body, in order to then reach a consensus among all and take it to the Lower House of Parliament", Torres explained.

In this regard, the minister pointed out that regional financing also encompasses the management of taxes by the autonomous communities, because some "request more resources from the Government of Spain, while at the same time withdrawing revenue from their own accounts, scrapping inheritance tax, or making it easier for the wealthy to reduce their tax burden, which is necessary to maintain the welfare state".

Ángel Víctor Torres emphasised that the Valencian Community will receive 9.1% more funding from the Government of Spain in 2026 and is the region that has received the third largest debt reduction, at €11.21 billion, which could be used for essential services. Therefore, he considered it "incomprehensible" that some autonomous communities are saying they will reject this debt reduction and expressed confidence that they will ultimately accept this measure. He also stressed that Parliament's' rejection of the deficit target presented by the Government has meant €509 million less for the Valencian Community between 2026 and 2028.

They also discussed water policy, an issue on which Sánchez has asked the president of the Generalitat to join the State Pact to tackle the Climate Emergency proposed by the Executive, while also pointing to desalination as a stable, permanent, and sustainable solution.

Finally, regarding housing, the head of the Executive asked Pérez Llorca to join the proposal for co-financing housing for the autonomous communities put forward by the Government, as other communities have done.

Non official translation