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Euractiv
4 hours ago
- Euractiv
Spain still runs on 2023 budget as Sánchez breaks unwanted fiscal record
Spain has never missed two consecutive budget presentations since in 1975. Now it may miss a third Euractiv is part of the Trust Project Inés Fernández-Pontes Euractiv Aug 14, 2025 13:00 3 min. read News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Spain enters the summer recess without a 2026 budget, and no clear path to one, for the third year in a row, as domestic troubles for Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez continue to pile up. Before packing his bag for his retreat in the Canary Islands, Sánchez promised that his government would submit the 2026 budget proposal. But Finance Minister María Jesús Montero walked back expectations last week, saying a draft would only be tabled if there were 'prior political consensus," which no one in Madrid is currently betting on. That means Spain is on course to miss its budget deadline for the third year in a row, this time because Catalan pro-independence parties and the far-left Podemos are threatening to block the plan before it even reaches parliament. The ordinary budget process normally begins in mid-June. The 'new' normal Spain has never missed two consecutive budget presentations since the restoration of democracy in 1975. Now, Sánchez will go down in history for missing it three times. Faced with another year of deadlock, Sánchez has leaned heavily on the 2023 spending plan – the largest in history – rolling it over again and again to keep the state running. In 2024, he bypassed the budget process, citing the Catalan regional elections, while in 2025, his government took a more forthright approach, arguing it would not even 'waste time' on a doomed budget. For now, Sánchez insists that Spain can function under the 2023 budget due to its generous scope. But José E. Boscá, economics professor and researcher at Fedea, called the situation 'highly unusual.' Without updated fiscal projections, he said, the state must resort to 'extraordinary mechanisms,' which lead to inefficiencies, policy delays, and underfunding of regions and municipalities. Centre-right opposition Popular Party has also accused the government of mismanagement and repeatedly demanded that Sánchez call elections to overcome Madrid's parliamentary deadlock. 'How can a country function with a budget that is three years out of date?' asked a PP party spokesperson. 'Regional governments don't even know how much money they'll receive.' A high-cost budget The delay reflects deeper political fractures. Sánchez's minority government depends on Catalan pro-independence parties and far-left Podemos, whose support remains more than uncertain. 'There will be no budgets in Catalonia and Spain until the government fulfils its commitments regarding tax collection, personal income tax, and the financing model," left-wing ERC president Oriol Junqueras warned the press last month. Right-wing separatist party Junts, meanwhile, is calling for payment of a supposed €50 billion debt to the region, full implementation of the controversial amnesty law, and Catalan's inclusion in the EU's list of official languages. Neither party responded to Euractiv's request for comment. Meanwhile, Podemos has repeatedly warned Sánchez that increasing defence spending in the 2026 budget is a red line the party is not willing to cross. Ironically, Sánchez, as opposition leader, once demanded the resignation of then-Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy for failing to present a budget. 'Without a budget, you can't govern,' he said then. With the opposition now calling for his head for failing to present a budget for the third consecutive year, it seems that Sánchez has come full circle. (cs, mm) Euractiv is part of the Trust Project
Euractiv
21 hours ago
- Euractiv
OpenAI wants US-wide AI rules with an eye on Europe's rulebook
The company says it wants federal AI rules to avoid 'a patchwork of state rules' Euractiv is part of the Trust Project Maximilian Henning Euractiv Aug 13, 2025 15:00 2 min. read News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. OpenAI is urging California, a trendsetter in US regulation, to align its AI rules with existing national or international frameworks, including the EU's, to avoid conflicting regulations across the country. The EU passed its AI Act last year and introduced a voluntary Code of Practice for providers of large AI models, a non-binding framework signed by almost all major US and European companies, including OpenAI. In a letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom, OpenAI said the state should treat AI companies as compliant with its own rules if they have signed up to the EU's code, or if they work with the US's federal AI Centre. In the letter, OpenAI's chief lobbyist Christopher Lehane recommended policies 'that avoid duplication and inconsistencies' with those of similar democratic regimes. In a blog post accompanying the letter, the company warned the US must choose between setting clear national standards for AI and 'a patchwork of state rules', adding: 'Imagine how hard it would have been to win the Space Race if California's aerospace and tech industries had been tangled in state-by-state regulations'. At a US Senate hearing in May, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said having 50 different regulatory regimes would be 'quite bad' and warned that adopting the EU's approach to AI regulation would be 'disastrous', instead calling for a 'light touch' federal approach. California, the most populous and wealthiest US state, often seeks to set an example for others through its regulation. But tensions over AI rules between Washington and state capitals have been brewing for some time. At the start of July, the US Senate scrapped a decade-long ban on state-level AI laws from President Donald Trump's broad budget bill. Weeks later, the Trump administration published an AI Action Plan seeking to block federal funding for AI in states with 'burdensome AI regulations'. (de)
Euractiv
a day ago
- Euractiv
Commission targets reform of its food chain rules in 2026
Some farmer organisations have called on Brussels to tighten up the rules and ban sales below production cost Euractiv is part of the Trust Project Maria Simon Arboleas Euractiv Aug 13, 2025 13:52 2 min. read News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The European Commission is preparing an overhaul of legislation on unfair trading practices (UTPs) to prevent farmers from selling below production cost. The EU executive announced this week that it will launch a consultation on the revision this autumn with the aim of presenting a proposal a year later. In his blueprint for the agri-food sector, EU farm chief Christophe Hansen promised that the Commission would overhaul the UTPs directive to address one of farmers' key concerns: not covering production costs. Not everyone welcomed the announcement, with EU supermarket lobby Eurocommerce saying that the Commission should not have pre-empted the outcome of the ongoing evaluation of the rules, due to be completed in November. The directive currently distinguishes between 'black' and 'grey' unfair market practices – the former being unconditionally prohibited, such as payment delays of one month, and the latter permitted if agreed between parties, such as the return of unsold products. Some farmer organisations have long called on Brussels to tighten up the rules by including the purchase of agricultural products below production cost in one of the two categories. Countries including Belgium, Croatia, France and Spain have similar measures in place. But in a debate at the Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA) in June, member states could not agree on what to do with the colour scheme. In parallel, EU lawmakers are currently working on a 'quick fix' to the UTPs directive that the Commission proposed last December. The goal is to ensure cross-border enforcement and tackle international purchasing alliances. The Council reached an agreement on the proposal in April and the Parliament's AGRI committee adopted its position last month. MEPs wants to kick-start institutional talks as soon as the plenary gives its green light in September. (jp) CORRECTION: This story's headline has been changed to reflect the fact that the legislation is due to land in late 2026.
