The Minister of Territory, Housing and Ecological Transition of the Generalitat, Sílvia Paneque, has placed some of the "main challenges" that most concern citizens within her department, including housing, the modernization of infrastructures, the energy transition, and water management. For this reason, she has positively valued the increase in resources allocated to her ministry.
She stated this in her appearance this Friday before the parliamentary commission, where she detailed the allocations for her ministry in the Generalitat Budgets for 2026, which amount to 3,453 million euros, 35% more than the last accounts approved in 2023, and 203 million additional compared to those presented in February that ultimately did not prosper.
According to Paneque, taking on these challenges has allowed the department to take a significant leap in financing, "because the policies we develop require it," with special emphasis on the area of housing.
She has set as priority goals "to govern with ambition, protect people from their main concerns and problems, and prepare Catalonia for future challenges," objectives that, she said, can be achieved thanks to accounts that turn commitments into concrete policies and projects at the service of citizens.
Likewise, she has quantified the consolidated investment of the ministry and the public sector entities dependent on it at 7,075 million euros, which represents an increase of 31.8%, that is, 1,708 million more in absolute terms, to "act on the country's priorities."
Housing
In terms of housing, the department will have a budget of 2,500 million euros, of which 1,900 million come from its own resources and 600 million are linked to the Institut Català de Finances (ICF). These funds will be structured around four axes: addressing the residential emergency, expanding the stock of protected housing, promoting building rehabilitation, and "improving neighborhoods and towns."
"From the Government, we know that we must lead all public housing policy in a structural and continuous manner and with innovative policies," Paneque defended, insisting that the measures should not be limited to responding to urgency, but should become a long-term transformation tool.
He cited among the actions already taken, aid for rent, emancipation funds, the purchase and conversion of free market housing into protected housing, or the reservation of public land for residential use.
Infrastructure
In the infrastructure chapter, the budget allocated to public transport will reach 2,244 million euros, approximately one third of the total accounts of the department, and represents an increase of 34.4% compared to the last budgets: "This is not a figure, it is a commitment and a decision for the country," he stated.
He explained that this investment effort aims to provide Catalonia with competitive and resilient infrastructure in the face of challenges such as climate change, but also to balance the territory and promote more cohesive growth.
Paneque stressed that the priority will be to strengthen the railway network, especially Rodalies, in addition to the orbital line, improve road safety, move towards a more interconnected port and airport system, and promote both public road transport and the implementation of the train-tram map.
Green and water transition
The Generalitat plans to allocate 984 million euros to strengthen water autonomy, 32.7% more than in 2023, of which 537 million will be channeled through the Catalan Water Agency (ACA). In parallel, 896 million are earmarked to accelerate the energy transition.
Paneque reiterated the objective of reaching 70% of non-conventional water resources by 2030 and emphasized that the green transition is not limited to the climate dimension, but constitutes a policy "for the development of the economy and the country."
Positioning of the groups
In the parliamentary groups' turn, Junts deputies Judith Toronjo and Jordi Munell criticized that the Budgets are "politically conditioned" by the recent weaknesses of the PSOE and denounced that, meanwhile, problems persist in Catalonia such as the structural crisis of Rodalies.
ERC deputy Lluïsa Llop, a party that will support the accounts, defended that it is essential to reach agreements and fulfill them, warning that Catalonia is going through a decisive moment, with public services at their limit and the obligation to meet the needs of families in the face of existing challenges "in all areas" such as education, health, or mobility.
From the PP, deputies Àngeles Esteller and Eva García have described the 3-month delay in the processing of the budgets since February as "theater" and have denounced that the project remains "without changing a single euro".
Deputies of , Andrés Bello and Monica Lora, have focused their criticism on housing policy and have assured that the Government maintains a "failed model" based on interventionism and regulation, while supply continues to decrease.
On behalf of the Comuns, partners of the PSC in the budget negotiation, deputy Lluís Mijoler has stressed that the accounts must respond to immediate needs and, at the same time, prepare Catalonia for the future, in addition to demanding that the Ecological Transition area have its own ministry.
The spokesperson for the CUP, Dani Cornellà, has considered that some projects with a 2030 and 2040 horizon are a way of "selling smoke", recalling that the Government's mandate concludes in 2028, and has insisted that citizens require solutions for "today and tomorrow".
Finally, PSC-Units deputies Eva Candela and Andrea Zapata have highlighted that the accounts "reflect" the Government's commitment to housing policies, as well as to sustainable and efficient mobility, with the railway as the backbone.