The Government moved 77.281 million without new Budgets: where the money went

The approval of the General State Budgets (PGE) follows a specific procedure within the general framework of lawmaking, but with important particularities due to its essential nature for the functioning of the State. Below are the main steps, from the government phase to the final approval and the consequences of not approving them on time.

1. Preparation of the draft by the Government

The process begins within the Government. The Ministry of Finance coordinates the preparation of the Budget draft, based on:

• Macroeconomic forecasts (growth, inflation, employment, etc.).
• Objectives of budgetary stability and public debt.
• Spending needs of each ministry and public agency.

After internal meetings and negotiation with the different departments, the Council of Ministers approves the Draft General State Budget Law. This draft includes both the income and expenditure statements as well as the so-called “budgetary accompanying law” (articles with tax rules, public remuneration, spending limits, etc.).

2. Submission to the Congress of Deputies

Once approved by the Council of Ministers, the draft is sent to the Congress of Deputies. The Constitution and the Congress Rules establish that it must be presented, under normal conditions, before the beginning of autumn so that it can be processed and approved before January 1 of the year to which it refers.

The Government also provides complementary documentation (economic reports, impact estimates, liquidation of the previous budget, etc.), which serves as the basis for parliamentary debate.

3. Processing in the Congress

3.1 Totality debate

The first major phase is the totality debate in the Plenary of the Congress. Groups may present totality amendments, which are usually:

• Return amendments: requesting to reject the draft and return it to the Government.
• (In some cases) alternative text amendments: proposing a completely different draft.

If a return amendment is approved, the draft fails. If they are rejected, the draft continues its processing.

3.2 Committee phase and partial amendments

The draft is sent to the competent committee (usually the Budget Committee). Groups present partial amendments that modify specific budget items or articles of the text.

Within the committee, a Subcommittee may be formed to study the text and amendments and prepare a draft. Afterwards, the Committee debates and approves a report with the accepted amendments.

3.3 Congress Plenary

The Committee's report is submitted to the Plenary, where budget sections (by ministries or bodies) and the articles are voted on. The result is the Budget Bill approved by the Congress, which is sent to the Senate.

4. Processing in the Senate

The Senate receives the text and may:

• Approve it as is: in this case, the law is ready for sanction and promulgation.
• Present amendments: modifications to specific items or articles.
• Raise a veto: a global rejection of the draft.

If the Senate formulates amendments or vetoes the draft, the text returns to the Congress. The veto can be lifted by the Congress by absolute majority in a first vote, or by simple majority after a certain period. Regarding amendments, the Congress decides whether to accept or reject them one by one.

5. Final approval, sanction, and publication

Once the Congress resolves, if applicable, the Senate's veto and amendments, the resulting text is considered approved as the General State Budget Law. Then:

• The King proceeds to the sanction of the law.
• The law is promulgated and published in the Official State Gazette (BOE).
• Under normal conditions, it comes into force on January 1 of the corresponding fiscal year.

6. What happens if they are not approved on time?

The Constitution provides that if new Budgets have not been approved by January 1, the previous year's Budget is automatically extended. This extension:

• Maintains the amounts and structures of the previous budget, with unavoidable technical adjustments.
• Limits the Government's ability to launch new policies or spending programs that require specific credit.
• Usually increases political pressure to negotiate and approve new Budgets as soon as possible.

However, even if there is an extension, the Government and the Cortes can approve a new Budget Law at any time to replace the extended one.

The General Intervention of the State Administration (IGAE) is the internal control body of the state public sector and the management center of public accounting. Its competencies in budgetary control are aimed at guaranteeing legality, efficiency, and transparency in the management of public resources and in the execution of the General State Budget.

1. Prior intervention function over expenses and revenues

The intervention function is the classic legal-public control of the IGAE. It consists of overseeing, prior or simultaneous to the acts of the Administration that give rise to:

• Authorization and commitment of expenses.
• Recognition of obligations and payment proposals.
• Collection and recognition of economic rights.
• Movements of funds and securities in the Treasury.

Through this function, the legality of the act and its conformity with the budget are verified: existence of credit, correct item, respect for limits and procedures, compliance with contracting, subsidies, personnel regulations, etc. When objections are found, the Intervention may issue a suspensive or non-suspensive objection, requiring the managing body to correct it or, if applicable, resort to the discrepancy mechanisms provided.

2. Permanent financial control

Alongside the punctual oversight of specific acts, the IGAE exercises permanent financial control over ministries, autonomous agencies, public business entities, and other entities dependent on the State. This control aims to:

• Verify correct economic-financial and budgetary management.
• Check compliance with applicable regulations and established objectives.
• Supervise the reliability of the internal control system of each entity.

It is carried out through planned actions (financial control programs), periodic reports, and follow-up of recommendations, with a more structural and continuous vision than the intervention function over singular acts.

3. Public audit of the state public sector

The IGAE is also the body responsible for internal public auditing of the state public sector. It develops, among others, the following types:

• Account audit or accounting regularity audit, on financial statements.
• Compliance audit, focused on observance of regulations.
• Operational or management audit, which assesses economy, efficiency, and effectiveness.
• System and procedure audits, including oversight of accounting and management IT systems.

Its reports feed both internal control and the work of the Court of Auditors, and serve as a basis to introduce improvements in budget programming and execution.

4. Direction of public accounting

Another core competency of the IGAE is acting as the management center of state public accounting. Among its functions in this area are:

• Developing and updating the General Public Accounting Plan.
• Issuing accounting instructions for different types of entities.
• Directing and supervising accounting information systems.
• Preparing the General State Account and other accounts to be submitted to the Court of Auditors.
• Providing economic-financial information to the Government, Parliament, and EU bodies.

This accounting function is essential for monitoring budget execution, as it allows knowing at all times the degree of credit execution, debt situation, commitments, and treasury position.

5. Control of stability and coordination of internal control

Within the framework of budgetary stability and financial sustainability regulations, the IGAE participates in measuring and reporting deficit, debt, and other fiscal indicators, providing the necessary information for commitments with the European Union and for monitoring internal fiscal rules.

Additionally, it exercises a coordination function of internal control across the entire state public sector, issuing common criteria and methodologies for delegated and territorial interventions, and promoting homogeneity in auditing and inspection practices.

6. Relationship with the Court of Auditors and support for decision-making

Although the Court of Auditors is the supreme external auditing body, the IGAE collaborates closely with it, sending information and accounts, and responding to requests in external control procedures. Thus, internal control (IGAE) and external control (Court of Auditors) complement each other.

Finally, all information generated by the IGAE —inspection reports, audits, execution monitoring, and risk analysis— constitutes a key input for budgetary and management decision-making by the Ministry of Finance and the Government, reinforcing transparency and accountability regarding the use of public resources.

The current president of the Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (AIReF) is Inés Olóndriz de Moragas, an economist with a long technical career in public finance, whose profile has been built mainly within the Administration and fiscal analysis, rather than in party militancy or partisan political positions.

Academic training and technical specialization

According to information published by the Government itself and collected by the newspaper Demócrata, Olóndriz holds a degree in Economic and Business Sciences from the University of Barcelona. She complements her training with an Executive Master in Public Administration from ESADE, which clearly places her in the field of professional public management. Additionally, she holds the Certified Financial Analyst (CFA) accreditation granted by the European Federation of Financial Analyst Societies (EFFAS), a specialized credential in financial analysis that strengthens her technical profile.

Overall, these credentials point to a career oriented towards economic-fiscal analysis and public finance management, combining academic knowledge, executive training in public administration, and international financial certification.

Career in public administration

As reported by Demócrata citing official sources, Olóndriz has accumulated more than three decades of experience linked to public finance. She herself emphasized in her parliamentary appearance that she has been working in this field for around 35 years, knowing both the administration “from within” and the functioning of markets “from outside.”

A central part of her career was developed at the Barcelona City Council, where she spent approximately twenty years. During that period, she held high-responsibility positions:

• Director of Financing of the Barcelona City Council between 2002 and 2011.
• She combined that role with that of Director of Budgets in the 2008‑2009 period.

These functions placed her at the center of financial and budgetary management of a large city, with responsibilities over indebtedness, financial planning, and market relations.

Subsequently, she moved to the General State Administration as Secretary General of Autonomous and Local Financing in the Ministry of Finance. According to her explanation in Congress, from that position she has managed:

• The application and management of autonomous and local financing models.
• Competencies related to the indebtedness of autonomous communities and local entities.
• Supervision and design of extraordinary financing mechanisms made available by the State.

This path has allowed her to know in detail the functioning of the three levels of Spanish Administration: state, autonomous, and local.

Experience in the private sector and markets

Although most of her career has been public, Olóndriz has also gained experience in the private financial sector. Demócrata details that she worked as a senior analyst in the Sovereign & International Public Finance team at S&P Global Ratings, where she was responsible for monitoring local and regional governments and public entities in Spain and the United Kingdom.

This experience in sovereign and sub-sovereign risk analysis from a rating agency strengthens her profile as an expert in fiscal sustainability, public debt, and market perception of public accounts.

Appointment at AIReF and relationship with politics

The Ministry of Finance proposed her appointment as president of AIReF at the beginning of 2026, replacing Cristina Herrero, who had completed the six-year term provided by law. The proposal was submitted to the Congress of Deputies, where Olóndriz appeared before the Finance Committee to present her credentials and gather parliamentary support.

The committee validated her appointment with the support of PSOE, Sumar, Bildu, PNV, and BNG, while PP and Vox voted against, citing doubts about her independence due to her background in the Ministry of Finance leadership. After the Congress's approval, the Council of Ministers ratified her appointment and the Official State Gazette (BOE) made it official on April 1, 2026, the same moment when Cristina Herrero's formal dismissal took place.

In her appearance, Olóndriz explicitly defended her autonomy from political parties, emphasizing that she “has never been a member of any political party” and claiming a profile as a technical manager rather than a politician. She insisted that her work at Finance has focused on technical analysis of alternatives and scenarios to inform political leaders, not on partisan decision-making.

From a political career perspective, therefore, her profile can be described as that of a senior public official and executive specialized in public finance and fiscal supervision, with intense interaction with economic and budgetary politics, but without evidence of elected positions or party membership. Her arrival at the presidency of AIReF fits within this technical-institutional trajectory, in a position that, although not political in the strict sense, is at the heart of the debate on fiscal policy and the sustainability of public accounts.