Only Health and Education to be saved from Budget cuts in 2015

'New La Línea Hospital' still 'under
construction after 5 years' hiatus

SEVILLA – The Junta de Andalucía’s governing coalition (PSOE and IU) last week gave another twist to the draft on the region’s 2015 Budget. While, yet again, the budget is surrounded by difficulties in coalition priorities, principally regarding the central government’s (PP) rule that all the regions’ deficits must decrease by 0.7% and also as the result of the resources coming from the State are down by €600mm, neither party foresees ‘great clashes’ with the accounts, though they do warn that it will be ‘the little things’ that could be the problems. In any case, the Treasury is aiming at ring fencing monies for education and health, so that when the working committees present the negotiated figures for the Junta’s approval, these two items will have the same amount of money as this year, at least. That is the objective, but neither party is willing to give assurances that it will be so. (Ed. Note: Please forgive a large measure of scepticism regarding these promises.)