It's a small budgetary feat that contrasts with France's blunders. By 2024, Spain will have reduced its public deficit to 2,8% of GDP, according to figures released Thursday, March 27, by Budget Minister Maria Jesus Montero. This is the first time since 2018 that the country has met the 3% threshold set by European treaties. This achievement was achieved despite an unstable international context, a fragile parliamentary majority, and the shadow of an economic slowdown.
This spectacular recovery is largely due to sustained growth of 3,2%, well above the eurozone average. The rebound in tourism and the influx of funds from the European recovery plan have boosted tax revenues, allowing Spain to return to a virtuous trajectory. As a result, public debt has fallen to 101,8% of GDP, compared to 105,1% a year earlier—far behind France's worrying levels of 113%.
A budgetary strategy welcomed... and contrasted with France's
Pedro Sánchez's government, despite being blocked by the lack of a 2024 budget due to a lack of parliamentary majority, is reaping the benefits of a serious budgetary effort initiated since the health crisis. This contrasts sharply with France, where the deficit climbed to 5,8% of GDP in 2024 and is not expected to return below 3% until 2029, at the earliest. Worse still, military spending, which is expected to increase in both countries, does not appear to be curbing Madrid's austerity ambitions.
Better still, Spain is forecasting a deficit of 2,5% in 2025, with growth estimated at 2,6%. And public debt is expected to fall below 100% of GDP by the end of the legislature in 2027. This target is considered realistic by observers, who see this budgetary seriousness as a reassuring signal for the markets... and a model that some in France are beginning to envy.
