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Madrid Presses €3 Billion Dependency Funding Claim as Minister Denies Legal Debt, Agrees to Talks

The dispute centers on Madrid’s assertion that the state covered only 27.5% of 2024 costs, far below the 50% target.

Overview

  • Madrid’s social affairs chief, Ana Dávila, formally requested an urgent meeting on February 23 to address what the region says is an accumulated shortfall through 2025.
  • After the February 24 Cabinet meeting, Minister Pablo Bustinduy said he will meet but argued there is no legal debt and described the 50% state share as a political commitment.
  • The region estimates the gap is near €3 billion, rising by more than €1 million per day late last year, and says the missing funds could have created 12,000 residential places or 17 million hours of home care.
  • Madrid cites the government’s use of a royal decree-law to fund ALS as evidence that increasing support is a matter of priorities, and it criticizes selective bilateral deals with other regions.
  • Bustinduy highlighted a state funding increase of more than 160% since 2020 to over €3.6 billion this year, plus nearly €3 billion in EU funds for care reforms, and called for unanimous backing of pending disability and dependency changes.