Beldjilali Clarifies Alicante Can Only Use €5.6 Million of 2024 Surplus, Not the €155 Million Reserves

The Alicante City Hall can only use €5,641,759.89 from the 2024 surplus, according to the Royal Decree Law 15/2025 of December 2, and not the €155 million announced by the opposition, explained Finance Councillor Nayma Beldjilali emphatically.

"The most striking part is that it is a decree from their own Government, yet the opposition seems unaware of what it states," noted Beldjilali, who emphasized that the available funds must first be used to pay suppliers and reduce debt, with only the remainder available for financially sustainable projects.

The councillor recalled that the decree prioritises the lesser amount between surplus and treasury balance, leaving Alicante with just over five million euros available. "If the rule allowed choosing between balance or surplus, then we could use the €155 million, but the fine print prevents it," she added.

Beldjilali also harshly criticised the statements of the socialist spokesperson, Ana Barceló, regarding the need to withdraw the municipal budgets for not including reserves. "We don't know whether to laugh or cry when we hear such uninformed statements. Alicante is obliged to use the surplus, as established by the decree," she concluded.

The councillor explained that the sixth additional provision of the Organic Law on Budgetary Stability stipulates that municipalities must first use the surplus or, if smaller, the balance to cover outstanding obligations from the previous year. "Only once these obligations are covered can the remaining balance be allocated to sustainable investments," she detailed.

Beldjilali lamented the opposition's confusion and insisted that the municipal budgets are neither outdated nor insufficient for not considering the erroneously announced reserves. "It is a falsehood and an absurdity that they have spread without foundation," she concluded.