The new Balearic Government is to approve its first budget on Friday

PALMA
THE Balearic Cabinet will approve the first budget of the new Government on Friday, and for the first time in its history, it will top 3'000 million euros, an increase of about ten per cent.

The Balearic Minister for the Economy, Carles Manera, is finalising his first budget, which will include large sums for investment in the railways, research and development (I+D) and to promote social policies.

The new Government will have to incur more debt to get through the next budget period, a spokesman said.
After its presentation on Friday, the budget has to be presented in Parliament where it will be debated.
The last Balearic Government approved a budget of 2'894 million euros, for this year, which was an increase of 6.65 percent in comparison with the year before. Former leader Jaume Matas described it at the time as one of the most socially-orientated in Balearic history.

Part of the new budget will be used to build new train lines. The Balearic Minister for Mobility, Gabriel Vicens, announced that one of the first activities will be the extension of the rail network on the island, with two priority for two projects. One will be the extension of the Sa Pobla line to Alcudia, and the other will be the extension of the Manacor line as far as Cala Rajada.

Added to these electoral promises will be the firm proposal to study the feasibility of a tramline which will link the whole of the Bay of Palma, from Llucmajor to Santa Ponsa, with the construction of a branch line to connect the centre of Palma to the airport.

Another of the priorities of the new Government is to increase the funding for research and development (I+D).
Last year the budget for this was a little more than 45 million euros to promote research. The objective now is to increase this budget.
One novelty in this budget is the inclusion, as income, of the money which the Spanish Ministry for Public Works owes the Balearic Government with regard to the roads agreement.

The Balearic Minister for the Economy, Carles Manera, has a document from the Ministry for Public Works in which the Ministry, headed by Alvarez, accepts the negotiation of this amount.

The possession of this document means that Manera can include the 244 million euros expected from the Spanish Government in the budget.
Manera's team are planning to introduce a reorganisation plan to solve the problems which the region's debt could generate in the future.
The debt now stands at 3'000 million euros, and the accumulation of debt for the region has multiplied six fold during the last 10 years.
The Regional Budget has a priority procedure in the Balearic Parliament and is one of the last events of the political year.
Once the Government has presented the budget to Parliament, the various Ministers will explain their projects. The budget will be approved at the end of December.