Interterritorial Compensation Funds Control 2023: What Congress Demands from Autonomous Communities

Key data

Autonomous communities and cities that do not have their own autonomous external control body now face added regulatory pressure: the Congress of Deputies has approved a resolution—published in the BOE on July 14, 2026—that requires the central Government to substantially improve the management and control of Interterritorial Compensation Funds (FCI) for fiscal year 2023.

The resolution stems from the audit report prepared by the Court of Auditors and approved by the Joint Commission for Relations with the Court of Auditors on May 21, 2026. Its scope is clear: where there is no autonomous control, central control must be more rigorous.

What does this regulation establish?

The resolution articulates five concrete mandates directed at the central Government regarding the management of FCI for fiscal year 2023. These are not recommendations: they are instructions approved by Congress that the Executive must comply with.

Interterritorial Compensation Funds are constitutional instruments designed to correct economic imbalances between territories and promote cohesion. Their management involves both the central Government—which distributes them—and the recipient autonomous communities, which execute the projects.

Economic and operational impact

This resolution does not generate an immediate direct cost for affected administrations, but it has very concrete operational and risk consequences:

• Risk of fund reimbursement: If the Court of Auditors detects that FCI have not been allocated to their legal purposes, affected communities may be forced to return the misapplied amounts.
• Greater administrative burden: Strengthening control and transparency mechanisms implies dedicating more human and technical resources to justifying and monitoring financed projects.
• Reputational and political risk: Communities that do not improve their management are exposed to new unfavorable audit reports, with the resulting impact on their credibility with the central Government and citizens.
• Conditioning of future allocations: Poor management documented by the Court of Auditors can negatively influence the distribution of funds in subsequent fiscal years.

From the perspective of budgetary planning, affected administrations must anticipate that projects financed with FCI will be subject to more intense scrutiny, which requires more exhaustive documentation from the beginning of the spending cycle.

Who does it affect?

• Autonomous communities without their own autonomous external control body: They are directly audited by the Court of Auditors and must adapt their FCI management processes.
• Autonomous cities without their own external control body: Ceuta and Melilla, in the same situation as the previous communities.
• Central Government (Ministry of Finance): It is the direct recipient of Congress's mandates and must implement improvements in control and monitoring.
• Managers and project leaders responsible for FCI in affected administrations: Technicians and managers who oversee the execution of projects cofinanced with these funds.
• Comptrollers and controllers of affected administrations: Must strengthen internal procedures for prior control and monitoring of execution.

Practical example

An autonomous community without its own external control body that received FCI in 2023 to finance rural connectivity infrastructure must now be able to demonstrate to the Court of Auditors:

1. That selected projects respond to documented and verifiable territorial cohesion criteria.
2. That funds have been executed in accordance with budgetary regulations, without deviations from their intended purpose.
3. That there is a monitoring system that allows knowledge of the degree of execution and results obtained at any time.
4. That all information on execution and results is available transparently.

If in a future audit the Court of Auditors detects that projects were not aligned with territorial cohesion objectives or that monitoring documentation is insufficient, the community is exposed to an unfavorable report and, potentially, to the obligation to reimburse misapplied funds.

What should administrations do now?

1. Audit documentation of FCI 2023 projects: Review that all projects financed with FCI in 2023 have justification for alignment with territorial cohesion objectives.
2. Strengthen internal monitoring systems: Implement or improve control and monitoring mechanisms for fund execution, with auditable records.
3. Verify compliance with budgetary regulations: Review that all expenses charged to FCI strictly comply with applicable budgetary rules.
4. Prepare transparency reports: Prepare and publish clear information on the degree of FCI execution and results obtained, anticipating possible requests from the Court of Auditors.
5. Coordinate with the Ministry of Finance: Establish communication channels with the central Government to learn about new control and monitoring requirements to be implemented in response to Congress's resolution.
6. Consult the Court of Auditors' audit report: Review the complete report on fiscal year 2023 to identify the specific deficiencies noted and act on them as a priority.

Official source

Consult complete regulation in official source

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For specific decisions, consult a qualified professional. Source: https://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2026-15349