The deficit forecast for 2026 has fallen to €5.7 million, and the budget adjustment has passed with a majority vote. But public finances remain a dividing line in the Grand and General Council (Consiglio Grande e Generale).
For the government, the figures confirm an improvement; for the opposition, higher revenues are not enough to justify spending that keeps climbing. During Tuesday’s session on 27 October, the debate widened to healthcare, the cost-of-living crisis and debt management, before flaring up over the government’s use of decrees.
The starting point is the shrinking deficit: from €13.7 million forecast in December 2025, to €7.8 million in July, down to the current €5.7 million.
Sandra Stacchini of the Christian Democratic Party (Pdcs) also pointed to a roughly €6.8 million reduction in public debt, around €26 million in additional tax and non-tax revenue, and savings on interest payments. “The numbers, fortunately, don’t lie,” she said, noting that the effects of the tax reform will only be felt from 2027 onward.
Rete (the Network movement) took particular aim at the rise in current spending, which climbed from €670 million to €691 million compared with July’s projections. For Emanuele Santi, given that income tax (Igr) revenue has grown by around €100 million since 2019, the overall result should be far more substantial.
“We are spending too much, even though we have far more revenue than in the past,” he argued.
He also factored in interest and other debt-servicing costs, estimated at around €50 million a year, along with public-sector staffing and healthcare funding needs.
Finance Secretary of State Marco Gatti countered that around €19.5 million of the increase in current spending stems from higher import-tax refunds, linked to growing economic activity and exports.
Another portion is attributable to salary adjustments.
On public-sector staffing, Andrea Belluzzi instead pointed to retirements and the need to keep offices running, announcing that committee work will look more closely at hiring plans.
Disagreement over the economic outlook remains unresolved.
Maria Katia Savoretti of Rete Futuro (Rf) described “an empty budget,” lamenting the lack of investment and of answers for families.
Fabio Righi of Domani Motus Liberi (D-ML) called for a strategy setting out infrastructure projects and new opportunities: “Managing the budget does not necessarily mean governing the economy.” Gian Matteo Zeppa of Rete brought up the Torraccia airstrip, demanding clarity on the resources committed, the oversight carried out and the further work still needed.
From the majority benches, Luca Boschi of Libera defended the choice of a purely technical adjustment, leaving strategic decisions to the next forecast budget.
He did, however, call for growth to translate into support for families, reduced inequality and better-quality employment.
Luca Gasperoni of Pdcs pointed to the falling debt-to-GDP ratio, from close to 85% in 2020 to a projected 57% by the end of 2026, naming housing, energy and purchasing power among the priorities going forward.
Meanwhile, the €50 million operation to replace part of the irredeemable bonds held by Cassa di Risparmio has been put on hold. Gatti explained that current market conditions make it impossible to proceed on favourable terms.
The goal remains in place, but the plan for further bond issuances has been dropped from the budget.
Santi welcomed the postponement and called for alternative financing options to be explored, together with greater transparency over who holds San Marino’s bonds.
On the international arbitration case involving Banca di San Marino, raised by the opposition, Gatti clarified that the €2 million allocated is a precautionary measure: “At this stage, those resources have not been spent — only set aside.”
Healthcare proved another battleground.
The state transfer to the Social Security Institute (Iss) remains at €98 million, while Santi recalled that a figure of €105 million had previously been floated as necessary.
Carlotta Andruccioli of D-ML linked the level of funding to the quality of services and to patients’ reliance on private care: “The right to health should not depend on one’s ability to pay for private treatment.”
Gatti deferred a full assessment to the 2027 budget, while acknowledging the structural rise in healthcare costs.
Once the vote on the accounts was closed and three union agreements on Iss staff and on the organisation of certain services at the state utility company Aass were ratified, debate shifted to the balance of power between government and Council in lawmaking. The trigger was the withdrawal of three decrees that had lapsed and were then reissued, keeping their existing effects valid.
Nicola Renzi of Rf criticised an approach he said risks hollowing out parliamentary oversight: “Ratification becomes a mere formality.” Rossano Fabbri rejected the accusation of overreach, noting that some of the measures concerned stamp and coin issues. He proposed revisiting the rules governing legislative delegation and oversight mechanisms.
The opposition was not persuaded.
Zeppa spoke of “a genuine short-circuit,” while Matteo Casali of Rf described the lapse-and-reissue pattern as “a subterfuge used to get around a limit set by law.”
Gaetano Troina of D-ML cited figures: 122 delegated decrees and 25 decree-laws in the first ten months of 2026. Belluzzi summed up the resulting overload with an image: “We are essentially trying to pour a hundred litres into a container that can hold only ten.”
The Captains Regent also weighed in, urging a shared solution ahead of further commitments tied to the transposition of EU law.
On fuel prices, a concrete decision was reached: the excise-duty cut and the Smac incentives will be kept in place throughout November. Gatti put the state’s total commitment to fuel-price policy at more than €18 million.
Zeppa also proposed a basket of essential goods with agreed prices for an emergency period.
Secretary of State Matteo Ciacci said he was open to assessing the technical and legal feasibility of such a measure, announcing plans to earmark resources in the next budget both for immediate relief and for structural measures to support families.
Renzi and Righi acknowledged the usefulness of such aid but called for proper planning on energy, electric mobility and infrastructure.
Toward the end of the session, the issue of belated ratifications resurfaced during discussion of the security measures adopted for Pope Leo XIV’s visit.
Andruccioli and Renzi questioned what room the Council has left to intervene once an event has already taken place, and raised access difficulties reported by some citizens.
Proceedings adjourned shortly before 8pm, with the session set to resume at 9am on Wednesday 28 October.
