The PAN (People-Animals-Nature) will abstain from voting on most of the State Budget for 2026. In a note sent to the Press, the party identifies the decision as a “sign of openness to dialogue and constructive negotiation”, although, remember, Inês de Sousa Real regretted the Government’s lack of availability to receive it and welcome PAN proposals in meetings with parliamentary groups.
Considering that “abstention in general aims to allow the advancement of parliamentary debate and influence the State Budget in particular”, the PAN asserts that, “if there is no real progress on priority measures, PAN will reserve the right to vote against in the final global vote.”
Despite criticism since the announcement of the document, a majority was not reached that would support a vote against in general, which became the strongest hypothesis on the table. On Friday, the party met to refine the decisions that it now communicates. Remember
Among the central matters, the PAN lists, in housing, the creation of a publicly supported housing cooperatives and reinforcement of the budget foreseen for the National Urgent and Temporary Accommodation Grant (the PAN advocates being 80% less than foreseen for 2026); in animal welfare defends accontinuity of Zero VAT for the purchase of pet food by animal protection associations; on climate, the implementation of a 10 million euro pilot project with artificial intelligence to help combat forest fires and, finally, the reduction of VAT on health and animal food, as well as direct support measures for families with lower incomes.