Naples. The City Council has approved the 2026-2028 budget, a document estimated at approximately five billion euros. Palazzo San Giacomo has described it as confirming the financial recovery process initiated in recent years and as the foundation for the city's economic and social development. "The financial recovery process initiated in recent years is confirmed and the foundation for the city's economic and social development is laid," the administration's statement reads.
The projected 2025 result is projected to be in surplus, with the overall deficit reduced to €1,4 billion from the initial €2,2 billion and financial debt reduced by over €211 million, described as "a concrete sign of the solidity of the recovery plan agreed upon with the Court of Auditors." This figure comes at a crucial time for Naples, caught between growing demand for services related to urban transformation, the tourism boom, and major events, and a structural financial crisis exacerbated by the reduction in state funding, estimated at approximately €70 million per year.
In the budget, the administration's strategy is described as prudent and complex, based on careful spending management and increased revenue. "The increased demand for services in a growing city and the public events that await us require a budgetary effort for 2026 that must also be balanced against the reduction in state contributions," states Budget Councilor Pier Paolo Baretta. "Nonetheless, with a forward-looking choice of spending priorities, projected over the entire year, and a significant increase in revenue, without burdening families, we will be able to reduce the deficit and financial debt and close the 2025 budget in surplus, forecasting a net expenditure balance of approximately €30 million for 2026."
The financial statement aims to meet the needs of a growing city, supporting essential services and strategic investments, especially in view of 2026, when Naples will be the European Capital of Sport and host of the America's Cup Sailing Championship. "This is an outcome that cannot be taken for granted and must be consolidated to maintain the ongoing municipal budget recovery and the economic and social development already underway," Baretta concludes, highlighting the need for continuity between financial discipline and urban growth.
Source EDITORIAL TEAM
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