ROME, Italy – December 23, 2025 – The Rome City Council has successfully approved its 2026-2028 budget, a comprehensive financial plan exceeding 11 billion euros. The decision, reached with 33 votes in favor out of 45, came just under ten days before the December 31 deadline, marking a timely approval for the Giulio Cesare Hall.
Strategic Choices for a Post-Jubilee Rome
Mayor Roberto Gualtieri emphasized that the budget solidifies strategic choices, ensuring unprecedented investments in social housing, maintaining high levels of welfare support, and strengthening urban decor policies. The plan aims to transition Rome into a post-Jubilee and post-PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan) phase, building upon achievements of recent years.
Svetlana Celli, President of the Capitoline Assembly, highlighted that the budget “supports strategic investments, strengthens essential services, and puts people first,” describing it as a responsible choice that allows Rome to plan with continuity.
Over 11 Billion Euros for Key Sectors
The overall budget, encompassing both current expenditure and investments, surpasses 11 billion euros. This significant allocation is distributed across various critical areas:
- Current Expenditure: 5.7 billion euros for 2026, an increase from 5.1 billion in 2021.
- Social and Education: 1.5 billion euros allocated.
- Home Care Assistance: Approximately 130 million euros, with 110 million from municipal resources, ensuring early funding for municipalities.
- Urban Decorum: Around 20 million euros in 2026 for weeding and mowing, nearly doubling interventions from four to seven annual cycles.
- Homeless Accommodation: 3.7 million euros to maintain temporary shelters in areas like San Pietro, Termini, Tiburtina, and Ostiense.
Unprecedented Investment in Social Housing
A cornerstone of the new budget is the extraordinary plan for the right to housing, totaling 250 million euros. Of this, 200 million euros are earmarked for 2026, facilitating the acquisition of over a thousand social housing units. The administration describes this intervention as “unprecedented in scale and concrete impact on the housing emergency.”
Infrastructure and Environmental Improvements
The investment plan for the 2026-2028 triennium has increased to 6.97 billion euros following an amendment. For 2026 alone, dedicated funds amount to approximately 1.3 billion euros, including 302 million from PNRR resources and 117 million from Jubilee funds.
Key territorial interventions include:
- Parco della Madonnetta: 10 million euros between 2026 and 2027.
- Castel Porziano Demesne Areas: 5 million euros in 2026 for areas in the X municipality.
- Metro Line Maintenance: 74.8 million euros for extraordinary maintenance.
- Waste Management: Approximately 70 million euros in 2026 to strengthen the waste cycle.
Political Landscape and Future Outlook
The budget’s approval was supported by a strengthened majority, with Italia Viva and the Mixed Group’s councillor Dario Nanni joining the favorable vote. The center-right and the 5 Star Movement voted against, while Azione abstained.
Silvia Scozzese, Deputy Mayor and Budget Councillor, stated that the document is the result of administrative efficiency and evasion recovery, which allowed maintaining current spending despite the loss of extraordinary Jubilee resources and national cuts estimated at around 50 million for 2026.
Valeria Baglio, group leader of the Democratic Party, called the timely approval “an act of great political responsibility towards Rome and its citizens.” She noted that the broader support for Mayor Gualtieri’s project signifies a strong social vocation, prioritizing people, welfare, home care, and the right to housing.
This budget approval is seen as a key political moment, consolidating the Capitoline majority and strengthening its governance perspective in the post-Jubilee phase, potentially opening new scenarios for upcoming administrative elections.
Source: https://www.lacapitale.it/articolo/via-libera-al-bilancio-di-roma-oltre-11-miliardi-per-welfare-case-popolari-e-servizi
