Spain will shortly receive the third tranche of aid from the Next Generation EU funds. The European Commission has today given its approval to the disbursement of 6,000 million euros after verifying that the Government has met the milestones and objectives, in the form of reforms, included in the Spanish recovery and resilience plan to which this new delivery.
"I am pleased to announce that Spain has taken yet another important step on its road to recovery," said the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in a statement. "We have concluded that the country has made sufficient progress to receive the third installment of Next Generation EU funds. As always, member states will have to back our opinion. Spain will then be able to receive €6 billion in direct aid." This step demonstrates "Spain's sustained momentum in the green and digital transition", underlines Von der Leyen, who cites the advances in the deployment of renewable energies, digitization and the reinforcement of social and economic resilience through improvements such as the reform Vocational Training and insolvency law. "Congratulations, Spain, keep up the good work, the Commission is on your side!" concludes the German conservative.
Spain thus becomes the first country to receive the green light from Brussels to obtain the third tranche of funds, in addition to the one that is most advanced in the execution and collection of aid. When this disbursement is made, the amount of Next Generation EU funds entered into the Spanish public coffers will be around 37,000 million euros, more than half of what is allocated, according to the European Commission.
The calculation is based on the original figures of the plan, which provided for 69,000 million in transfers to Spain, although later adjustments derived from the economic situation led to an increase of 7,724 million in this endowment, so that in total they will be 77,200 million. Spain thus maintains leadership in meeting the milestones and objectives linked to the plan, followed by Italy, the other country that has requested the disbursement of the third tranche of aid, and in the amount of aid received.
To receive this new disbursement, Spain had to meet 24 milestones and five objectives, mostly related to the green transition, digitization and social and territorial cohesion. Among the measures that the Government has adopted to comply with its commitments, the entry into force of the reform of the bankruptcy law stands out, which streamlines insolvency proceedings in Spain, and of the Comprehensive Vocational Training System to adapt it to the new needs of the market employment, in addition to the reform of the social contribution system for the self-employed. Brussels considers that this last element, designed to improve the coverage of this group, which will be applied gradually, added to the reform of the complementary pension system, will reinforce the sustainability of the system.
Also linked to the recovery plan are measures adopted in recent months to facilitate the deployment of the electric car in Spain, different digitization projects in the field of culture related to the National Library and the Prado Museum, as well as improvements in the law on the minimum vital income to facilitate access and reduce the risk of poverty and social exclusion. Other measures affect the fight against tax evasion and fraud, such as the reduction to one thousand euros of the legal amount that can be paid in cash, endorsed by Brussels as part of a broader arsenal of initiatives that includes updating the list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions.
Finally, Brussels has also verified the deployment and execution of some of the reforms linked to the previous tranches of aid, for example the publication of data on foreign beneficiaries, for which the Treasury has signed agreements with different organizations, one of the issues on which that the budgetary control committee of the European Parliament has put pressure on the government and the committee itself. Precisely, this Monday a mission of MEPs will arrive in Madrid to verify the execution of the recovery plan and examine the control mechanisms, an initiative that has ended up marred by Spanish political tensions.
The Vice President for Economic Affairs, the Latvian conservative Valdis Dombrovskis, has congratulated Spain for meeting the agreed milestones and objectives. "With this third request for funds, Spain continues forging the reforms and investments that will make its economy more resilient, green and digital", he celebrated, citing initiatives such as the increase in charging stations for electric cars, the increase in taxes on fluorinated gases for discourage their use or measures against tax evasion.
