The European Commission announced this Friday the payment of the third disbursement to Spain of 6,000 million euros from the recovery funds, after approving the 29 planned measures, which brings the total aid to more than 37,000 million euros.
Among the measures approved (24 milestones and 5 objectives) is the reform of the Bankruptcy Law, the Law on the Comprehensive Vocational Training System and the reform of the Social Security contribution system for self-employed workers. Brussels considers that the latter, designed to improve the coverage of the group, added to the reform of the complementary pension system, will reinforce the sustainability of the system.
Also among the milestones and objectives is the Law on Measures to Prevent and Fight Tax Fraud, as well as reforms for the development and promotion of investments in renewable energies. Likewise, measures recently adopted and linked to this third disbursement are the deployment of the electric car in Spain, different digitization projects in the National Library and the Prado Museum, as well as improvements in the law on the minimum vital income to reduce the risk of poverty and social exclusion. In this payment, the European Commission has also endorsed that some deficiencies detected in the audit system have been corrected, such as the publication of data on foreign beneficiaries, and control of the plan.
Spain is the most advanced country in recovery funds, and is the first to receive the third disbursement. Until now, the country has received more than 37,000 million euros in subsidies, out of a total of 69,500 million euros (although in total Spain receives 140,000 million between loans and subsidies). Together with Italy, it is the country that plans to receive the most loans. Although the latter has currently paralyzed a new tranche of aid, —of 19,000 million euros— due to doubts in Brussels about the degree of compliance with the milestones and reforms of the government of Georgia Meloni.
At the same time, the Spanish government is already working on the request for the fourth payment, of 10,000 million euros, after the recent approval of the pension reform and that Madrid has negotiated with Brussels.
With the payment to Spain, the European Commission has already disbursed more than 150,000 million euros among the Member States in the recovery and resilience plan market, although there are still 650,000 million euros planned. On the occasion of this new goal reached, Brussels has published an interactive map where you can find the more than 100 reforms implemented so far. From the introduction of a new tax on single-use plastics in Spain, to the deployment of renewables in Greece and the anti-corruption reform in Croatia. Also the investments that have been applied in countries like Latvia or Austria to improve public transport.
The objective is for the public to know the degree of real execution of the European funds, a source of controversy and complaint from the opposition and the regional governments. As the first vice president, Nadia Calviño, recently pointed out, the Executive has authorized 10,757 million in the first weeks of the year, almost 40% of the 28,692 million budgeted for the entire year. Among the most benefited regions are Andalusia, with 3,420 million. It is followed by Catalonia, with 3,181 million; the Community of Madrid, with 2,374 million; and the Valencian Community, with 2,060 million.
