The European Commission has more flexible the rules to get most of the European funds approved by the pandemic. , which are articulated through the recovery plan and that are only disbursed in exchange for achieving investment and reform objectives. Brussels will allow various formulas to expedite and unbridled the execution of these funds, of which Spain has assigned almost 80,000 million in non -refundable aid and another 83,000 million in credits. A solution is to move them in defense spending, something that Poland has already done creating an investment vehicle with 5,000 million. When money is injected into this financial instrument, the resources are already considered to be executed. They can also be used for the European Space Union or satellite secure connectivity programs.
Another route of flexibility is based on investments and reforms whose compliance was planned to access the 83,000 million in soft loans assigned Spain. These objectives may be used to receive subsidies instead of credits. Objectives will be replaced that will not be met by others that are. In this way, the government could charge a good part of the non -refundable aid – that is, the almost 80,000 million in subsidies – although there are investments that are difficult to meet in time. Thus the door opens to Spain asks for the most subsidies instead of loans. And according to some sources, this possibility would already be negotiating with the commission. However, Brussels resists changing those reforms considered structural ,. Minor reforms and intermediate investment milestones can be withdrawn from plans.
And what happens to what will not give time to execute? The third way of flexible that Brussels offers is that these objectives can be transferred to the structural funds and that they are paid with the resources of the 2021-2027 budget frame, which have an additional three-year execution period. Thus, more time could be reached and have more time to complete them. All these changes are collected in a communication that the commission has sent to the countries and that is already public. This guide is requested that before the closing of 2025 all plans have been reviewed and those objectives that are not possible to meet or reduce those whose demand is short. In addition, new investment alternatives that do not reduce ambition or increase those plans for which there is a lot of demand; Ways can be explored for AI or Chips projects, and financial instruments can be created to encourage private investments or injected funds into the ICO for European priorities.
The BBVA Studies Service calculated that at the current rate it would be without spending about 10% of non -reimbursable aid, about 8,000 million. And the Next Generation unit of Llorente and Cuenca already estimated that it would not give time to execute about 10,000 million. The commission itself has asked Spain in its recommendations to step on the accelerator.
The problem of Spain is common to all countries endowed with large amounts of European funds. According to Eurostat, at the end of 2024 Spain effectively had spent about 32,000 million in non -reimbursable aid on the almost 80,000 million granted, about 40% compared to 45% on average in the EU. If the credits are also taken, Spain has practically not used them and has granted 83,000 million. So that the percentage of use over the total is 20%. Countries such as France, Denmark or Holland, although with a much lower assigned money proportion in relation to their GDP, percentages greater than 70% of the total have already executed.
Only 442 days are missing, just over a year, to have all investment and reform projects completed. The time rushes. They have to be ready for August 31, 2026; All documentation must be justified and the last request for payment must be made for September 31, and the disbursements can only be made until December 31. But the initiative to change loan objectives for subsidies can give substantial relief to this situation.
Spain has already renegotiated up to five times the investment objectives and reforms to make payments possible. Many have been rewritten or modified to facilitate their achievement. In a few have reduced the numbers set as objectives when realizing the enormous difficulty of achieving them. This has been the case with the companies that are digitized, electrobies or rehabilitated homes. There have already been so many changes that it costs to follow them. Transparency has also been abandoned: the latest modifications are not even known. Objectives already met to collect them before. And an even greater simplification process is being deployed that allows to rewrite objectives to ensure execution, as indicated in the commission guide.
Spain basically accumulates delays in the construction of 20,000 homes for social rental. Also in housing rehabilitations to make them more energy efficient, whose objectives are 400,000 actions in 285,000 renovated homes. And in the strategic project to foster a chip industry, also known as belonging: the necessary amounts to invest in semiconductor factories are so high that they have made it impossible to attract companies. In addition, there are some games of the discarkation of the industry that are having difficulties, including the one that declined for the withdrawal of Arcelor. There are projects, such as some green hydrogen, in these cases the money is executed when delivered to the public society, which provides up to three more years to execute them. And there are still reforms to approve in a fragmented Congress, such as diesel increase or industry law.
Even so, now that this Monday, four years are completed from the start of the recovery plan, the Government can boast anyway of large figures: 78,115 million euros have been launched into calls and there are 51,355 million resolved. This means that they are awarded, although a part must still be executed. The effort has been titanic for an administration already loaded with daily activity, and this has resulted in 1.1 million beneficiaries, 40% SMEs and microenterprises are already accounted for. There are 25,000 prefinanced social rental; 383,000 created FP places; 270,000 electric vehicles and funded points; 200 municipalities that have acquired zero emission buses and have pedestrianized streets or deployed bike lanes; 550,000 hectares of modernized irrigation; 730,000 SMEs and freelancers who have used the kit digital and 15,000 the kit consulting; 1,400 million euros granted to foster self -consumption in homes and companies; 851 Technological equipment for hospitals, and three approved battery plants.
