The European Commission has verified that the Spanish state has implemented the promised reforms and investments for the first semester of 2022. The EU must now give the green light.
The European Commission this Friday approved a third disbursement to the Spanish state of €6 billion from the post-pandemic recovery fund, after verifying that it has met the 29 associated targets, as reported by the institution in a statement.
Now the states of the European Union have four weeks to approve the payment which, if confirmed, will bring the total number of grants Spain will receive from the Next Generation Fund to €37,036 million, the community country receiving the most payouts to date.
Brussels has verified that the Spanish state implemented the promised reforms and investments for the first half of 2022, specifically 23 milestones and 6 objectives, as well as correcting some deficiencies discovered in the audit system.
This green light comes three days before a group of MEPs travel to Spain to review the implementation of the plan and also opens the door for work to start on the fourth €10,000 million payment, which will include key aspects of the includes pension. reforms, such as the extension of the calculation period and an analysis to assess the sustainability of the system.
The milestones of the third tranche validated this Friday include the reform of the bankruptcy law, the law on comprehensive vocational training, the reform of the system of social security contributions for the self-employed, the law on preventive measures and the fight against tax Fraud or other reforms for the development and promotion of investments in renewable energy.
He payment was linked as well as progress in R+D+i projects in the automotive sector, the financing of projects promoting the sustainability and competitiveness of agriculture and livestock, strengthening the fight against forest fires or actions to improve access to the minimum vital income , among other milestones and targets.
In addition, with this payment, Brussels had to assess whether Spain had corrected some shortcomings in the audit and control system of the plan that had been detected during the analysis of the first request for payment, in particular with regard to the information on contracts in which the beneficiary of the aid was a foreign company without legal representation in Spain.
If the States give the green light to the third payment, it will be in addition to the advance of 9,036 million and the two payments of 10,000 and 12,000 million that Spain has already received, which will have given the country 37,036 million euros, almost half of the total corresponding grants from the fund until 2026.
In addition, the government has approved the addendum to the recovery plan by which it will request EUR 84,000 million in loans and an additional EUR 7,700 million in additional transfers from the Next Generation Fund, to which EUR 2,600 million will be added from the new mechanism RepowerEU to reduce energy dependency.
A total of another EUR 94.3 billion for new investments and reforms in the fields of energy, industry, agri-food and technology, which will also have to be given the go-ahead by Brussels.
(function(d, s, id) {
var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
if (d.getElementById(id)) return;
js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;
js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/es_ES/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.8”;
fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));
Source: EITB
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
