Spain is beginning to register a significant accumulation of remnants of European funds due to the fact that the calls that have been put out to tender or have found a successful bidder, either because they have not aroused interest among public or private companies or because the administration has excluded interested parties. In total, 10,621 million, between the tenders of the General Administration (AGE) and the autonomous communities, were in this situation as of December 31, according to a report prepared by the NextGen Observatory of the consulting firm Llorente y Cuenca (LLyC).
The level of remainders (all transfers) in the execution of the Recovery Plan reaches 6,575 million in the general administration, according to data confirmed by LLyC. To these we must add another 4,000 million from the regional administration, which could reach 5,205 million (the consulting firm denounces a lack of transparency in the information on execution at the regional level, so the second figure is an estimate).
But the unallocated subsidies could be even higher, since the AGE could accumulate another 2,540 million, according to LLyC estimates. In total, and always taking into account the consultant’s report, the European funds that have not been awarded could reach, for the moment, 14,321 million, 20.4% of the 70,316 million of the initial allocation of the Recovery Plan.
That they do not have a recipient does not mean, however, that these European funds will be lost. Yes, they will have to be re-tendered. The remainder, explains Paloma Baena, director of the NextGen observatory in Llorente and Cuenca, “are funds assigned to the objectives of the Recovery Plan, not freely available.” The administrations, therefore, have to take into account in the re-tender the allocation for which they received them and not allocate them to other items.
In 2023 alone, almost 3,000 million in remainders were generated. Some examples: in the Perte call for electric and connected vehicles, almost 629 million were distributed and another 208 million were not found. The same happened with 416 million tenders linked to mobility.
The level of execution of the Recovery Plan also continues to generate problems. Although the Government has committed 66,296 million, as of December 31, of the original 70,346 million, which represents 94%, execution stands at 46%. This represents a challenge, since the vast majority of investments that qualify for subsidies must be completed by August 2026. The general administration has already awarded 78% of its funds, but the autonomous communities continue to hinder the distribution, points out LLyC. There are 33,800 million left to be awarded, almost half of the Recovery Plan, in addition to the addendum.
By autonomous community, as of December 31, Andalusia led the distribution of transfers from European funds with 3,849 million, followed by Catalonia, with 3,524 million. At a certain distance are the Community of Madrid, with 2,607 million and the Valencian Community, 2,288 million.
By country, Spain was surpassed on December 31 by Italy and Portugal in that both countries have already requested the fifth payment from the European Commission. The transalpine country has already received 101,930 million in European funds, well above Spain’s 37,040 million. It has an explanation: Italy has centralized the distribution in public companies, hence the speed of its awards, explains LLyC. Spain, however, has more, less fragmented beneficiaries and, in addition, has greater access to small and medium-sized companies. According to the consultancy, SMEs have been able to opt for two thirds of the calls through different mechanisms.
Regarding the unemployment benefit reform, which the Congress of Deputies repealed, Llorente and Cuenca experts point out that Spain could request a partial disbursement of the fifth payment, of 7,000 million. There is a precedent: the European Commission granted an additional period of time to Italy to comply with some of its commitments.
