The Government accelerates the distribution of European funds with 56,500 million already mobilized

The Government has already authorized the distribution of 56,459 million European funds, of which around 40,000 million have already been classified as “recognized obligations”, according to the third situation report presented by the Executive’s economic area. These data explain, as detailed by the first vice president, Nadia Calviño, and the Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, that the collaboration between administrations and companies has reached a “cruising speed” so that this year will be the one with the greatest allocation of resources public, coinciding with the end of the legislature.

The pace of execution increases progressively, year by year and month by month. In 2021, 22,129 million euros were authorized, a figure that in 2022 amounted to 25,143 million. The data has been pulverized in the month of January of this year, when 9,188 million have been assigned, which represents a third of the budget for all of 2023. At a global level, since the start of the implementation of the recovery plan, already 90% of the budgeted funds have been authorized.

But authorization of transfers does not mean execution. In this sense, the Government figures 75% of the European funds executed. Montero specifies that these are “recognized obligations”, that is, that the beneficiary already knows that he is going to receive the aid, a decision that the Executive already counts as a contribution to the real economy, even if the payment has not been made. The transfer would be made when the bill of the project is justified. Calviño has estimated a contribution to GDP of 2.6 points over a decade.

In the third report on the execution of the Recovery Plan, the Government also updates the allocation of funds by autonomous communities as of December 31. In total, 20,628 million have been completed, with Andalusia being the most benefited region, with 3,262 million. It is followed by Catalonia, with 3,039 million; the Community of Madrid, with 2,256 million; and the Valencian Community, with 1,965 million. Already in a lower step are the Canary Islands, with 1,341 million assigned; Castilla y León, with 1,283 million; Galicia, with 1,219 million; and Castilla-La Mancha, with 1,008 million.

Below that figure are the Balearic Islands, with 859 million allocated; Basque Country, with 852 million; Aragon, with 708 million; Extremadura, with 677 million; Murcia, with 620 million; Asturias, with 489 million; Navarra, with 406 million; Cantabria, with 337 million; and La Rioja, with 231 million. Ceuta and Melilla have received a contribution of 39 and 37 million from European funds.

The central government has estimated the degree of execution of the autonomous communities at 4,343 million until November 2022. Economy admits a certain slowness and affirms that regional governments “are beginning to acquire that cruising speed”. To help this, the Executive approved a commission to the public company Tragsatec to offer an assistance and advice service to regional and local administrations.

Calviño and Montero have ensured that the funds that have not been authorized in previous years will be made available to the different projects in the future. In this sense “there will be no lost funds”, has proclaimed the head of the Treasury. “We are going to execute 100% of what was budgeted,” she added.

On the eve of the visit of a delegation from the European Parliament to assess the degree of compliance with the Spanish Recovery Plan, the economic area of ??the Government has also endeavored to emphasize that aid distribution mechanisms have been strengthened and the fight against fraud. In this sense, “in each managing entity” specific committees have been created to prevent corruption. Work is also beginning on the Coffee tool (common platform for European funds), which is a comprehensive audit model. Ministries, autonomies, town halls and universities are progressively uploading their projects and progress to the system. It is a kind of control panel of the whole recovery plan. “There is no country with such a complete tool,” Montero boasted.

The head of the Treasury has also reported that the General Secretariat for European Funds has already trained 2,214 public employees on the management of community funds, 70% of the total number of public personnel set as an objective.