The Spanish Government managed to remove from the Addendum to the Recovery Plan the obligation to implement new tolls on the roads arguing, to the European Commission, that inflation continues to have a “very deep” negative effect on transport costs and , therefore, the decision would represent a penalty for an essential sector for the Spanish economy, and also very belligerent. The commitment was black on white and the negotiators of the Spanish Executive acknowledge that it was not easy, but they achieved it two weeks ago, as La Vanguardia advanced, calling for a “radical change” in the price of energy and raw materials caused essentially by the war in Ukraine.
The carriers put the Spanish Government in danger in 2022 due to the increase in costs. For this reason, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and La Moncloa, main negotiators with Brussels for European funds, made an effort not to add a new burden, with tolls, to a sector that the Spanish Executive continues to subsidize.
The tug-of-war was also influenced, although to a lesser extent, by the future payment model for CO2, which will have to pay for transport. The two measures, these sources explain, could have overlapped.
In exchange for eliminating the toll plan, Spain has pledged to promote rail transport, which will benefit the Mediterranean corridor. These new developments will be included in the Sustainable Mobility law, a rule that began to be processed in Congress but was stuck due to the early calling of elections. The Commission now agrees to delay until the end of 2024 the maximum deadline for the entry into force of this law.
The positive evaluation, by the EU, of the addendum of European funds puts an end to an “intense negotiation” between Spain and Brussels that has lasted for more than a year. The Spanish Government aspires to be able to exhaust the 93.5 billion between transfers and loans beyond 2026. It is another novelty. That is why the Commission has accepted a formula so that, when public business agencies manage the investments, an extension can be accepted. Enisa, Empresa Nacional d’Innovación, will be one of these agencies. The negotiators assumed that this could be the case for some Perte, such as hydrogen or chips, which are complex to execute and, therefore, their deadline for completing projects could be extended.
There have also been changes in the financing lines to which the 83.5 billion in loans will be allocated. Specifically, Spain and Brussels have agreed to expand by 6,500 million, up to 39,500, the credits that will be managed by the Official Credit Institute (ICO) in collaboration with private banks.
In an environment of more expensive financing, companies will have access to 30-year financing lines with a grace period of 10 at the same cost that the European Commission has to face in the debt markets.
Considering current prices, Spain will have an advantage of around 25 basis points when it comes to financing projects. Credits will count as debt, although Economia is not worried about the new tax rules.
The special financing for the Vital Minimum Income and the new ERTOs (the so-called RED Mechanism) also disappear from the addendum.
For its part, the Spanish Government has also indicated that it plans to apply “soon” for the fourth tranche of the funds, 10,000 million. He will do so even if he remains in office.
