The government formally requested a third disbursement of the Recovery and Resilience Facility, worth €6 billion, making Spain the first member state to do so.
This request places Spain “as the most advanced country in the deployment of the funds,” having been the first member state to request both the second and third payments from the Commission, sources told EFE.
The Commission has three months to check all the documentation submitted by the Spanish Finance Ministry to formally proceed with the new disbursement.
Among the milestones agreed upon with the Commission and already completed by Madrid, the Spanish Finance Ministry highlighted the reform of the Bankruptcy Law, the new Law on the Comprehensive Vocational Training System, the reform of the Social Security contribution system for the self-employed, and the new legislation on Measures to Prevent and Combat Tax Fraud.
Additionally, the new payment request involves Research and Development projects in the automotive sector, the financing of projects to promote sustainability and competitiveness in agriculture and livestock farming, and the reinforcement of the fight against forest fires, among others.
A satisfactory assessment by Brussels would ,in principle allow the total disbursement of the extra €6 billion to be added to the €31.036 billion already paid. €9.036 billion of, which were received as pre-financing, and €22 billion from the first and second disbursements.
In the event of a positive assessment, Spain would have already met 121 milestones and targets out of 416, which is almost 30% of the total milestones and targets agreed upon.
The areas of investment range from industry, trade and tourism to digitalisation, transport and mobility or green transition and science and health, the sources added.
(Fernando Heller | EuroEFE.EURACTIV.es)
Source: euractiv.com
