Spain requests the fifth payment of the Recovery Plan, which is extended and reaches a record 25 billion

Spain has submitted a fifth extended payment claim which involves the accreditation of the largest number of milestones and objectives of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (RTRP), a total of 84. This is about 15% of the entire Plan. The total amount requested would amount to more than 25 billion euros, 15% of the total funds allocated to Spain. Of this, 9.1 billion gross (8 billion net) corresponds to grants and 16 billion to loans (15.9 billion net). This acceleration in the implementation of the Spanish Recovery Plan will be possible thanks to the modification of more than 30 measures of the Recovery Plan which has already received a positive preliminary assessment by the Commission and will be subject to a subsequent final approval by the Council.

The payment request includes the fulfilment of 71 milestones and targets for grants and 13 for loans. Of these, 55 are part of milestones and targets for future disbursements, but are presented in the current request as they have already been met.

This increases the number of milestones and targets in the current application from 32 to 84, almost a threefold increase. This is the first time that a Member State has advanced such a volume of future commitments. This shows that Spain continues to lead European countries in terms of implementing the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism.

Spain is already the country with the most milestones and transfer targets met in absolute terms (181 milestones and targets) and the country that has received the most transfers from the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism (close to 48 billion euros, 60% of the total). Once the Commission approves the fifth extended transfer payment request, Spain is expected to consolidate this leading position, with around 50% of the RTRP milestones and targets for transfers expected to be met.

Moreover, according to internal data from the Ministry of Finance, once Spain receives the 25 billion euros of the fifth disbursement, the country will have obtained a total of 56 billion in transfers, which is 70% of the expected total, and 16 billion in loans, approximately 20% of the total. For loans, it should be recalled that they were incorporated into the Plan about a year ago, with the entry into force of the addendum.

Fifth disbursement: key milestones and targets

Among Spain's main milestones and objectives included in the fifth extended payment request are those adopted related to science, with the approval of the Law on Universities, which aims to promote higher education. This reform is accompanied by an investment by which the Action Plan for the development of university micro-credentials was adopted.

Tax reforms are also noteworthy. Once the assessment period is over, the European Commission is expected to give the go-ahead to the tax measures adopted by the Government, including the recently approved package on corporate taxation, health taxation and personal income taxation. The impact of the measures adopted will increase tax revenue by 0.3 percentage points of GDP and allow Spain to continue to close the gap with the European average.

In justice, the entry into force of the Law on Organisational and Procedural Efficiency and the Law on the Right of Defence, which reinforce the proper functioning of our rule of law with the approval of the European Commission, is presented.

In line with the objectives of the Recovery Plan, this new disbursement includes significant investments for the green transition. Special attention is given to resource-poor areas, such as the adoption of 12 just transition protocols to address the socio-economic impacts of climate change, and commitments to implement projects for the rehabilitation of former mining sites have been fulfilled.

Progress has also been made in environmental protection through the creation of marine protected areas and the restoration of coastal zones.

For its part, the Water Law is presented, which has meant a change of model towards the 'polluter pays' and 'cost recovery' principles for water reclamation. This far-reaching reform is accompanied by investments, improved water and wastewater treatment infrastructure. Regulatory reforms to simplify the granting of authorisations for renewable energy production and improve renewable energy production capacity, including projects related to green hydrogen, have also been promoted.

In addition, the payment claim covers strategic investments in transport, where improvements have been made to state roads, suburban lines and stations and investments in short-distance rail infrastructure.

Measures have also been promoted to support SMEs in innovation and digitalisation, with an important focus on the agri-food and fisheries sectors, with specific sustainability projects for the latter.

In digital transition, initiatives such as the interconnection of public procurement platforms, the digitalisation of local authorities and the improvement of services in areas such as social security and health have been completed. The digitalisation of cultural industries and libraries has also been boosted.

Implementation of the bulk of loans

On loans, the launch of the funds that will channel the bulk of the plan's loans is noteworthy. Specifically, the ICO Verde and Empresas y Emprendedores funds were launched, with more than 30 billion euros to support the productive fabric, as well as the ICO Vivienda facility, with 4 billion euros for the promotion of social housing.

In addition, the creation of the Autonomous Community Resilience Fund, which aims to encourage private investment and improve access to financing in the autonomous communities, has been implemented. The Social Impact and Co-investment Funds, managed by COFIDES, as well as the funds to be managed by the new Spanish Society for Technological Transformation to address the challenge of digital transformation, are also launched.

In particular, the 4 billion euro Next Tech funds to boost public investment in technology projects, the 1.7 billion euro Audiovisual Hub fund to support the audiovisual sector, and the PERTE CHIP, the most ambitious of the 12 strategic projects envisaged in the RTRP, which promotes the creation of an industrial ecosystem throughout the semiconductor value chain and also aims to take forward-looking action towards the technological future of microelectronics in our country, using more than 12 billion euros.

Approval of the technical addendum

The technical addendum preliminarily adopted today by the European Commission notes the acceleration in the implementation of the Spanish Recovery Plan.

Thirty-three measures are amended, which brought forward 55 milestones and targets for subsequent disbursements that had already been met to the fifth disbursement.

Fifty-one milestones and targets linked to the Recovery Plan non-reimbursable funds are advanced, of which 12 for reforms and 39 for investments, and 4 milestones and targets linked to loans are advanced, of which 1 is for reforms and 3 for investments.

This technical addendum, which affects some of the milestones and targets that have been proven to be met, will have to be confirmed by the Council of the EU.

Including 158 million outstanding from the fourth disbursement

The disbursement request includes the 158 million euros pending from the fourth payment, corresponding to the Agents of Change programme, after proving the fulfilment of the milestone with its transformation into the Kit Consulting programme, which is an aid package that allows SMEs to design a roadmap for their digital transformation, with subsidies of between 12,000 and 24,000 euros per SME. The programme is proving to be a success and has more than met the target before the deadline set by the European Commission.

Effort for co-governance and administrative coordination

The submission of the fifth payment request has involved an intense effort of co-governance and administrative coordination on the part of the Secretariat General for European Funds, which has required numerous preparatory meetings with the European Commission and the involvement of almost 800 heads of entities and bodies from all public administrations, who have provided more than 325,000 verification documents.

• 226 officials of the General State Administration and their teams
• 284 regional level managers and their teams
• 155 local decision-makers and their teams
• 107 university leaders and their teams
  This is in addition to the exhaustive work of the IGAE, as the Control Authority, which has coordinated the performance of the controls and audits necessary for the submission of the payment claim.