The Government formally requests the fourth payment of 10,000 million from European funds

2023-12-21 00:20:34

The Government formally requested this Wednesday night, through the General Secretariat of European Funds – dependent on the Ministry of Finance and Public Function -, the fourth disbursement of the ‘Next Generation EU’ funds in the amount of 10,021 million euros. The receipt of said economic item is linked to the fulfillment of 61 milestones and objectives.

The payment of the fourth package will be added to the 37,036 million euros already received, of which 9,036 million euros were received as pre-financing and another 28,000 million euros corresponding to the first three disbursements. If it obtains a positive evaluation from the European Commission, Spain will have already met 182 milestones and objectives.

As reported by the Executive, the request includes some of the “key reforms” of the Recovery Plan. Among them, those adopted in the field of pensions stand out, such as the replacement of the sustainability factor with an intergenerational equity mechanism, the adaptation of the calculation period for calculating the retirement pension and the adaptation of the maximum contribution base. .

In this context, the Ministry of Finance also points out reforms to improve entrepreneurship and the business climate. He cites, specifically, the entry into force of the Create and Grow Law and the Start-ups Law, which “aims to simplify business creation procedures and promote diversified sources of financing for business growth.”

Likewise, the Government defends that the commitments are fulfilled in the field of public service after incorporating in a royal decree law the measures for a renewal of the planning, organization and management of human resources, as well as the regulation of performance evaluation . To this we must add “changes in access to senior civil servant positions so that the criteria of merit and competence prevail”, as well as the regulation of the figure of the professional public manager.

Incentives and investments

Another of the reforms addressed has to do with the modification of the patronage law to “improve its tax incentive regime.” In addition, he points out “the measures aimed at achieving a greener and more sustainable economy”, such as the package of measures on the circular economy, the Waste and Contaminated Soil Law or the Housing Law.

On the other hand, the Government has reported that in this payment request “investments gain weight.” In this sense, he argues that a series of subsidies have been granted and contracts signed to promote activity in the private sector. Likewise, support programs have been launched for SMEs “to provide them with the skills and tools necessary to contribute to the digital transition.”