The Diplomat
Foreign Affairs is the Ministry that has been least active in the management of the Next Generation funds provided by the European Union to contribute to economic recovery after the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to data from the General Intervention of the State Administration (IGAE) on the execution by the different departments, at the end of 2023 of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would have received a total of 379.3 million euros, of which only 12 million would have been executed.
The data indicates that, in 2021, the department headed by José Manuel Albares received 127.6 million euros, none of which were used. In 2022, it received 112.4 million, which were also not executed.
In 2023, Foreign Ministrys received 139.3 million euros, of which it used 12 million, which represents 8.6 percent of the total.
When asked by The Diplomat about the use of Next Generation funds, the Ministry provided data that does not coincide at all with the IGAE figures. According to these data, the amount of funds from the PRTR allocated to the department amounts to 166.69 million euros.
The information provided ensures that these funds “will be allocated to three different projects, of a technological nature and executed by three different managers.” Specifically, it indicates that 102 million euros will go to a consular digitalization plan, executed by the Ministry itself; another 60 million will be for a digital plan for the dissemination and teaching of the Spanish language and culture, which will be carried out by the Cervantes Institute; and finally, four million euros will be dedicated to a digital cooperation plan to be executed by the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development (AECID).
Finally, it is specified that “since these are ongoing projects, the degree of execution will be specified when they approach their conclusion.”
