<h6><strong>Ane Barcos</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The European Commission approved this Monday the disbursement of the fifth tranche of funds to Spain under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), for a total amount of €22.926 billion. This figure, although it represents the largest payment authorized to date to a Member State, represents a reduction of approximately €1.1 billion compared to the initial request, due to the failure to meet three commitments included in the national recovery plan.</strong></h4> According to the evaluation carried out by the European Commission, Spain has satisfactorily met 82 of the 84 milestones and objectives linked to this request, which correspond to 20 reforms and 49 investments in areas such as the green and digital transition, sustainable mobility, education and vocational training, tourism, efficient justice, and water management. Measures aimed at promoting the implementation of renewable energy, improving the connection of clean sources to the electricity grid, encouraging commuter rail transport, and supporting the digitalization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) stand out. However, the EU executive has decided to freeze a total of approximately €1.1 billion linked to three commitments it considers unfulfilled. One of these is the failure to approve the diesel tax. Another relates to investments aimed at the digitalization of regional and local governments, the implementation of which Brussels considers insufficient. The third is linked to measures adopted to reduce temporary employment in public employment. Although this last commitment was validated in the first disbursement approved in 2021, the Commission has revised it downwards following two recent rulings by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which concluded that the reforms implemented by Spain are ineffective in punishing the abuse of temporary employment among interim civil servants. On the other hand, Brussels has finally confirmed the fulfillment of the target related to the digitalization of SMEs, which had been pending in the fourth payment. This has allowed the release of the €139 million that had been suspended and which is now being added to this fifth installment. Of the €22.926 billion authorized in this fifth tranche, €6.991 billion corresponds to direct aid and €15.935 billion to loans, thus consolidating a significant financial injection for the Spanish economy. The assessment has been forwarded to the Economic and Financial Committee (EFC), which has four weeks to issue its opinion. Once received, the Commission will proceed to formally adopt the payment decision. In this context, Carlos Cuerpo, Minister of Economy, Trade, and Enterprise, positively assessed the decision at the end of the Eurogroup meeting held this Monday in Brussels. He emphasized that "it represents the largest disbursement made to date to any Member State" and stressed that "Spain is the country that has received the most transfers, with a total of €55 billion, equivalent to 70% of the allocated aid." He also emphasized that "the country continues to lead the process of reforms and investments, remaining at the forefront of major economic modernization projects in Europe." In his words, "Spain's recovery plan is an essential element in demonstrating that we continue to lead the major economies in the eurozone," and concluded by stating that "we have had good news." For his part, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez also celebrated the approval on social media, noting that the European Commission has authorized the fifth disbursement of €24 billion, "the largest to date." He added that "Spain complies with and continues to lead the Plan's implementation in Europe. Our country is moving forward in its economic transformation with European funds #NextGenerationEU.
