Spain gets to work on 'recovery plan' with EU's €9bn first instalment

ECONOMY minister Nadia Calviño has celebrated the 'huge' and 'positive' news that Spain has just received its first €9 billion from the European Union as part of the post-Covid recovery cash.

After submitting a detailed plan on how to spend it, and which focuses heavily on 'green', 'digital' and 'gender equality' solutions, Spain's application for Next Generation EU funds was signed off and the country was approved for €70bn in direct aid and a further €70bn as a loan.

At the moment, though, president Pedro Sánchez wants to take advantage of the non-refundable cash only, preferring not to touch the agreed loan unless and until it becomes urgent, necessary or an opportunity for investment that would not otherwise be possible.

“We're conscious of the modernising investments and achievements that EU funds have created for Spain over the decades, bringing us more in line with more developed countries,” Nadia Calviño says.

She referred to the 'extraordinary opportunities' and 'what could be achieved' with EU grants 'if the money is used properly'.

Steps taken by Spain from the beginning of the pandemic to 'protect the productive fabric of the country and the most vulnerable members of society' mean a very different scenario from that of the previous financial crisis and a quicker, more effective exit from it, Sra Calviño argues.

Temporary lay-offs with unconditional dole money came into effect as soon as Spain went into full lockdown on March 16, 2020 and businesses were ordered to shut up shop, meaning companies did not have to make mass redundancies and a major unemployment crisis was averted.

President Pedro Sánchez says the initial instalment of €9bn, or 13% of the total non-refundable sum agreed, would allow Spain to 'put into effect the huge transformations that its economy needs'.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen tweeted: “[This] disbursement of Next Generation EU funds launches the implementation of Spain's recovery and resilience plan.

“The ambitious plan will provide a crucial push to make the EU Green Deal a reality, further digitalise the economy and make Spain more resilient than ever.”