Execution rate of NextGen EU Funds in Spain

The Spanish think tank EsadeEcPol analyses the evolution of the execution of the Next Generation EU Funds. Given that there is no centralised public place of information that compiles and shows all the public calls and associated executions, EsadeEcPol uses data collected from different official sources and then refines it according to its own methodology that only reaches up to the moment prior to execution, since there is no public data on the execution of the projects associated with the funds. According to this analysis, by the end of January 2024, out of the 80 billion euros allocated, 56.344 billion euros (between tenders and grants), equivalent to 70% of the total, would have been called for, of which 32.925 billion euros equivalent to 41%, would have been granted. According to the report, in order to meet the strict deadlines set by Europe to be able to use all the funds available, the process should be speeded up considerably.

Main highlights of the report:

• Considerable differences between territories and sectors:
  
  
  • By territories, the Valencian Community and Andalusia lead in terms of amount, with more than €1.2 billion each. Catalonia, the Community of Madrid and the Basque Country also have significant figures, exceeding 800 million euros. If we look at it in terms of funds per capita, the list would be headed by the Basque Country, Castilla la Mancha, Aragón, Castilla y León or La Rioja (all above 300 euros of funds per capita) in contrast to Catalonia, or Madrid (130 euros of funds per capita).
    
    
  • By sector: According to the report, of the 16,000 million euros awarded through grants and tenders that have a specific sectoral affiliation (for the rest there is no data), more than 4,000 million euros (25%) were dedicated to construction. According to the report, key sectors such as digitalization and education, despite being pillars of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, do not lead in terms of funds received, pointing to areas of potential realignment in future allocations.
    
    
• High Concentration of companies receiving European funds: According to the report, 72% of grants to companies (out of a total of 500,000 recipient companies, excluding the self-employed, individuals, etc.) are concentrated in the top 1% of recipients. Out of this 1%, the top 0.1% would accumulate 42% of the concessions.
  
  
• Conclusion: According to the report, it would be worthwhile to gauge to what extent the results observed so far reflect a demand for implementation that is too ambitious for the current administrative structure of fund management. In any case, it underlines the importance of implementation analysis and monitoring to adjust and target recovery policies in a way that maximises positive impact and promotes long-term sustainable growth.