Podemos’ ‘no’ in the Congress of Deputies to the unemployment benefit reform, one of the sixty milestones whose fulfillment is necessary to access the fourth payment of the recovery planhas forced the Government of Pedro Sánchez to open a double negotiation to try to guarantee access to the 10 billion euros associated with this disbursement of funds from the Next Generation EU program: with Brussels and at the domestic level with social agents. The European Comission For the moment, it has chosen to give the Executive room before ruling on the disbursement request.
Spain requested the fourth payment last December 20th and the Community Executive is currently evaluating the request. Habitually The analysis period is two months although it can be prolonged. For now Brussels has granted one additional month of term due to the Christmas break, although this period could be extended even further. “The evaluation period has been extended by one month and may be extended further. It’s not something unusual. Similar extensions have been agreed with Romania, Bulgaria, Italy and Cyprus in previous payment requests,” explains a spokesperson for the European Commission.
This means that Brussels would normally have until the end of March to analyze the request, although it could be extended beyond the scheduled date if it is agreed with Madrid. An extension that offers an oxygen cylinder to the Government to try to accelerate the unemployment benefit reform, something that the Vice President of Labor has already announced, Yolanda Diaz.
Two-way negotiation
“As we have done in the case of previous disbursements, we are in talks with the Commission related to the compliance with milestones and objectives that have to do with this disbursement. “We are working in parallel at the domestic level to continue advancing in the milestones and objectives that remain to be met,” explained the Minister of Economy, Carlos Body upon his arrival at the Eurogroup meeting, the first to participate as a minister. “Are two negotiations have to evolve in parallel and continue to have that sign of confidence and flow of funds that can come to the Spanish economy,” he added, regarding a payment that implies the achievement of 60 milestones and objectives.
What happens if there is no agreement before Brussels issues its verdict? In that case, the European Commission could choose to approve a partial disbursement of the 10,000 million euros as planned the recovery fund regulations. “If the Commission evaluates that all the milestones and objectives associated with a payment are not satisfactorily met, the Commission may suspend the payment of all or part of the corresponding financial contribution and, where appropriate, the loan,” the Community Executive explains. .
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This means that if there is no unemployment benefit reform When Brussels concludes its analysis, it could freeze part of the amount, although the money would not be lost and the suspension would be lifted when Spain finally approved the reform, within the six months following the suspension decision.
“These six months provide additional time for the Member State to comply with the relevant measures and continue receiving the suspended amounts despite the fact that it occurs at a later stage,” the same sources explain. Body has avoided commenting on a possible partial payment. The Government, they insist, works to obtain “a full payment”.