Little by little, Catalonia is gaining ground in the execution of European funds, although the figures are still very low. Of the almost 2,195 million of the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism (MRR) that the Government has assigned to Catalonia since the last quarter of 2021 -according to updated data from the Generalitat itself-, the Catalan administration has only published calls for aid or tenders for works, supplies or provision of services for a total of 510 millions of euros. This figure represents just 23% of the 2,195 million allocated so far to the regional administration; or 32% of the funds actually deposited that, according to data from the Ministry of Economy that directs James Giroare estimated at 1,576 million.
If the quantities that have actually reached their final destination are analysed, the results are even meager, since only 8.5% of the European funds assigned to Catalonia have already reached companies, citizens or institutions. Of the 57 calls published (32 tenders and 25 calls for aid) for a total of 510 million, only 34 have already been resolved or awarded, and these represent a total amount of 186 million euros, equivalent to only 8.5% of European funds allocated to the autonomous community.
It is evident that the money from the European funds is taking time to reach the real economy. The central government maintains that the execution of spending is gaining cruising speed, but the truth is that this statement does not guarantee that the money is landing in economic activity. Much of the high budget execution of the funds exhibited by the Government consists of transferring the money that arrives from the EU to the autonomous communities. But then it is up to these to make the calls and complete the process. In addition to the logical delay imposed by this sequence, the Government interprets that it is in the autonomous communities where one of the bottlenecks is taking place that is delaying the use of European funds. The Minister of the Presidency, Felix Bolanoshas recently called on the autonomous communities to approve “the necessary legislative reforms” to streamline their procedures for the management of European funds.
“Surely the pace of execution would be better if the communities had more capacity to decide on calls and projects,” they believe in the Generalitat. “Now Catalonia neither chooses nor decides the tenders. It only manages them,” they add. In reality, it is the state government that announces the calls that the communities must publish and sets the conditions. Afterwards, each community must adapt them to its own context and its level of competences and proceed to sign agreements with the State.
Bad start
However, if we look at the evolution of recent months, the data point to a gradual acceleration. Catalonia began the year with an outstanding delay in the management of European funds but, as the months go by, it is stepping on the accelerator. In February, according to a report published by the business school Esade and the consulting firm EY, it had barely launched investment tenders for 3.93 million of euros, which left Catalonia as the fourth territory from the bottom – only behind The Riojaof Melilla and of Navarre– and very far from the data they presented then Castilla la Mancha (208.53 million) or Galicia (204.84 million).
In addition, according to data extracted from the Portal of European funds of the Generalitatat the end of February only 10 calls for subsidies had been published for 170 million.
Both games gave a total of just 174 million despite the fact that, according to data from the central government, Catalonia had already been assigned transfers from the State for 1,538 million in 2021. Those 174 million offered (not awarded) only represented 11% of the money available.
best evolution
Now, with data from mid-June, transfers of European funds from the State to the Generalitat are already approaching 2,200 million. Of the total of 15,600 million allocated so far by the State to the autonomous communities, Catalonia is the second with the largest volume of allocated funds, behind Andalusia (2,547 million) and ahead of Madrid (1,652).
The amount of the tenders and announcements published by the Generalitat until mid-June (510 million) triples what existed at the end of February (174 million).
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Of the 35 calls for subsidies made to date by the Generalitat, the largest correspond to aid for the energy self-consumption in homes (114.9 million euros), or those of the plan Moves III to encourage the purchase of electric vehicles (63.9 million). The grants for building rehabilitation 24 million have been taken and those destined for the transformation of the transport fleets of passengers and goods, another 21.7 million.
In terms of tenders, the largest volume corresponds to the Department of Education, for the acquisition of laptops in educational centers (17.34 million), still in the announcement phase. The health department It is the recipient of at least six tenders for contracts for the supply of technological equipment or works for its hospitals. The tender with the largest volume already resolved to date corresponds to the Center for Genomic Regulation Foundationfor the acquisition of a new DNA sequencer, for 7.35 million euros.