The EU unlocks another 94 billion European funds for Spain and agrees to eliminate the implementation of tolls

The European Commission approved this Monday the addendum to the recovery plan, the extension of the original plan with which Spain will be able to access an additional 93.5 billion euros of European funds, 90% of them in the form of loans with favorable conditions.. In exchange, the Spanish Government has committed to undertaking 18 new reforms and has agreed to 52 modifications to the plan, among them a very popular one: the commitment to introduce tolls on Spanish highways.. In this way, Spanish drivers will not have to pay to use the highways starting next year, as established in the original plan approved in 2021.

The preliminary approval of the addendum, which must be ratified by the EU Council within a maximum period of four weeks, is the starting signal for the second phase of the recovery plan. In it, Spain will be able to access 83.2 billion euros in loans under advantageous conditions (they can be repaid in 30 years and the first ten only have to be paid interest), 7.7 billion euros in non-refundable aid and another 2.6 billion to finance the REPowerEU plan. , with which Brussels intends to accelerate Russia's energy disconnection.

These additional 93,500 million are added to the 69,500 million in non-refundable transfers that have already been unlocked in the first phase started in 2021 for a total of 163,000 million. Of these, Spain has so far received 37 billion in three disbursements, that is, 23% of all funds available until 2026.

The addendum to the plan introduces 18 new reforms and introduces amendments that affect up to 52 measures in total. The new reforms were already known. Many of them develop norms that have already been approved, but whose parliamentary processing was interrupted by the calling of elections.. Others, however, develop general plans and strategies on matters such as desertification, artificial intelligence or water resources management.

The modification included in the recovery plan is developed through 52 amendments based on “objective circumstances” that justify the changes and that for the most part seek to extend the deadlines. Among these circumstances are alterations in supply chains, high inflation, lack of demand in some measures or the appearance of unforeseen legal and administrative difficulties.. Furthermore, the modifications do not affect key reforms such as pensions or tax reforms, as the Government had already indicated when it presented the draft addendum last June.

The European Commission points out that in the addendum “Spain does not eliminate or significantly reduce any investment or reform, but rather adds additional investments and reforms”. “We understand that almost all Member States will have to tweak their plan because priorities are changing, it is not something that worries us. Spain is not an isolated case,” community sources consulted by 20minutes point out in this sense.

After receiving the approval of the European Commission, the modification of the Spanish recovery plan must now be approved by the Council of the EU, which can take a maximum of four weeks. If the Council gives the green light, Spain will be able to access another 1.4 billion euros in pre-financing by the REPowerEU. Likewise, the acting Government will be able to request the fourth disbursement of the funds starting this Monday, something that the Ministry of Economic Affairs expects to happen soon.

No tolls on highways in 2024

The original recovery plan approved in 2021 included in its first component the commitment to approve a Transportation Mobility and Financing Law that would include “a payment system for use of the high-capacity road network” to cover the costs of maintenance and negative environmental externalities with a view to implementing it in 2024.

This commitment, which is now disappearing at the request of the Spanish Government, was raised before energy prices skyrocketed following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its application had been called into question following sharp increases in road transport costs.. The Commission was aware of the difficulties in implementing this measure in a context like the current one and has agreed to replace it with a commitment to promote freight transport by rail.. An approach that is in line with the recommendations that Brussels made to Spain last May.

Brussels' decision to accept the abolition of tolls has been heavily influenced by the fact that the EU will also begin charging road transport for CO2 emissions from 2027.. From that date on, the sector will have to buy CO2 emission rights to be able to pollute, as is already the case with high energy consumption industries, commercial aviation or electricity generating and heat generation companies.

Regarding the elimination of tolls from the text, the Commission points out that the ambition of the Spanish plan remains unchanged and that the new proposal “contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from road transport, while addressing the recommendations country-specific”.