Subject: Deals involving EU funds in negotiations for Sánchez’s investiture
In the context of Mr Sánchez’s investiture as prime minister, the caretaker Spanish Government is in talks with Junts to retroactively allocate 19 % of Spain’s NextGenerationEU funds to Catalonia. Granting EU funds in return for votes is a blatant violation of Article 22, inter alia, of the Recovery and Resilience Facility Regulation because the regulation ties the disbursement of funds to objective milestones rather than political criteria.
An agreement has also been reached to write off EUR 15 billion of Catalonia’s debt in exchange for political support. The write-off will mean somehow closing the funding gap and we are concerned that recovery funds are being considered for this purpose, in a blatant breach of the regulation. There would be an increased risk that the funds would be used for regular national expenditure, which goes against the provisions of the regulation’s Article 5.
1. How will the Commission prevent the EU’s financial interests from being harmed by the investiture agreements?
2. How will the Commission make sure that the funds are used in line with Spain’s recovery plan and the Recovery and Resilience Facility Regulation?
Submitted: 8.11.2023
Answer given by Mr Gentiloni on behalf of the European Commission
(30 January 2024)
The Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) Regulation (1) contains several safeguards to protect the financial interests of the EU. Most notably, payments only take place after a positive assessment of whether the milestones and targets, set out in the Council Implementing Decision approving a Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), have been satisfactorily fulfilled.
The measures in the revised Spanish plan were translated into concrete milestones and targets to be implemented during the February 2020 — August 2026 period, in line with the Council Implementing Decision (2). The Commission will continue to assess whether these milestones and targets have been satisfactorily fulfilled each time Spain submits a payment request.
At the same time, the RRF Regulation assigns to Member States the primary responsibility for implementing the measures and ensuring compliance with EU and national laws. Within that framework, the distribution of funds among regions is the responsibility of Member States, in line with their national legislation.
The Commission has stressed that, to ensure ownership by the relevant actors, it is crucial to involve all regional and local authorities throughout the implementation of the investments and reforms included in the RRP. Ensuring broader ownership for the implementation of the RRP contributes to enhancing its effectiveness and expected long-lasting impact.
1 ∙ ⸱ Regulation (EU) 2021/241 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 February 2021 establishing the Recovery and Resilience Facility, OJ L 57,
18.2.2021, p. 17-75. 2 ∙ ⸱
https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-13695-2023-ADD-1-REV-1/en/pdf