Subject: The role of local and regional authorities in designing and implementing the Recovery and Resilience Facility
Articles 18 and 28 of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) Regulation stipulate that local and regional authorities, as well as civil society, must have a role in the design and subsequent implementation of national recovery plans.
The Spanish Government has consistently failed to abide by the aforementioned articles. This has been condemned by the governments of autonomous communities, local councils, social partners and even the European Committee of the Regions. What is more, the Spanish Government has lied to the European Commission while trying to explain what it claims is collaborative governance.
In light of this:
1. The Spanish Government has announced that a Regional Resilience Fund will be set up – to be managed by the European Investment Bank – and that it will allocate EUR 20 billion of the EUR 83 billion received in loans from the RRF to this fund. How does the Commission view the fact that autonomous communities and local councils in Spain have still not received any information at all about this fund?
2. Autonomous communities have not been involved in designing the Regional Resilience Fund. Is this consistent with Articles 18 and 28 of the RRF Regulation?
Submitted:23.4.2024
Answer given by Mr Gentiloni on behalf of the European Commission
(1 July 2024)
In line with the requirements laid down in Article 18(4)(q) of the Recovery and Resilience Facility Regulation (1), the revised Recovery and Resilience Plan of Spain (2) (RRP) includes a summary of the different structures and processes used for stakeholder dialogue.
It also mentions how the different elements stemming from the consultation to social agents, regions, local entities, and other political forces were integrated in the submitted addendum.
The revised RRP, including the Regional Resilience Fund, explains that the Spanish Government carried out a consultation process with social partners, regions and local entities and political groups during the preparation of the addendum of the RRP.
In particular, to improve the implementation of the initial RRP and to prepare the modified one, the RRP explains that there were, amongst others: i) 159 sectorial conferences and their committees, ii) nine parliamentary hearings on the RRP attended by the first Vice-President of the Government, and iii) a written consultation by the first Vice-President to the regions inviting them to present strategic and transformational projects.
Moreover, the revised RRP explains that its draft was published in December 2022, which allowed regions, and other stakeholders to get acquainted with the key elements of the plan, including the Regional Resilience Fund, and to put forward suggestions.
The implementation of the Regional Resilience Fund in line with the requirements of the CID will be assessed in the context of the relevant payment requests.
1 ∙ ⸱ https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/241/2023-03-01
2 ∙ ⸱ https://planderecuperacion.gob.es/sites/default/files/2023-06/06062023_adenda_plan_de_recuperacion.pdf