The Government will have to increase efforts to train public employees who deal with the execution of the European Next Generation funds, with the aim of being able to improve the enforcement ratios and ensure that the funds are used correctly.
This has been entrusted with the Committee on Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation of the Senate, which has approved a motion on Tuesday with 24 votes in favor, 3 against and 2 abstentions, at the initiative of Senator Ruth Goñ Sarriaés, of the Navarra Sum Party (
UPN, citizens and PP), included in the mixed parliamentary group.
Specifically, it has been entrusted to the executive that “increasing the training” of public employees, because “the whole process of assessing, selecting, awarding, verifying and evaluating projects implies that several dozens of public employees are involved in this work.”
“It is also necessary to guarantee greater stability (interims), promote the specialization of public employees in such an important and demanding issue as the management of European funds,” he said.
The Senate has asked to simplify the bureaucracy so that it is the administration that verifies if an applicant meets the requirements;
To be helped by SMEs and Micropymes in the application process – and to meet some criteria such as environmental performance can be too expensive – and that coordination between administrative levels is increased.
The Popular Party has introduced three amendments so that the State Board of Business Liability (CERSE) judge whether the projects meet the sustainability objectives;
To relieve SMEs to meet environmental requirements, and for SMEs to access equal terms as large companies to aid.
The PSOE, on the other hand, has presented an substitution amendment that changes the form but not the Fund of the Mixed Group, softening the terms so that they are less critical with the Executive.
A transactional text that integrates this amendment and those of the PP is the one that has come forward.
“We can not let the opacity and the sectarianism of the government affect the greatest opportunity in the history of Spain to transform this country, reform it and place it in a competitive position for the future,” exposed the initial text of the motion.
The Senator who has sponsored the initiative has explained that of the 27,000 million the Government planned to execute from the NGEU funds by 2021, the Bank of Spain calculates that as much 11,000 million will be executed in this year.
“According to functions, closed or approved calls amount to 850 million and if those undergoing or processing are added, the sum amounts to 5,700 million”, also far from the goal of 27,000 million.
“In Spain we spent little and badly,” Navarra’s spokeswoman regretted.
In fact, “Hacienda has only recognized obligations for about 35% of these funds, that is, 9,500 million”, less also of the budgeted, which in turn will impact economic growth.
In addition to the slow execution, the senators are concerned about the destiny of those funds.
“We are aware that there is a risk that an inappropriate use of funds be given, ordinary spending is increased, but the national economy is not translated,” he said.
The votes against the motion have come from the Senator of the Nationalist Parliamentary Group (Junts per Catalunya and Canarian Coalition) and the two of the Republican Square group – Euskal Herria Bildu, which what they want is to be able to execute funds at the autonomic level;
While the two senators of the Basque Parliamentary Group (EAJ-PNV) has abstained in the vote for the same reason.
