Real Instituto Elcano
España ante el acuerdo del Consejo Europeo de julio de 2020: ¿oportunidad para el cambio o indigestión de fondos europeos?
José Moisés Martín Carretero

The challenge with EU recovery funds

The article analyses the main challenges Spain will have to face in order to use the funds it will receive from the European Union in the recovery plan under the European Council’s resolution of 21 July 2020. According to the author, it is “a unique opportunity to launch an investment and reform programme ambitious enough to […] have robust, more sustainable and inclusive economic growth”.

According to the author, the main challenge will be ‘subjecting government to indigestion from EU funds’. Not turning the EU’s budgetary effort to account would severely damage our credibility and waste the push for reforms apparently opening up with this window of opportunity.

To tackle this challenge successfully, the author gives various recommendations:

  • Investment planning: it is necessary to avoid the “bureaucratic allocation” of funds between government institutions and administrative offices; prioritise investments that are actually in line with long-term recovery and transformation plans; and concentrate funds in a few transformational projects instead of multiple small projects without a real impact.
  • Management and certification: To use the largest amount of funds available, it is necessary to create “a project preparation service with sufficient material and human resources to sustain a pipeline of quality investment projects, like the delivering units that were implemented in the United Kingdom during the government of Tony Blair”. 
  • Connection to a national strategy for economic and social reforms: Investment plans must be connected to political reforms in order to access the funds.

Filter results

FILTER BY CATEGORIES()
BACK

Filter results

Categories

23/10/2025

According to Kristalina Georgeva IMF Managing Director, lifting growth requires three things: one, regulatory housecleaning to unleash private enterprise; two, deeper regional integration; and three, preparedness to harness AI.

International Monetary Fund
World Economic Outlook and Global Financial Stability reports, October 2025
15/10/2025

According to The European House – Ambrosetti, the European Union has an opportunity to boost competitiveness and growth by simplifying regulatory and supervisory frameworks, particularly in the areas of sustainability and the financial sector.

The European House- Ambrosetti
Europe’s Competitiveness at Crossroads: A Stocktaking one year after the Draghi and Letta Reports
15/10/2025

According to Ramón Casilda Béjar, Spain, in today’s complex geopolitical landscape, has the opportunity to strengthen its role as a bridge and connecting country between Ibero-America and the European Union, revitalizing investment flows in both directions.

Instituto Español de Estudios Estratégicos
Revitalizar el espacio inversor iberoamericano con España como puente y país vertebrador con la Unión Europea
25/09/2025

According to @ECB, in moments of acute stress, the public often turns to physical currency as a reliable store of value and a resilient means of payment, underscoring the crucial role it plays above and beyond everyday transactional convenience

European Central Bank, Francesca Faella and Alejandro Zamora-Pérez
Keep calm and carry cash: lessons on the unique role of physical currency across four crises
25/09/2025

According to Juan S. Mora-Sanguinetti, in Spain a 10% increase in regulatory volume leads to a 0.5% drop in employment in companies with fewer than 10 employees.

Banco de España, Juan S. Mora-Sanguinetti
La complejidad normativa en España: un freno para las empresas y el crecimiento económico
17/09/2025

According to Hélène Rey “In a world where stablecoins, particularly those pegged to the dollar, become an important global payment tool, we must brace ourselves for substantial consequences”.

International Monetary Fund
Stablecoins, Tokens, and Global Dominance
17/09/2025

@judith_arnal proposes reforms for the EU to advance regulatory simplification, starting with consensus on its meaning, with competitiveness as a pillar, plus coordination mechanisms and a governance rethink.

CEPS
EU simplification will fail without better governance: three necessary reforms to make sure it doesn’t fail
Judith Arnal
03/07/2025

According to @iee_org, Spain has one of the most demanding tax environments for businesses within the European and international context, which may have significant implications for competitiveness, foreign investment attraction, and business expansion.

Instituto de Estudios Económicos
Competitividad fiscal empresarial 2025
19/06/2025

According to Christine Lagarde for the euro to gain in status, Europe must take decisive steps by completing the single market, reducing regulatory burdens and building a robust capital markets union.

Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB
Europe’s “global euro” moment
29/05/2025

According to the Bank of Spain, in a context of strong growth in transactions and prices, the conditions under which new mortgage loans are granted currently show no signs of easing in lending standards.

Bank of Spain
Informe de Estabilidad Financiera. Primavera 2025
08/05/2025

McKinsey notes that European private capital is half the size of the U.S. and must play a key role in boosting competitiveness, by driving innovation, scaling firms, and mobilizing the investment needed to close the gap with other regions.

Mckinsey 6 Company
Private capital: The key to boosting European competitiveness
24/04/2025

IMF states that global financial stability risks have grown significantly, driven by tighter financial conditions and heightened trade and geopolitical uncertainty.

International Monetary Fund
Global Financial Stability report, April 2025
URL copied to clipboard