The Spanish autonomous communities receive 16 billion euros for recovery

The government wants to equip them to face the post lockdown situation and prepare for a new outbreak

On Tuesday 16 June, the Spanish government approved a non-reimbursable financial package of 16 billion euros, to help the country recover from the coronavirus pandemic. The money will go to the autonomous communities, in particular for the expenses in the healthcare and education systems and for the provision of essential public services.

Covid-19 Fund in Spain – repartition

The Government spokesperson and Finance minister María Jesús Montero explained that 9 billion will be spent on healthcare, to provide backing to the staff and systems and prepare them to respond early, should a second coronavirus outbreak occur. Some 2 billion will cover the needs of the educational system and another 5 billion will make it up for the drop in the collection of the community's own taxes and the reduced number of travellers on public transport.

The financing will be provided in four tranches, starting with 6 billion in July, and will be distributed according to the incidence of the virus in the territories, taking into account intensive care (ICU) admissions, hospitalized patients, total PCR performed, population.

Modernisation of the industry, sustainable mobility and digitalisation

Furthermore, the Government previews financial support for the industrial sector. Namely, the Council of Ministers has agreed to allocate 173.5 million euros to promote its digital transformation and the elaboration of new business models.

Another 650 million will be allocated to the automotive sector, informs the government, in incentives for sustainable mobility, guarantees for industrial vehicles and investments in industrial automotive plants. The autonomous communities and cities can thus make direct investments, such as installing charging points for electric vehicles in hospitals or other buildings owned by them, renovating their vehicle fleets and public transport.

Municipalities may use aid for actions that improve mobility, like, for example, the conversion of conventional lanes into bicycle lanes or spaces reserved for pedestrians. The acquisition of alternative vehicles (hybrids, gas, electric, etc.) and the scrapping of old polluting vehicles will also be subsidised. 260 million euros for the digitization of education are also part of Spain’s recovery plan.

Montero explained that the central authority firmly believes in the State of autonomy of the communities and thus endows them with resources to recover from the pandemic. She also recalled that on Sunday 21 June the state of alarm will be lifted and there will be no mobility restrictions. She, however, called for continued vigilance.