Faster rules to manage EU recovery funds in Spain

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1. This royal decree-lawroyal decree-law A rule with the force of law that the Government passes because it is urgent. It applies from its publication, but the Congreso must validate it within 30 days or it lapses. sets the rules to plan, budget and execute actions funded with European funds, especially those from the European Recovery Instrument, and adopts measures to implement the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.
2. It creates the PERTEPERTE Proyecto Estratégico para la Recuperación y Transformación Económica: a large-scale project joining public administrations, companies and research centers to boost the economy., a new form of public-private collaboration for strategic projects with a strong pull effect on growth, jobs and competitiveness. The Council of Ministers declares them, and a state register of interested entities is created under the Ministry of Finance.
3. It organizes the governance of the Plan: a Commission chaired by the Prime Minister, a supporting Technical Committee, a Sectoral Conference with the autonomous communities, and participation forums with business and union organizations. The Government will report quarterly to the Cortes Generales (Spanish Parliament).
4. It makes budget management more flexible: it allows multi-year spending commitments of up to five fiscal years, early processing of spending files, carryover of unused credit, and advance payments of up to 50 percent of the total amount.
5. It speeds up prior control of spending: audit and intervention are done under a basic requirements regime, files get priority handling, and the control body must rule within five working days.
6. It declares urgent the processing of rules and administrative procedures linked to the funds. In public procurement it allows shorter deadlines, higher thresholds for simplified procedures, model bidding documents, and assigning work to in-house public entities without Council of Ministers authorization.
7. It simplifies grants funded with European money: certain authorizations and reports are removed, grants can be awarded in order of application until funds run out, and justification paperwork is reduced, with a simplified account allowed up to 100,000 euros.
8. It shortens deadlines for environmental assessment and for integrated environmental authorizations to speed up projects, and creates the Ecological Restoration and Resilience Fund to finance the ecological transition.

Who it affects

• Public administrations and their staff, who must manage the funds under new organization, staffing and variable pay rules.: They must prepare strategic planning instruments and can receive performance-based pay.
• Companies and entities that want to take part in strategic projects (PERTE) or receive grants and contracts funded with European funds.: They have a register to get accredited and faster, simpler procedures.
• Citizens and companies behind projects subject to environmental assessment or emissions authorizations.: Deadlines to decide these procedures are shortened.
• Autonomous communities and local entities.: They take part in the Plan's governance and receive funds under more flexible management rules.

Words worth knowing

PERTE

Proyecto Estratégico para la Recuperación y Transformación Económica: a large-scale project joining public administrations, companies and research centers to boost the economy.

Instrumento Europeo de Recuperación

European Union fund (Next Generation EU) created to help member states recover from the COVID-19 crisis.

Función interventora

Prior control by the State's audit office to check that a public expense is legal before it is approved.

Convenio administrativo

Agreement signed between public administrations, or between them and private entities, to collaborate on a project.

Medio propio

A public entity depending on an administration that can be directly assigned the execution of contracts.

royal decree-law

A rule with the force of law that the Government passes because it is urgent. It applies from its publication, but the Congreso must validate it within 30 days or it lapses.

decree-law

A rule with the force of law that the Government passes because it is urgent. It applies from its publication, but the Congreso must validate it within 30 days or it lapses.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries