Close out the Next Generation funds well
Amidst the intense economic situation, I'd like to focus on a much-discussed issue that has recently fallen off the media radar: the deployment of European funds. We're in the final stretch, and in this final phase, the success or failure of many transformative projects for our region is at stake. The key is whether we can successfully complete this project or miss out on opportunities that were already within our grasp.
The Next Generation European Funds have been a historic EU initiative to drive structural transformations, with unprecedented resources. But, as is often the case, it is in the details and specific projects where the real battle is played out and where the true transformative impact will be measured.
According to the most recent data (end of July 2025), Catalonia has received €9.543 billion in Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) funds since 2021. Of these, €4.071 billion (43%) came through state transfers (i.e., allocated, but not always paid, resources). Another almost equivalent source (€4.058 billion, 42%) was state calls for proposals from ministries with Catalan beneficiaries. The remaining 15% (€1.414 billion) corresponds to bids or direct allocations from the state to Catalonia.
I wrote "Catalonia has received" in quotation marks because, in some cases, these resources will hardly materialize and reach the SMEs and industries that have worked intensively on these projects. The main reason is a lack of political priority.
A good example of this are the state calls for proposals with Catalan beneficiaries. The State has published 319 resolutions so far, for a total amount of €23.23 billion, of which €4.058 billion have been allocated to Catalonia (17%), clearly below our economic weight in the country. This is not surprising, but it is worth highlighting. Within this area, I will focus on a paradigmatic case: the circular economy PERTE. Catalonia has been particularly successful—in fact, one of the most successful of all PERTE calls—with around thirty companies raising 32% of the total funds (€165 million), ahead of the Basque Country and Andalusia (both with 13%). Most of these companies belong to the manufacturing industry and promote projects to reduce the use of raw materials and improve waste management. Furthermore, the resources should be distributed widely across the country, as the beneficiary companies are located in 14 different regions.
However, this PERTE has a serious underlying problem: deadlines. The deadline for justifying investments has been set at December 31, 2025, a horizon that is too short and inconsistent with the complexity of industrial projects and the usual delays in the supply of machinery and equipment. Consequently, many projects risk not being executed on time, with the resulting economic and labor losses in several regions.
The relevant ministries (primarily Industry and Ecological Transition) had expressed their willingness to make deadlines more flexible, especially when delays are due to external factors. Brussels, in fact, sets August 31, 2026, as the deadline and allows states to extend the deadlines until that date without prior authorization from the European Commission, provided the defined milestones are met. In the case of the circular economy PERTE, this flexibility would be possible and key to ensuring the execution of some thirty projects of great importance to Catalonia.
We are, therefore, at a critical juncture. It's not just a matter of meeting administrative schedules, but also ensuring that industrial projects aligned with European green reindustrialization priorities come to fruition. Failure to do so would squander a highly significant strategic opportunity.
Ultimately, there's still a lot at stake in the deployment of the Next Generation funds. As the saying goes, don't say "wheat" until it's in the bag and well tied up. Now it's time to make a technical and political effort to finally be able to call it wheat and close this phase with a positive outcome for the country.