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The Government assumes the management of European funds without attempting a consensus with the opposition

The Council of Ministers approved this Tuesday to assume the management and approval of European funds of a historical dimension for Spain by means of a Decree-Law without consensus with the opposition.

The First Vice President of the Government, Carmen Calvo, has presented the new regulations for the control of up to 140,000 million euros that the State expects to receive between 2021 and 2026. Although it is a period that extends beyond a legislature, the Government has not tried to reach a prior consensus with the main opposition party. “We have not been informed or an agreement has been attempted with us,” they tell EL MUNDO in sources from the leadership of the PP. Neither has Ciudadanos, which has offered support to the Government to other areas, has previously been called. “There has been no attempt at consensus with us”They point out in the formation chaired by Inà © s Arrimadas.

Both formations demanded that the funds be managed by an independent agency, but their proposal has been definitively rejected. Calvo has emphasized the central role that the government itself will have in the approval and execution of the funds. “We are prepared to have these funds available for challenges that excite the Government of Spain”, said the vice-president at the end of the Council of Ministers.

He has indicated that he is going to support private initiative in order to absorb the funds. “We are going to make a more intense effort of public-private collaboration,” he said. And it has highlighted where the money will go to “Strategic Projects for Recovery and Economic Transformation (PERTE) that will have to be carried out and approved by the Council of Ministers”. The first vice president has indicated that for a company to be eligible for the money and collaborate with the Government, it will have to register first. “The Treasury will open a registry for all interested entities”Calvo has announced.

This has confirmed that finally the second vice president will be, Pablo Iglesias, because, in rectification of initial ideas, it has been foreseen that the entire Council of Ministers and not just some of them, will be the ones who will protect the entire process. “It has been decided that the commission for the execution of these funds will be in parallel the Council of Ministers itself”Calvo has described, claiming that it has finally been thought that European funds affect all Ministries. He will be advised by a” technical committee “to have” expertise “, according to the expression of the former Minister of Culture of the Executive of Josà © Luis RodrÃguez Zapatero, and reinforce the legality of the process.

However, Calvo has affirmed that it will require “a very close collaboration with the autonomous communities” through a “specific sector conference” entrusted to the Minister of Finance, María Jesus Montero. It has also highlighted that the approval of the decree, which will simplify and speed up public awards, coincides with the green light for the State Budget for 2021 after its final passage this week by the Senate.

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