Experts propose 400 projects to the Government to apply for European funds

The European NextGeneration funds have to guarantee economic recovery and job creation with the impulse of all types of projects that are transformative for the economy, with a special emphasis on digitalization and ecological transition policies. After the impact of the coronavirus crisis, they represent a historic opportunity for Catalonia and to improve the well-being and social progress of its citizens. To ensure that as many resources as possible arrive, the Government has activated a complete strategy through different initiatives.

[subscribe_newsletter_esp]

One of them is the Catalonia-Next Generation EU Advisory Committee (CONEXT CAT-EU), made up of 14 experts of recognized prestige in economic matters and linked to the academic, professional, and sectoral fields. The members of the committee, who have not received any remuneration for their work on this commission, are Oriol Altisench, Oriol Bota, Maria Buhigas, Joaquim Coello, Adelina Comas, Therese Jamaa, Guillem López-Casasnovas, Miquel Martí, Andreu Mas-Colell, Miquel Puig, Mar Reguant, Francesc Reguant, Carme Trilla, and Montse Vendrell.

The committee, created on October 22, has the mission of advising the Catalan executive in the identification and promotion of projects susceptible to obtaining resources from the European recovery fund. The purpose is for the State to include the maximum number of these projects in the Recovery and Resilience Plan that it will present to the European Commission.

After months of work, the CONEXT CAT-EU has analyzed the 508 projects that the Generalitat had received until early December and has regrouped them into a total of 400, with the aim of making them more ambitious, competitive, and transformative projects.

For the experts, when choosing projects, the Government must pay special attention to those that can lead to the in-depth transformation of sectors such as the chemical industry; the emergence of sectors in which Catalonia has not been present, such as the computer hardware industry, including microprocessors; or the maintenance of threatened productive sectors such as the automotive industry.

The CONEXT CAT-EU has transferred these recommendations to the Vice President of the Government and Minister of Economy and Finance, Pere Aragonès, and to the Minister of Business and Knowledge, Ramon Tremosa. The experts have also warned them that there are still many unknowns about the Government's plans to manage the funds, as they have repeatedly stated.

"Great opportunity for the Catalan economy"

The vice president describes the European recovery fund as a "great opportunity for the Catalan economy". "Not only for the reconstruction of post-COVID Catalonia, but also for the transformation of the productive model and to gain resilience and capacity in the face of future crises," he remarks.

"Now is the time to build alliances with the local world and economic and social agents to negotiate with the State how these funds are distributed," Aragonès defends.

For his part, the Minister of Business and Knowledge highlights the role that SMEs can play in these funds: "Our position, that of the Government of Catalonia and of all social agents and local administrations, is to defend that a part of these funds go to SMEs, because in Catalonia they have a great capacity to transform the economic model, create a lot of investment and jobs and generate a multiplying effect of wealth."

Tremosa underlines that Catalonia is "a country of SMEs" and it has been proven during these months that there are excellent projects from both medium and small companies that, grouped together and in collaboration with research centers and universities, "are really very powerful."

"Our position, that of the Government of Catalonia and of all social agents and local administrations, is to defend that a part of this fund goes to SMEs," Tremosa maintains.

The Government has activated a triangular strategy to maximize the number of Catalan projects that will receive European funds through the CORECO and Catalunya 2022 initiatives, in addition to CONEXT CAT-EU.

The Commission for the Development of the Economic Reactivation and Social Protection Plan (CORECO) is a body created last May to articulate the public sector's response to the economic and social challenges derived from the pandemic. CORECO drafted the Economic Reactivation and Social Protection Plan, which the Government approved on July 21 and which establishes the country's reconstruction strategy for the coming years, with 20 large projects and 191 sub-projects, with a value of almost 32,000 million euros until 2032.

The plan pursues three main objectives: strengthen production capacity and the capacity of the health and social care system; reduce social inequalities accentuated by the pandemic; and accelerate the transition to a more sustainable economic model. To apply the Economic Reactivation and Social Protection Plan and, at the same time, maximize the contracting of European resources, the Government created CONEXT CAT-EU.

Finally, the Catalunya 2022 Strategy consists of a group of experts with proven experience in different fields of knowledge whose mission is to analyze post-covid scenarios in order to elaborate a country strategy that allows Catalunya to be prepared to succeed in the world that is emerging after the pandemic. The objective is for this working group to present its final report next February, which will include an analysis of the situation and different proposals for action.