The Generalitat will invest 32,000 million in economic and social recovery with a focus on digitalization and ecological transition

[dropcap letter="E"] The Government of the Generalitat has approved the Plan for economic reactivation and social protection, a document that includes up to 20 major projects to provide an effective and transversal response to the crisis derived from COVID-19 in Catalonia, and that sets the country's reconstruction strategy for the coming years. The plan estimates the total cost of recovery at €31,765 M, and encompasses both measures linked to the direct management of the crisis and major strategic actions that will be deployed in the medium and long term. The document is the result of the work carried out in recent weeks by the Commission for the preparation of the Plan for Economic Reactivation and Social Protection as a consequence of the COVID-19 crisis (CORECO), and shows the Government's commitment to three essential objectives: strengthening the welfare state and Catalonia's productive capacity; reducing social inequalities accentuated by the pandemic and accelerating the transition towards a more sustainable and resilient economic model. This is why the plan is based on the 2030 Agenda and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as the European Green Deal and the European Digital Strategy (Digital Europe).

The reactivation plan shows the innovative and transformative capacity of the public sector, through twenty major projects that contain up to 145 specific actions.

The Vice President of the Government and Minister of Economy, Pere Aragonès, has stressed that the plan "foresees the largest mobilization of resources in Catalonia's contemporary history, 31,765 million to implement 20 projects to overcome inequalities and build a better country." Regarding the financing of the plan, the Vice President explained that to carry it out "it relies on resources from the reprioritization of the budget that departments are already doing, with the state Covid fund and with the European reactivation fund approved this morning. "Catalonia is prepared to make all these projects available to the resources that arrive; every step forward that Europe takes, Catalonia also takes," he remarked. Aragonès also stressed that the launch of these projects will require increasing borrowing capacity, and in this regard referred to the National Agreement of Bases for Reactivation signed yesterday with the CCOO and UGT unions and the business associations Fomento del Trabajo and Pimec, which included the demand to the State to raise the current deficit target to 1% of GDP. [subscribe_newsletter_esp]RECONSTRUCTION OF CATALONIA AROUND FIVE AXESThe Reactivation Plan shows the innovative and transformative capacity of the public sector, through about twenty large projects containing up to 145 specific actions. A significant part of these actions is linked to the immediate management of the pandemic's effects, in order to continue guaranteeing the health and care system's services and protect the productive economy. Along with short-term crisis management, the document foresees the implementation of major plans that address strategic issues for the country, such as the transformation of the agri-food model, the fight against climate change, or sustainable mobility, and which will be implemented in different phases over a horizon that, in the case of some projects, spans the next two decades. ECONOMY FOR LIFE (65 Performances)The health crisis has highlighted the need to move towards an economy at the service of people, one that provides citizens with health, care, food, social education, housing, and culture. Axis 1 includes the following projects:

• Plan for promoting innovation in health.
• Bioeconomy and transformation of the agri-food, forestry, and maritime sectors.
• Quality care with guarantees and recognition for professionals.
• Reactivation of consumption, maintenance of productive supply.
• Social inclusion, accompaniment, autonomy, and labor integration.
• Culture: basis of well-being and the creative economy.

DIGITALIZATION (16 Actions)Digital tools have made it possible to mitigate the economic and social impact of the pandemic, but the progress made in recent months must be consolidated and expanded. This has been stated by the European Commission, which sets digital transition as one of the pillars of recovery. Axis 2 includes the following projects:

• Digital Education Plan of Catalonia.
• Digitalization of productive sectors and digital skills.
• Territories, smart cities.
• Advanced digital technologies.

ECOLOGICAL TRANSITION (19 Actions) KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY (35 Actions)The effects of COVID-19 have made the central role of knowledge and training in the reconstruction strategy more visible than ever, both in terms of developing innovative solutions in the health sector and in redirecting the professional careers of workers in the sectors most affected by the crisis. Axis 4 includes the following projects:

• Research and promotion of innovation.
• Excellence of the university system.
• Guarantees to the subjective right of employability of individuals.

TRANSVERSAL ACTIONS (10 Actions)The experience of the last economic recession shows that crises do not hit everyone in the same way. Catalonia's reconstruction strategy involves achieving a more robust, competitive, and open economy, but one that at the same time guarantees equity and equal opportunities. Axis 5 includes the following projects:

• Internationalization of the economy.
• Gender equality.
• Financing of strategic projects.

€2,760 M OF ECONOMIC IMPACT IN 2020The total cost of implementing the plan, including reactivation management measures and strategic measures, stands at €31,765 M, of which €2,760 M is expected to be invested in 2020. Among the actions that will be activated in the coming months are the following:In parallel to the reactivation plan, which refers to investments in the economic and social cohesion spheres, the Government continues to work to strengthen the other pillars of the welfare state. In this regard, it insists on demanding a solution to the chronic underfunding, estimated at 5,000 million euros, suffered by the Catalan health system.

WHAT IS CORECO?