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the European Next Generation EU fund for economic reactivation represents a unique opportunity to boost strategic future projects for Catalonia. Selecting well the proposals to be presented in Brussels is essential to ensure the maximum possible amount of resources and, to not miss the mark, the Government has approved the constitution of an advisory committee that will be integrated by professionals of recognized prestige in the economic field.
The Catalonia-Next Generation EU committee will be formed by five to fifteen experts of proven reputation and with a strong international vision, experience in the management of European programs and capacity to choose projects that are truly strategic for Catalonia, that is, with both economic and social impact.
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"Catalonia is full of people with this profile; we will seek a balance between different sectors, ages and professional trajectories," explains the general secretary of the Department of Vice-presidency and Economy and Finance, Albert Castellanos, to The New Barcelona Post.
As he advances, the committee will include "powerful business profiles" and also experts from the academic world and scientific research and innovation. Profiles experienced in public policies and in the projection of large infrastructures or digitalization plans will also be represented.
The advisory committee will be attached to the Department of the Vice-presidency and Economy. The Vice-president of the Government, Pere Aragonès, will occupy the presidency, while the Minister of Business and Knowledge, Ramon Tremosa, will be vice-president of the committee.
These experts will meet periodically during the months of October, November and December in order to make a first identification of the projects susceptible to receiving European funds and for which Catalonia must bet. The Government will make the final selection ---it will communicate it via Madrid--- during the first quarter of 2021, since the deadline for the presentation of the first projects by the States is next April 30.
Their experience in managing European projects will also be key to determining the format and content of the proposals in order to guarantee their suitability and increase the options of obtaining an allocation from the mega instrument of 750,000 million launched by the European Union.
31,000 million euro plan
The Catalonia-Next Generation EU advisory committee must prioritize all those projects that fit with the Economic Reactivation and Social Protection Plan presented by the Generalitat on July 21 as a response to the crisis derived from the Covid-19 health emergency.
That plan consists of 145 actions, grouped into 20 driving projects budgeted at 31,765 million euros. It is unknown what part of the 140,000 million in European funds that will arrive in Spain will correspond to Catalonia, but the Government aspires to largely obtain these 31,000 million.
Projects that are difficult to dispute will be proposed, truly transformative initiatives"It is too early to determine how many EU funds will reach Catalonia; we know that we will be able to receive a figure close to the equivalent of our GDP in the territorialized allocation part, but we still have to see what role we will play as a Government in the rest of the funds that will be distributed via transfer. We want to have a preponderant role because the characteristics and potential we have as an economy in Catalonia are very different from those of the rest of the State," emphasizes the Secretary General of the Vice-presidency.
The advisory committee, of which no names have yet been released, must land, that is, concretize, the 20 major transformative projects identified by the Commission for the elaboration of the economic reactivation plan (Coreco). Initiatives will be prioritized in five major areas where Catalonia can be highly competitive: the economy of life (equal opportunities), digitalization, the knowledge society, the energy transition, and the internationalization of the economy.
It is expected that dozens of initiatives susceptible to receiving funds will end up being formulated. "These will be projects that are difficult to dispute, top initiatives that are truly transformative," explains Castellanos.
Among the possible candidacies that will be presented in Europe, several programs led by the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) stand out, as well as a powerful investment plan to design the Idiada center of the future, that is, to adapt its facilities to the revolution brought by the arrival of the autonomous car and the connected vehicle. "This is a strategic investment for the Government, as it can greatly help the transformation of the automotive sector," announces Castellanos.
Another project that could be chosen to receive recovery funds is the extension of the Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat (FGC) line between Plaza España and Gràcia station.
On the contrary, Castellanos is not very keen on allocating these European funds to projects such as Metro Line 9, which he believes should be able to go ahead with the Generalitat's own resources.
"These European funds should be directed to new projects, to unique projects. Line 9 must be a priority no matter what, but I would like it to be financed with its own resources, but if the pending central section has more guarantees of being completed with these recovery funds, we do not rule it out either." The project to expand Fira de Barcelona would not be included either, as it is considered ordinary and, moreover, already has its economic and financial plan drawn up.