NGEU

Spain's positive growth differential with the EU is good news, but it can be exhausted and is not enough to reduce the gap between GDP per capita and productivity, which is the only engine capable of generating sustained growth.

There is tension in the public administration between how easy and fast public funds can reach businesses and families and the need to check that the funds will be used for the intended purpose. This causes delays in awarding subsidies and projects.

In 1Q23, Spain recovered the GDP level of 4Q19, just before the COVID-19 crisis. The reasons for taking longer to do so than most European Union (EU27) countries are several, but an important one in terms of its implications is the slow recovery in investment.

Retaking the path of convergence toward the most advanced economies will require a great deal of success in the investment of the European NGEU funds and in the reforms, and also time, with results that will be measurable in the medium and long term.