Toledo.- Castilla-La Mancha has received, until the end of 2022, almost 5,282 million euros from the Government of Spain in account deliveries until December 2022 and has been allocated 1,468 million euros from the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism and 405.8 million euros in OBJECTIVE-EU funds.
These are some of the data highlighted by the delegate of the Government of Spain in Castilla-La Mancha, Francisco Tierraseca, who presented, at a press conference, the balance of the performance of the Executive of Pedro Sánchez in this Autonomous Community during the second half of 2022 and included in the report ‘Complying’.
This presentation, recalled Tierraseca, responds to the commitment made by the President of the Government to report to the citizens on the progress of government action on a regular and systematic basis, making known the state of compliance with the commitments made by the Executive. The delegate insisted that all these actions are aimed at “advancing territorial cohesion and reactivating the economic recovery of Castilla-La Mancha and, on the other hand, protecting people.”
“Advancing territorial cohesion from the Government of Spain means that, during the year 2022, more than 9 billion euros have been transferred to the Government of Castilla-La Mancha, one of the largest figures in recent years”, which has been received through the Autonomous Financing, the Financing Fund to strengthen the Welfare State and the European Funds of the Recovery Plan of the Government of Spain.
Thus, as the Government delegate has stressed, in Castilla-La Mancha an “important and powerful” effort has been made to promote economic dynamization, with, among other allocations, the 10.4 million euros destined for the investment ‘Digital transformation and modernization of the Autonomous Communities’, the 43.8 million euros corresponding to the extraordinary call for the program of Tourist Sustainability Plans in Destination 2022 (remembering, in addition, that the Tourist Sustainability Plans of Hiendelaencina -Guadalajara -, the 43.8 million euros corresponding to the extraordinary call for the program of Tourist Sustainability Plans in Destino 2022 have been developed.
In terms of social cohesion, the investments and allocations of the Central Executive have resulted in 61,938 people receiving the Minimum Living Income (33,954 adults and 27,984 minors), 83,935 people benefiting from the thermal social bond, more than 363,000 pensioners have seen the revaluation of pensions according to the CPI in 2022, about 131,000 employees and public employees have received a 2% pay increase and 112.7 million euros have been allocated to active employment policies.
Territorial cohesion and infrastructure
Another of the main areas of action is territorial cohesion and infrastructure development. Here, the UNICO-Broadband Programme’s 19.6 million euros for Castilla-La Mancha to boost the digital connection stand out, the 110.2 million euros planned for the Puertollano Variant route project, the provisional approval of the preliminary draft adaptation, reform and conservation of the A-5 Motorway (between the links of the A-5 with the M-40 in Madrid and with the A-40 in Maqueira) and whose estimated budget amounts to 447.2 million euros, the 36 million euros for the project of conservation of the A-4 and Albacete roads.
Along with the roads, the promotion of high speed has also seen an important support in this period in Castilla-La Mancha. The document thus includes 5.9 million euros for the project of construction of the Madrid-Alcázar High-Speed Line of San Juan-Jaén, the tender of the contract of execution of construction works of integral improvement of infrastructures of the Madrid-Seville High-Speed Line (Madrid-Yeles section) for an amount of 7.1 million euros, the renovation of the track apparatuses in the Madrid-Seville High-Speed Line, between the stations of La Sagra and Majarabique, and in the station of Puertollano, for an estimated value of 34.9 million euros.
This section also includes the different actions of the xCuenca initiative (provision of new AVANT services of the Madrid-Cuenca - Albacete line for recurrent travelers, 3.4 million euros to the City of Cuenca to finance the public transport service between Cuenca and the AVE station, and 13.9 million euros for the financing of territorial mobility services in the province of Cuenca).
This province has also benefited from specific aid to the key areas of demographic challenge, such as the 1.8 million euros of the Territorial Cohesion Fund for the Demographic Challenge aimed at combating depopulation or the 1.4 million euros in aid for financing innovative projects of territorial transformation and fight against depopulation, as well as reductions in social security quotas for employed persons in the provinces of Cuenca, Soria and Teruel or the reduced quota of 80 euros per month for three years for self-employed persons starting their activity in the provinces of Cuenca, Soria and Teruel.
Ecological transition
Finally, in relation to the ecological and environmental transition, the report presented by the Spanish Government delegate in Castilla-La Mancha includes aid of 7.5 million euros (through the IDEA) for the financing of thermal and electricity generation projects with renewable sources, 8.3 million euros for the financing of energy efficiency and circular economy projects in tourism companies or the additional 30.9 million euros in aid for the implementation of various incentive programs linked to self-consumption and storage.
In addition, the EUR 67 million for investments in local projects under the Aid Plan for Unique Clean Energy Projects in Demographically Challenging Municipalities (DUS 5000) or the EUR 38.8 million for the creation or operation of low-emission zones in metropolitan areas stand out. And, together with them, the 38.4 million euros from the Transformation and Resilience Recovery Plan distributed for the investments of modernization of irrigation contemplated in the agreement signed between MAPA and SEIASA.
Apart from these major axes of action, throughout 2022 the Government of Spain has paid attention to the improvement of equality and the fight against gender violence, which in this Community has resulted in the allocation to Castilla-La Mancha of 16.2 million euros Co-responsible Plan, the contribution of 6.2 million euros for the Autonomous Community in the framework of the Pact of State against Gender Violence, the 2.3 million euros transferred to the municipalities of Castilla-La Mancha for the development of new or expanded sexual violence programs, the 4.1 million euros of the Plan to develop sexual support to victims of sexual violence.
The ‘Complying’ report of December 2022 also includes the almost 50 million euros allocated to the field of Vocational Training for Employment in Castilla-La Mancha, 13.8 million euros from the State Housing Plan 2022-2025 allocated in subsidies for aid for the rental of vulnerable groups and 8 million euros for the Young Rent Voucher for 2022, as well as the agreed allocation to Castilla-La Mancha of 141.1 million euros for the promotion of personal autonomy and care for people in dependency (within the framework of the Dependency Shock Plan).
It also includes the approval of the 11.3 million euros for the creation of the National Centre for Prison Studies in Cuenca (where the training will be given to around a thousand prison officers per year) or the implementation of the pilot project, at national level, of the new Justice Office in Tarazona de la Mancha (Albacete).
In addition, in Castilla-La Mancha 12,281 applications were processed for the Young Cultural Voucher, which represents an allocation of 400 euros per beneficiary; 54,631 people have benefited from the free purchase of Renfe multi-travel vouchers in the vicinity and half distance until December 31, 2022 and 35,423 users have purchased the AVANT rail service vouchers with a 50% discount. In addition, the Government of Spain granted 1.1 million euros to finance the discount of 30% of the price of public collective transport to regular travelers in Castilla-La Mancha.
For this 2023, Tierraseca concluded, “the objectives of the Government of Spain remain, also for Castilla-La Mancha, to advance and modernize the economy of the region and protect the social majority and the middle class of Castilla-La Mancha”.