The Council of Ministers has approved the modification of the Royal Decrees by which the economic promotion areas of Andalusia, the Region of Murcia, the Canary Islands, Extremadura, Castilla y León and the Autonomous City of Melilla are delimited.
In this way, the improvements in aid intensities that were agreed in the mid-term review of the Regional Aid Map 2022-2027, which was approved on December 13, 2023 by the European Commission, will be incorporated into the regulation of regional incentives.
Thus, the maximum aid intensities that can be granted between 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2027 will be updated, so that the amounts of regional State aid for the period 2022-2027 that can receive projects in these areas will be increased, as the ceiling of these regional incentives, which are applied to correct the interterritorial economic imbalances, will be raised.
Specifically, analyzing the areas benefited, the Autonomous City of Melilla will increase its aid intensity from 30% to 40%.
The modification of the royal decrees is carried out to adapt them to the modification that has had to be carried out in the Map of regional aid of Spain for the period 2022-2027, with the mid-term review of the Map approved in December 2023.
Previously, the maps had been adapted to the provisions of the Territorial Plan of Just Transition (PTJ) of Spain, applied since the beginning of 2023, within the framework of the objective of investment in employment and growth in Spain.
Process of processing
As for the processing of the planned regulatory update, on January 26 of this year, the content of the draft royal decrees was made known to the Autonomous Communities affected, after the mid-term review carried out in December 2023.
On July 12, the Governing Council of Regional Incentives agreed to approve the content of the projects of royal decrees and to propose them to the Government for approval, with the prior knowledge of the Delegated Commission of the Government for Economic Affairs. And now the Council of Ministers has approved the modification of the royal decrees that affect each of the territories.
The Map of regional aid
El Mapa de ayudas regionales delimita aquellos territorios que requieren de ayudas e incentivos. It is the instrument or mechanism for identifying areas in which aid for business investment may be compatible with the internal market as it is intended for the economic development of the less-favoured areas of the European Union.
It also determines the maximum intensities of compatible aid expressed as a maximum percentage of the eligible investment of investment projects.
The sectors that benefit in all areas of economic promotion are: processing industries and production support services; tourist establishments; and complementary leisure facilities.
Objectives of the economic promotion zone
The economic promotion zones aim to promote and develop the socio-economic fabric of each territory, with special attention to increasing the standard of living in its territory, in particular in the most depressed areas, through:
a) Promoting the creation of innovative and technology-based companies that propose investments based on research, development and innovation projects and, in general, technological innovation, industrial design and environmental improvement.
b) Boosting the territory’s endogenous potential, as well as developing and consolidating the industrial fabric based on criteria of quality, efficiency, productivity and respect for the environment.
(c) Promoting diversification in the production and distribution sectors that will increase the attractiveness and momentum of activity in the territory.