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EU PolicyWatch

Database of national-level policy measures

Eurofound's EU PolicyWatch collates information on the responses of government and social partners to the COVID-19 crisis, the war in Ukraine, rising inflation, as well as gathering examples of company practices aimed at mitigating the social and economic impacts.

Factsheet for measure ES-2022-20/2250 Updated – measures in Spain

New line of €10 billion in credit guarantees for liquidity needs in companies

Nueva línea de 10.000 millones en avales ICO (Real Decreto-Ley 6/2022)

Country Spain , applies nationwide
Time period Temporary, 10 May 2022 – 31 December 2023
Context War in Ukraine
Type Legislations or other statutory regulations
Category Supporting businesses to stay afloat
– Access to finance
Author Jessica Durán (IKEI) and Eurofound
Measure added 12 May 2022 (updated 06 July 2023)

Background information

The war in Ukraine has increased economic and political uncertainty, and has led to higher commodity prices. The substantial increase in electricity and gas prices may jeopardise the coverage of companies' liquidity needs and put pressure on the cost and price structure of the economy.

This measure intends to lower energy prices, support the most affected sectors and the most vulnerable groups, and reinforce price stability. The aim is to limit the economic and social costs of this temporary distortion in gas prices and to facilitate the adaptation of the Spanish economy.

This support is additional to other existing support measures within Royal Decree-Law 6/2022 (also described in this database), such as:

Content of measure

The Royal Decree-Law 6/2022 (which approves the "National Plan of response to the economic and social consequences of the war in Ukraine") includes a new line of credit guarantees from the Official Credit Institute (ICO) for €10 billion. This budget covers liquidity needs of companies and the self-employed. The Ministry of Economic Affairs guarantees the financing granted by supervised and eligible financial institutions. The guarantees are managed through the Official Credit Institute (ICO). The guaranteed credits may be requested until 31 December 2022, and will have a grace period of 12 months.

The applicable conditions and requirements are established by agreement of the Council of Ministers. Specifically, on 10 May 2022, the terms and conditions of the first tranche of the line of guarantees for financing of €5 billion were published. For guaranteed amounts of up to €400,000, the guarantee covers up to 80% for up to 10 years. For loans of more than €400,000, 80% of the new financing will be guaranteed for the self-employed and SMEs, and up to 70% for other companies, with a repayment period of up to 8 years.

Updates

The following updates to this measure have been made after it came into effect.

22 November 2022

The Council of Ministers has approved Royal Decree-Law 19/2022, extending until 31 December 2023 the Guarantee Line included in the Response Plan to Russia's war in Ukraine aimed at guaranteeing the liquidity of the self-employed and companies.

Use of measure

There are no estimated number of users. All Spanish companies and self-employed can benefit from this measure.

Target groups

Workers Businesses Citizens
Self-employed
Applies to all businesses Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors Funding
National government
Company / Companies
National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

Trade unions Employers' organisations
Role Consulted Consulted
Form Consultation through tripartite or bipartite social dialogue bodies Consultation through tripartite or bipartite social dialogue bodies

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

  • No involvement
  • Main level of involvement: Peak or cross-sectoral level

Involvement

As stated in the background section, this measure is part of the "National Response Plan to the economic and social consequences of the war in Ukraine" and social partners were involved.

In order to reach a consensus with all interest groups on the "National Response Plan to the economic and social consequences of the war in Ukraine" (Royal Decree-Law 6/2022 of 19 July), the government held a round of contacts with parliamentary groups, social agents, and the autonomous communities (regional governments).

On 21 March 2022, the meeting of the "Social Dialogue Table" was held, following on from the meeting held on 7 March with the President of the Government. The representatives of workers and employers had the opportunity to share their proposals for dealing with the economic impact of the war. On the employers' side, the president of the CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, and the president of CEPYME, Gerardo Cuevas, attended; and on the workers' side, the secretary general of UGT, Pepe Álvarez, and the secretary general of CCOO, Unai Sordo.

Views and reactions

There are no views from social partners on this measure. Concerning the "National Response Plan to the economic and social consequences of the war in Ukraine" as a whole, the unions looked at the huge profits of electricity companies as one of the points to act on.

From the employers' side, Garamendi (President of CEOE) warned about the temptation for companies to contain dividends, as they can generate mistrust and discourage investment. The president of the employers' association expressed his support for the decisions taken by the European Union and the government since the war began, but called for action to be taken quickly to avoid greater consequences

Sources

  • 29 March 2022: La Moncloa. Presidency of the Government. Agreements and regulations approved by the Council of Ministers (www.lamoncloa.gob.es)
  • 30 March 2022: BOE, Spanish State Official Gazette (Real Decreto-ley 6/2022, de 29 de marzo, por el que se adoptan medidas urgentes en el marco del Plan Nacional de respuesta a las consecuencias económicas y sociales de la guerra en Ucrania) (www.boe.es)
  • 11 May 2022: BOE, Spanish State Official Gazette (Resolución de 10 de mayo de 2022, de la Secretaría de Estado de Economía y Apoyo a la Empresa, por la que se publica el Acuerdo del Consejo de Ministros de 10 de mayo de 2022) (www.boe.es)
  • 22 November 2022: Royal Decree Act 19/2022 (www.boe.es)

Citation

Eurofound (2022), New line of €10 billion in credit guarantees for liquidity needs in companies, measure ES-2022-20/2250 (measures in Spain), EU PolicyWatch, Dublin, https://static.eurofound.europa.eu/covid19db/cases/ES-2022-20_2250.html

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Disclaimer: This information has not been subject to the full Eurofound evaluation, editorial and publication process.