Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that Spain plans to invest 13.2 billion euros (15.7 billion U.S. dollars) to promote the use of electric vehicles. This is one of a series of measures the government is preparing to deploy EU pandemic recovery funds to realize economic modernization.

Sanchez said at a press conference in Madrid that electrification of transportation is one of the 20 flagship investments that Spain plans to make in the next three years and will use part of the funds from the European Union Recovery Fund. He said that other projects include 6.8 billion euros for improving the energy efficiency of buildings, and 4.3 billion euros for public management modernization. Sanchez said: "We in Spain have a great opportunity to carry out all the reforms and investments that were supposed to be carried out long, long ago."

The fund is vital to the economic recovery of Eurozone member states, especially in debt-laden countries such as Spain, which need a mix of cheap loans and grants to restore growth without falling into greater trouble. Sanchez said that starting from 2022, these investments will promote economic growth at a rate of about 2% each year and create more than 800,000 jobs.

The EU Recovery Fund has been postponed due to spending plans

Spain and Italy will surely receive the largest portion of the fund, as their economies faced the worst contraction last year. Spain will receive 140 billion euros, of which about half of the grants are what Madrid said it will focus on investment first.

The government will also try to shock the country's digitization of small and medium-sized enterprises, promote 5G nationwide and improve the competitiveness of the tourism industry, including measures totaling about 70 billion euros by 2023. His government will also implement profound changes to further increase the growth potential of the Spanish economy, including the modernization of medical, energy and judicial systems. The Prime Minister said that Madrid will send detailed plans to EU officials in Brussels before the end of this month.

The EU's recovery fund was approved in 2020. The slow deployment is causing concern among some officials, especially policymakers at the European Central Bank who have repeatedly warned that any delays will hurt the rebound in the region. As long as the European Commission approves the proposals of the member states, the first part of the funds is scheduled to be allocated this summer.

Concerns about the slower-than-expected deployment of funds have dimmed the prospects for Spain's economic recovery. The Bank of Spain now predicts that the economy will grow by 6% by 2021, compared with the previous estimate of 6.8%.

The slow progress of the European Union is in sharp contrast to the rapid approval of the US$1.9 trillion package last month by the United States, which is likely to exacerbate the differences between the two economies. This has increased the bets of European officials to ensure effective investment of recovery funds, thereby boosting the medium-term growth prospects of member states and the EU as a whole. Editor/Xu Shengpeng