The European Commission has paid Spain 6.234 billion euros under its Recovery Plan while withholding nearly 540 million euros over unfulfilled reform targets. The payout marks the country's sixth disbursement, excluding pre-financing, following formal authorization by the College of Commissioners.
Spain submitted its sixth payment request on March 3, 2026. The application covered milestones and targets for investments in sustainable mobility, housing, social protection, health care, digital transformation, and public administration modernization.
The Ministry of Economy explained that the sixth disbursement consists of 5.226 billion euros in grants and 1.008 billion euros in loans. The grant portion includes 265 million euros for two milestones approved from the fifth payment cycle, covering local entity digitalization and partial tax reform. Ministry officials noted the funds will allow Spain to continue deploying resources across strategic plan sectors.
Unfulfilled Targets and Blocked Funds
The payment was incomplete because evaluation remains pending for three targets in the sixth request. Brussels withheld nearly 540 million euros in July after failing to certify execution due to doubts over verification mechanisms.
The blocked funds involve investments in bilingual vocational training, telecare services, and projects targeting vulnerable groups, entrepreneurs, and micro-enterprises. Spain later proposed modifications to these three objectives in the closing addendum of its Recovery Plan.
Ministerial sources stated that officials are working so these three milestones have greater clarity before their inclusion in the seventh payment request. On Friday, the European Commission issued a positive preliminary assessment of the addendum adjustments, though it has not certified the release of the blocked funds.
For now, the European Commission is maintaining the same evaluation criteria applied during the fifth disbursement. In that round, Brussels withheld up to 1.1 billion euros from Spain, of which only 265 million euros have been recovered so far.
Revised Plan and Tight Deadlines
The addendum, previously approved by Spain's Council of Ministers, modified the wording of 121 milestones and targets and 101 plan measures. The adjustments aim to facilitate execution and evaluation during the final stretch of the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
The European schedule requires member states to complete all pending targets before the end of August. Member states must then submit their final payment requests before the end of September, ahead of the facility closing permanently at the end of 2026.
Preparation for the Final Disbursement
The Ministry of Economy reported that it is preparing Spain's seventh and final disbursement request. The upcoming submission will involve the evaluation of 148 milestones and targets, seeking 21.462 billion euros in grants and 4.4 billion euros in loans.
The European Commission has disbursed 78 billion euros to Spain so far, which equals 76.5 percent of the country's total 102 billion euro allocation. Spain is entering the final execution phase to complete all committed reforms on schedule and maximize economic growth, modernization, and resilience.
Approval of the final payment request will allow Spain to receive more than 100 billion euros in total financial contributions from the Recovery and Resilience Facility before the end of 2026.
