EU FUNDS CO-FINANCING ANDALUCIA 2021-2027

Co-financing investment schemes supported by the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Just Transition Fund in Andalusia within the Spanish Partnership Agreement 2021-2027

The Project is expected to co-finance investments made by the regional government of Andalucía in the period of 2021-2027 under the following two regional Operational Programmes (OPs): the OP for investment in growth and employment supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the OP for Social Inclusion and Employment supported by the European Social Fund (ESF). Furthermore, the Project will also co-finance investments made under the EU's Just Transition Fund in the region, given that Andalucía also hosts some territories considered as most affected by the transition to a low-carbon economy.

The project concerns priority investments of the operational programmes of the EU Cohesion Policy funds, notably the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), and the Just Transition Fund (JTF) in the Spanish Autonomous Community of Andalusia, an EIB Cohesion Priority region. The project fosters a balanced socioeconomic and territorial development of the region, in line with the Territorial Agenda 2030. It will therefore contribute to the EU's policy objective of economic and social cohesion.

The investment programme is plan-led and well-embedded in the EU Cohesion policy architecture centring around the five policy goals of a smarter, a greener, a more connected, a more social Europe and a Europe closer to citizens.

EIB support to the region's co-financing to the Cohesion Policy fund investments will help kick-start the implementation of the programmes. The project addresses sub-optimal investment situations in many sectors as without support from the EU and the EIB, the region would fall behind the Spanish average in terms of per-capita endowment with vital infrastructure.

Specifically, the ERDF will support research, development and innovation activities whose returns to society are known to be larger than the financial return to the investor. It will also support investments in energy efficiency and in the production of heat and electricity from renewable sources, thereby lowering the negative externalities from CO2 emissions. In addition, the project will support investment in sustainable urban transport, which will contribute to better connectivity and less congestion in urban areas and help reduce the negative externalities of CO2 emissions from car transport. The ESF, in turn, will support education, training, lifelong learning and skills development, which will increase the economy's stock of human and social capital, reduce shortages of skilled labour and protect vulnerable persons from sliding into long-term unemployment. Finally, the JTF will support investments in the three selected territories (Almería, Cádiz, Córdoba) that will enable their inhabitants to address the social, employment, economic and environmental impacts of the recent closure of coal-fired power plants, thereby contributing to a just transition towards a climate-neutral EU economy by 2050.

Finally, EIB's financing provides the client competitive pricing, longer tenor than commercial lenders and flexible loan conditions, such as long grace and disbursement periods, which are therefore better adapted to the implementation of the Project. EIB's financing also supports Andalusia to achieve diversification of funding sources and contributes to the stability of their financing needs. 

As an autonomous community of Spain, Andalucia has to comply with national legislation that transposed Directive 2014/52/EU amending the EIA Directive 2011/92/EU into the national environmental legislation. The Bank's appraisal will focus on the Promoter's environmental management capacity in applying the EU Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Directive 2001/42/EC and Directive 2014/52/EU amending the EIA Directive 2011/92/EU, as relevant. The European Regional Development Fund is subject to a strategic environmental assessment. Some schemes in the Operational Programmes shall fall under Annex I or Annex II of the EIA Directive. All schemes must be implemented in compliance with the EU environmental legislation. The applicability of Directive 2014/52/EU amending the EIA Directive 2011/92/EU, the Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC and the Birds Directive 2009/147/EC will be reviewed at appraisal and during the allocation phase. Some schemes in the Operational Programmes might concern the construction or upgrade of small water and wastewater treatment infrastructure or the construction or upgrade of water distribution infrastructure. The Bank will assess the Promoter's compliance with the Water Framework Directive (WFD) 2000/60/EC and the Urban Waste Water Council Directive 91/271/EEC at appraisal and during the allocation phase. Some schemes in the Operational Programmes might concern the new construction or refurbishment of buildings. The Bank will assess the Promoter's compliance with the Energy performance of buildings directive (Directive EU/2018/844) at appraisal and during the allocation phase.

The Bank will require the Promoter to ensure that contracts for implementation of the project are tendered in accordance with the applicable EU procurement legislation, Directives 2014/23/EU / 2014/24/EU / 2014/25/EU as well as Directive 92/13/EEC or Directive 89/665/EEC, as interpreted by the Court of Justice of the EU, with publication of tender notices in the EU Official Journal, as and where required.