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Central level

The Treasury Ministry coordinates the application and management of the EU Structural Funds and the EU Cohesion Fund through the General Directorate of European Funds.

The Central Government is responsible for:

European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)

• Management of 22 Operational Programmes 'Cohesion Fund – ERDF'  2014-2020;
• Managing authority: day-to-day checking of project operations;
• Paying authority: certifying project expenditure;
• Audit body (Tribunal de Cuentas/Court of Accounts): checking of effective functioning of systems and ex-post sample checking of project operations.
• Management of Interreg Europe, including the programme Mediterranean
  

Spatial planning

• Preparation of national legislation, guidelines and rules;
• Planning and management of land at national level (Sociedad Estatal para el Equipamiento de Suelo SEPES/ State company for ground equipment);
• Legislation on property rights and land property.

European Social Fund (ESF)

• Management of 23 operational programmes (four of which are national programmes.)
• Competence for potential State programmes only;
• Support to AC for the management of resources originating from ESF (Unidad Administradora del Fondo Social Europeo/Unity managing ESF, of Ministry of Employment and Social Security);
• Promotion of actions designed for the fulfilment of ESF objectives in the country;
• Intervention in the negotiation with the European Commission about the content of ESF programming;
• Coordination of AC and local institutions in the implementation of interventions;
• Design of National Regional Development Plans, in cooperation with AC;
• Examination of requests for aid and processing of requests to European Commission;
• Management and control of operational programme;
• Paying authority;
• Audit authority (Intervención General de la Administración del Estado (IGAE)/ General Comptroller of the State Administration);
• Communication and publication of co-financed interventions and their results.

Regional level

European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)

• Audit body (Regional audit authorities): checking of effective functioning of systems and ex-post sample checking of project operations.
• Participation in Interreg Europe

Spatial planning

• Approval of own legislation and supra-local planning;
• Development of national planning legislation, guidelines and rules, i.e. territorial coordination plans;
• Approval of municipal land planning instruments, according to the law and respecting local autonomy.

European Social Fund (ESF)

• Management and programming of operational programmes;
  Audit functions (Intervenciones Generales de las Comunidades Autónomas/General Comptrollers of AC);
• Payment functions;
• Participation in negotiation with EU institutions.

Local level

Provincial competences

• Securing coordination and provision of municipal services.

European Social Fund (ESF)

• Monitoring, follow up and control of actions financed by ESF.

Municipal competences

European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)

• Involvement in beneficiary-related activities, i.e. project (financial) management and reporting.

Spatial planning

• Establishment, adoption and revision of structure planning and land-use regulations and ordinances;
• Preparation, revisions and modifications of local development plans and projects.

European Social Fund (ESF)

• Cooperation between AC and local authorities.

Responsible ministries/bodies

Central

Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda

Sources

Cohesion Policy, Spain, EC, 2014

Directorate-General for Internal Policies, European Parliament, ERDF implementation in Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom, 2009.

Gerhard Larsson, Spatial Planning systems in Western Europe, An Overview, Amsterdam, 2006, pp.231-234.

Ministerio de Empleo y Seguridad Social, Funciones de la Unidad Administradora del Fondo Social Europeo . [Ministry of employment and Social Security, functions of the Unit managing the ESF]

Mónica López Viso, El desarrollo de la política social europea en Galicia, Revista de Estudios Regionales n º 71, 2004, pp.162-170 [The Development of the European social policy in Galicia, Journal of Regional Studies n º 71, 2004, pp.162-170].

Regional Policy – Inforegio, European Commission

Interreg Europe: https://www.interregeurope.eu/about-us/what-is-interreg-europe/

Treasury ministry (Ministerio de Hacienda) http://www.hacienda.gob.es/es-ES/Areas%20Tematicas/Fondos%20de%20la%20Union%20Europea/paginas/default.aspx