Next Generation EU Closing Amendment: €9,504.5M for companies via ICO

Key data

The Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan is in its final stretch. With the European Commission's evaluation deadline set for August 31, 2026, the Council of Ministers approved on July 28, 2026 the Closing Amendment, published in the BOE of July 30, 2026. The objective is clear: to ensure that Spain collects every last euro of the non-reimbursable transfers allocated.

For companies and administrations that have executed projects with these funds, this means that verification mechanisms are simplified, but deadlines are immovable. Anyone who does not have their justifications in order before closure may lose the right to payment.

What does this regulation establish?

The Closing Amendment is a technical modification of the Recovery Plan that operates on three simultaneous fronts:

• Adaptation of more than 121 milestones and objectives to facilitate their final evaluation by the European Commission. Commitments are not eliminated: they are reformulated to be verifiable within the deadline.
• Resolution of pending adjustments from the sixth disbursement, specifically milestones 301, 322 and 346, which were blocking the processing of that financing tranche.
• Reduction in the volume of Recovery and Resilience Mechanism (MRR) loans: since the financial advantage of these loans over market debt has been practically eliminated, Spain chooses to reduce their use and concentrate resources on instruments with greater impact.

The instrument chosen to channel these resources is the Spain Grows Fund, which will receive:

The logic behind this decision is clear: if European loans no longer offer cost advantage over the market, it makes more sense to prioritize non-reimbursable transfers —money that does not need to be repaid— and use loans only where they generate greater economic impact.

Economic and operational impact

For companies and entities that have executed projects financed with Next Generation EU, the immediate impact is operational: the clock is ticking toward August 31, 2026.

• Simplification of verifications: verification mechanisms have been streamlined, reducing the documentary burden to prove milestone compliance. This is good news for companies with ongoing projects.
• Milestones 301, 322 and 346 unblocked: entities linked to the sixth disbursement can now complete their processing without previous technical obstacles.
• New financing flow via ICO: the Spain Grows Fund, strengthened with more than €10,890 million in total (loans + capital), becomes the main vehicle for productive investment of remaining European funds. Companies accessing ICO lines in the coming months will, in part, benefit from these resources.
• Optimization of public debt: the reduction of low-value-added MRR loans improves the State's debt profile without reducing the volume of real investment in the economy.

Who does it affect?

• Companies directly benefiting from Next Generation EU funds with projects under execution or pending final justification.
• ICO (Official Credit Institute), which manages the channeling of €9,504.5M in loans and €1,386.5M in non-reimbursable capital from the Spain Grows Fund.
• Executing public administrations (ministries, autonomous communities, local entities) responsible for verifying and certifying compliance with more than 121 adapted milestones.
• Companies accessing ICO financing lines in the second half of 2026, which may indirectly benefit from the strengthening of the Spain Grows Fund.
• Financial advisors and European funds consultants who accompany their clients in justifying and closing projects.

Practical example

An industrial sector company that received a Next Generation EU grant to digitize its production plant and has pending final justification of its project finds itself in the following situation:

• Thanks to the simplification of verification mechanisms introduced by the Amendment, the documents required to prove compliance with the milestone associated with its grant may be less exhaustive than originally planned.
• However, the deadline is immovable: if the managing administration does not certify milestone compliance before August 31, 2026, the European Commission will not include that amount in the final evaluation and Spain will not receive that part of the transfer.
• If its project is also linked to any of the milestones 301, 322 or 346 of the sixth disbursement, the resolution of technical adjustments opens the way to complete processing without additional delays.

In parallel, if that same company needs financing to grow in 2026, the strengthening of the Spain Grows Fund with €9,504.5M additional in ICO loans expands the availability of credit lines under potentially favorable conditions.

What should companies do now?

1. Review the justification status of all active Next Generation EU projects and identify which milestones are pending accreditation before August 31, 2026.
2. Contact the managing administration (ministry, autonomous community or local entity responsible) to confirm whether your project's milestones are among the more than 121 adapted and what simplified documentation is now accepted.
3. If your project is linked to milestones 301, 322 or 346, verify with your manager that the technical unblocking is already operational and accelerate the processing of the sixth disbursement.
4. Explore Spain Grows Fund lines through the ICO if you need financing for investment projects in 2026, given the strengthening of €9,504.5M in loans and €1,386.5M in capital.
5. Document and archive all evidence of milestone compliance, even with simplified mechanisms, to be prepared for possible future audits by the European Commission.

Official source

Consult complete regulation in official source

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For specific decisions, consult a qualified professional. Source: https://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2026-16555