Scarlet Jenkins
THE Official State Bulletin has released today how the COVID-19 funds will be distributed between the autonomous communities in Spain, with Andalucia receiving half of what it should be in regards to its population.
Andalucia, with a population of nearly 8.5 million people, is receiving €600 million, while Catalunya is receiving double that, €1.2 billion, despite having nearly one million less habitants.
The distribution of the funds, as decided by the Ministry of Finance in Spain, is based on a criteria of sanitary conditions of the pandemic, which is why Madrid and Catalunya are receiving half of the overall €6 billion worth of funds, with Madrid receiving €1.495 billion for its 6.7 million population.
With 20% of the population of Spain living in Andalucia, the Andalucian President, Juanma Moreno, said in a tweet today that the distribution of the money is, ‘disproportionate’ and asks for ‘fair treatment,’ after revealing Andalucia is receiving half of the money it should be in accordance with its population size.
Moreno revealed Andalucia is receiving €70.50 per inhabitant, compared to Madrid, which is getting €221.60 per inhabitant.
Elias Bendodo, the Minister of Presidency and an Andalucian government spokesperson, has spoken out against the distribution of funding, and says Andalucia ‘will be up against it,’ when it comes to trying to get a fair cut of the upcoming €140 billion funding from the European Union, according to El Mundo.
Bendodo has asked that the central Government use the same criteria the EU used to decide the distribution of their funding for European countries, which took into consideration the per capita income and unemployment rate.
The Bulletin revealed the funding for the other autonomous communities, with Valencia receiving the 4th highest payout, with €449 million, followed by Castilla y Leon, with €349 million, then Pais Vasco, with €328 million, and Castilla-La Mancha, with €319 million.
