Alex Trelinski
ANDALUCIA, Castilla-La Mancha and Extremadura are the three least economically developed regions of Spain according to a European Union study.
All of the areas have their Gross Domestic Product per head below the 75% EU average.
On the other hand, Aragon, Catalunya, Madrid, Navarre and the Basque Country are the most developed regions of Spain, with a GDP per capita above 100% of the EU average.
A report on social cohesion in the EU also warns that Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y Leon and Extremadura risk falling into a ‘talent trap’ due people aged between 15 and 39 years leaving those regions.
They are part of a group of 36 regions across the bloc that are suffering a significant exodus of the working-age population.
The regions include Latvia, Lithuania, eastern Poland, Slovakia, Greece, northern Portugal, the northern half of France and Finland- representing 13% of the EU population.
The report says there is a link between so-called ‘geographical discontent’ and being a Eurosceptic.
People living in those regions are said to be much more likely to be tempted by Eurosceptic political parties and to support them in elections due to strong disaffection.
Although the report notes that cohesion policy has helped to reduce economic, social and territorial disparities in the EU, they remain ‘wide’ across the continent, with over one in four EU inhabitants (28%) living in a region with a GDP per capita below 75% of the EU average.
The report also points to a ‘strong correlation’ between the quality of governance and the impact of Cohesion Policy investments.
It calls for strengthening the administrative capacity of European regions, especially in those whose markers indicate a ‘negative’ trend.
The EU’s regional government quality indicator, which analyses factors such as respect for the rule of law, administrative capacity or diversification of funding sources, shows that the Spanish regional government with the most negative trend in 2024 is that of Castilla y Leon, followed by Andalucia and Extremadura.
The report notes that the causes of development traps differ across regions, requiring an ‘tailored’ solution and may involve a number of interrelated factors, such as insufficient specialisation, poor public governance, an ineffective innovation ecosystem, a lack of services, or skills mismatches.
