The Spanish government’s ‘ICEX-Brexit’ subsidy programme will compensate companies and self-employed people for the negative effects of Brexit on their businesses. Here are all the details and requirements.
Spain’s Council of Ministers has approved a series of subsidies for the “ICEX-Brexit” program, which according to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, are intended to “compensate for the negative effects of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union on companies and the self-employed.”
This subsidies will largely be for businesses that have seen their exports reduced as a result of Brexit, or because they have lost their investments, and aim, according to the Ministry, “to establish transitional measures to help exporting companies absorb the shock that Brexit is having in terms of increased costs, new procedures and administrative obligations.”
On top of that, the Ministry has also pledged they will help Spanish companies strengthen their presence in the British market, and will support the creation of jobs in sectors that export to the United Kingdom.
According to Spain’s Official State Bulletin (BOE), the subsidy amount will be 75 percent of the expenses considered eligible according to the requirements, which are outlined below, with a maximum support of €200,000 per beneficiary.
These grants will be financed from the ICEX budget and the funds of the Brexit Adaptation Reserve or BAR funds.
“The planned aid will have a direct positive impact on the productivity and competitiveness of the economy and the improvement of employment, since it will allow Spanish companies that export to and have a presence in the UK market to progressively absorb the effects of the country’s exit from the EU,” the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism explained.
Brexit effect
As the drawn out Brexit process rumbled on from 2016, the Spanish government studied carefully the possible effects that Brexit would have on the Spanish economy. With all the possible contingencies considered, the conclusion was that Brexit would have negative consequences for both GDP and employment in Spain, as well as for foreign trade and investment that the Spanish economy receives.
Many Spanish companies have suffered as a result, and this subsidy programme is intended to mitigate some of these consequences. According to Royal Decree 114/2023, published February 21st, companies legally incorporated in Spain or self-employed workers registered in Spain’s Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers, exporters to the United Kingdom, or companies with investments in the United Kingdom “who have been harmed by Brexit” could qualify.
Though the application process has yet to be outlined in any great deal, companies and self-employed people must justify why they qualify for the subsidy and how exactly their business has been effected by Brexit.
Companies and self-employed workers may belong to any sector of activity affected by Brexit. However, it is worth noting that the BOE states that companies “that benefit from the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the Union, including those in the financial sector, must be taken into account” and are likely ineligible.
Grants will be granted on a direct basis. Companies legally incorporated in Spain, or Spain-based self-employed workers, Spanish companies that export to or with investments in the United Kingdom who have been negatively impacted by Brexit could be eligible and can apply.
Source: The Local
