Public subsidies

💶 Public subsidies

General Subsidies Law 38/2003 establishes competitive calls as the ordinary procedure (open calls in which applications are compared and scored using objective criteria). As exceptions, the law allows nominative subsidies (with a named beneficiary in the budget) and direct awards for reasons of public, social or economic interest. Records from the National Subsidies Database (BDNS / IGAE) show what share of funds is distributed through each channel.

1. Competitive calls vs. direct awards

Four out of every ten euros in subsidies (39.6 % in 2024) are awarded through direct or nominative procedures. During the pandemic (2020–2021), extraordinary emergency aid temporarily pushed direct awards above half of the total volume; since then the share of competitive calls has recovered, while total subsidy volume remains nearly twice the 2018 level due to the rollout of European recovery funds (PRTR).

2. Breakdown by administration level

The central government accounts for slightly over half of the volume registered in BDNS (51.2 %) and also shows the highest share of direct and nominative grants (43.5 %), followed by the autonomous communities (37.5 % of the total) and local councils and provincial authorities (11.3 %).

Sources and methodology:

• National Subsidies Database (BDNS) — Office of the Comptroller General of the State Administration (IGAE) and IGAE / AIReF subsidy audit reports (Spending Review on public subsidies).
• For subsidies and institutional advertising specifically awarded to press, radio and television, see the Media & public money section.