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The Single Market and Competitiveness Scoreboard

Country data: Spain

Transposition of Single Market directives (Spain)

Trend since last reporting period:  positive;  negative; = neutral
Ranking out of 27: 1 to 9; 10 to 18; 19 to 27
Indicators on Single Market DirectivesDec. 2024EU averageRankingTrend
Transposition deficit (percentage of all directives not transposed)1.8%0.8%27↘↘
Overdue directives188
Long-overdue directives (> 2 years)5127
  • Directive 2013/59/EUR – Basic safety standards for protection against the dangers arising from exposure to ionising radiation
  • Directive (EU) 2019/944 – Common rules for the internal market for electricity
  • Directive (EU) 2018/2001 – Promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources
  • Directive (EU) 2019/1152 – Transparent and predictable working conditions in the European Union
  • Directive (EU) 2019/1158 – Work-life balance for parents and carers
Average delay in transposing directives (in months)18.711.925
Conformity deficit (percentage of all directives transposed incorrectly)1.2%0.9%18
Duration of infringement proceedings for late transposition (in months)16.018.06

Single Market infringement cases (Spain)

Trend since last reporting period:  positive;  negative; = neutral
Ranking out of 27: 1 to 9; 10 to 18; 19 to 27
Ranking out of 20 (compliance with Court rulings): 1 to 7; 8 to 14; 15 to 20

Indicators on Single Market Infringement ProceedingsDec. 2024EU averageRankingTrend
Number of pending infringement proceedings422427
Problematic sectors
  • Water protection and management (8 cases)
Average duration of infringement proceedings (in months)65.345.827
Average time taken to comply with Court rulings (in months)31.061.36

Internal Market Information System (Spain)

Technical regulations information system (Spain)

On these, the Commission issued 1 detailed opinion and 3 comments, while other Member States issued no reaction.

SOLVIT (Spain)

Caseload
Submitted cases: 180 (159 in 2023)
Received cases: 198 (190 in 2023)
Cases not accepted: 254 (213 in 2023)

Resolution rate: 86.4% (88.3% in 2023)

Handling time (as home centre)
Reply in 7 days: 97% (96% in 2023)
Cases prepared in 30 days: 93% (86% in 2023)
Solutions accepted within 7 days: 93% (93% in 2023)
Cases not accepted within 30 days: 85% (90% in 2023)

Handling time (as lead centre)
Cases accepted within 7 days: 93% (92% in 2023)
Cases closed within 10 weeks: 75% (77% in 2023)

Staffing level
Sufficient

Payment delays (Spain)

In 2024, the average payment delay (the time exceeding the legal or contractually agreed payment terms) by Spanish public authorities was 16 days.

The average number of days needed for a business to have its invoices paid by other businesses (business-to-business payments) was 62 days.

Responsive administration and burden of regulation (Spain)

IndicatorYearESEU average
Burden of government regulation (survey replies: 1 = worst, 7 = best)20233.16  3.87 
Digital public services to start and run a business (100% = best performing)202391.0%
85.4%
 
Payment delays by public authorities202416 days16.76 days
Time to resolve insolvency   
Impact of regulation on long-term investment decisions (survey replies)   

Access to public procurement (Spain)

Indicator2023EU average
Single bidder

33%

38%

No calls for bids

9%

6%

Publication rate (value advertised on Tenders Electronics Daily, in % of GDP)

4.3%

5.84%

Cooperative procurement (proportion of procedures with more than one buyer)

1%

7%

Award criteria (proportion of procedures awarded to cheapest bid)

21%

56%

Decision speed (days)

146 

84 

SME contractors

53%

58%

SME bids

57%

66%

Procedures divided into lots

29%

30%

Missing calls for bids

1%

1%

Missing seller registration numbers

31%

47%

Missing buyer registration numbers

10%

36%

Note: A typical (mid-ranking) EU country is used for the EU average for all indicators except the publication rate. Due to delays in data availability, publication rate results are based on 2022 data.

Access to services and services markets (Spain)

IndicatorYearESEU average
Restrictiveness indicator – architect20212.6  2.5  
Restrictiveness indicator – accountant20210.0  1.7  
Restrictiveness indicator – civil engineer20213.0  2.4  
Restrictiveness indicator – lawyer20213.0  3.4  
Restrictiveness indicator – real estate agent20210.0  1.3  
Restrictiveness indicator – patent agent20212.0  2.2  
Restrictiveness indicator – tourist guide20212.5  1.2  
Domestic priority letter prices, letter 20 g 2022€ 0.75€ 1.06
Intra-EU priority letter prices, letter 20 g2022€ 1.65€ 1.71
Domestic transit times, day+1 performance, priority letters 20 g2022n/a81.7%

Note: The EU restrictiveness indicator (EURI) measures the level of restrictiveness for the cross-border provision of services and the right of establishment for seven groups of professional services with a high share in EU firms’ intermediate consumption or cross-border mobility. The level of restrictiveness is measured on a scale from 0 (least restrictive) to 6 (most restrictive). 

Access to finance (Spain)

IndicatorYearESEU average
Access to public financial support (% of SMEs indicating deterioration)202327.30% 19.11%
Time to get paid by businesses 202462 days62 days
Venture capital investments (% of GDP)20230.051%0.050%
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