Business Climate Survey. Section on the Current Entrepreneurial Situation. Q1/2023
In the first quarter of 2023, 61.0% of business establishments in Catalonia declare that they are aware of the Next Generation European funds, as opposed to the remaining 38.6%, who are not aware of it. Among the establishments that do know about it, 23.5% have already requested aid, 13.3% intend to soon and 16.9% are thinking about it but need more information. On the other hand, 46.3% consider that their business activity is not covered by the package and do not intend to ask for an aid line.
As regards a year ago, the percentage of establishments that are aware of the Next Generation European funds has increased by 1.1 points. There has also been an increase in establishments that have already applied for the funds (6.4 points) and those that do not intend to do so because they regard their activity as not covered by the package (4.2 points).
Among the establishments that are aware of the package, special mention should be made of those in the industry sector, which has the highest percentage of establishments that have applied for aid or intend to do so (48.1%). In contrast, trade and other services show the highest proportion of establishments that declare that they do not intend to ask for an aid line because they believe that their activity is not applicable there (47.4% and 52.6%, respectively).
The main barriers or limitations declared by the establishments that have applied for an aid line from the Next Generation European funds are the need to present a great deal of documentation (70.7%); the slowness in the resolution of the award (55.9%) and the lack of information and clarity on the part of the Administration (49.5%).
With regard to the ecological transition (which, along with digitization, is one of the two main objectives under study for the Next Generation European funds, 49.4% of the establishments declare that they either take measures to reduce the environmental impact of their activity or intend to do so soon. Finally, when it comes to the digitisation of the business, 51.6% of the establishments either take measures to increase their level or intend to do so.