The Government injects 45.3 million euros into Ceuta and accelerates aid to companies and the self-employed in a key enclave for online gambling
The Council of Ministers approves new extraordinary measures to guarantee the financial stability of Ceuta while the payment of aid to the business fabric advances, with 1,900 applications already submitted and some 9 million euros in the process of being paid.
The Government has approved new extraordinary measures of financial support for Ceuta, a decision of special interest for the online gambling industry due to the weight that the autonomous city has acquired in recent years as a pole of implementation for operators and companies linked to the digital sector.
The Council of Ministers on 13 October has approved, by means of a royal decree-law, a direct subsidy of more than 45 million euros aimed at guaranteeing the financial sufficiency of the city after the extraordinary expenses derived from the migratory crisis that began on 30 July.
Specifically, the aid amounts to 45.3 million euros, of which 40.6 million will be used to finance current expenses and another 4.6 million to capital expenditure.
The funds will allow essential services to be attended to in areas such as the environment, social services, public health, education, security, civil protection, supplies, markets and other municipal competencies.
The regulation also contemplates that the extraordinary expenses assumed by Ceuta are accounted for differently from ordinary expenses.
The Government has also decided to exempt the city from the obligation to formulate an economic-financial plan in 2026 or 2027 in the event that these extraordinary expenses cause a breach of the budgetary stability objectives or the spending rule.
The Minister of Finance, Arcadi España, has defended that these measures guarantee the financial stability of Ceuta during the coming months and ensure the provision of its public services.
Along with this new financial injection, the Government has also updated the situation of aid specifically aimed at the business fabric and self-employed workers in Ceuta, approved on 1 September.
More than 1,900 applications have been submitted so far.
Of these, 1,383 correspond to natural persons, mostly self-employed, and 526 to legal persons, mainly SMEs.
More than half of these applications have already been processed and authorised and, as explained by the Minister of Finance, the Tax Agency is making the corresponding payments during these days.
The amount disbursed or in the process of payment is already around 9 million euros.
For the online gambling industry, the measures take on a particular dimension due to the role that Ceuta has been consolidating as the headquarters of operators and companies linked to the sector.
Economic stability, the continuity of public services and aid to the business fabric are particularly sensitive factors for companies that have transferred part of their operations, equipment and technological structures to the city.
The new royal decree-law does not establish specific aid for gambling companies, but it does strengthen the general economic framework of Ceuta and complements the measures previously approved for companies and the self-employed.
The Executive maintains that its action is articulated on three axes: dialogue, coordination and support for the economic and institutional fabric of the city.
The decision also comes at a time when Ceuta is trying to preserve its attractiveness as a business and technological enclave, with an increasingly significant presence of companies linked to online gambling and other digital services.
For the sector, the main message is therefore one of stability: the Government guarantees extraordinary resources for Ceuta and maintains the line of direct support for companies and the self-employed in a strategic territory for a large part of the Spanish online gambling industry.
