The Community of Madrid has introduced a total of 738 regulatory simplification measures in its fight against hyper-regulation. Furthermore, it is in the process of finalizing a Law that will incorporate new initiatives aimed at easing the bureaucratic load borne by both citizens and businesses, which currently hinders investment. This was highlighted by the Minister of Economy, Finance, and Employment, Rocio Albert, during an informational meeting with the press.
The forthcoming regulation will include specific mechanisms, such as the compensation rule stipulating that every new administrative burden imposed on a company must be offset by the elimination of another of equivalent cost. Added to this are pioneering measures in Spain, like sunset clauses for organizational regulations, with the aim of preventing outdated regulations from persisting through inertia.
Moreover, new regulatory obligations will only come into effect on two fixed dates per year: January 2nd and July 1st. This measure seeks to provide predictability for companies, especially SMEs, to facilitate their planning and avoid rushed adaptations to scattered changes, drawing inspiration from the British model.
The Law will also strengthen the Investment Accelerator, granting preferential processing and halving deadlines for projects of special interest. It will also regulate controlled testing environments, allowing innovators to experiment in the region, under supervision, with concepts not yet covered by current regulations. Areas being explored include digitalization, tourism, innovative commerce, and health technologies.
Through this initiative, the Community of Madrid aims to leverage the reduction of bureaucracy as a driver of competitiveness, aligning with evidence from organizations like the OECD, which indicates that regions with higher quality regulation experience greater growth and productivity.
Additionally, Minister Albert detailed that the Community of Madrid will structure its industry into five specialized districts. The objective is to enhance the vocations of different areas within the region, creating nearby environments where companies can find optimal conditions to invest, strengthen their capabilities, compete, and generate employment.
These districts are: the North, focusing on pharma-biotech, life sciences, and audiovisual; the East, as a logistics and automotive hub in the Corredor del Henares; the South, specializing in advanced industry, aeronautics, and defense; the West, in cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence (AI); and the Capital, in advanced services and digitalization.
Collaboration with local councils, with whom contacts have already been initiated, will facilitate companies finding advantages for installation or growth in these economic corridors. These advantages include local tax incentives, promotion of business internationalization, and support for technological transfer to foster innovation.
The regional government will allocate 850 million euros to this new Industrial Plan 2026-2030, representing a 65% increase in budget compared to the previous one. The plan is structured into six axes and 85 measures, making the Community of Madrid the first autonomous community in Spain to recognize the contribution of servitization to high value-added activities.
Key lines of action include allocating 110 million euros to aid for SMEs and 66.5 million to collaborative projects between companies, universities, and research centers. Fifty million euros are reserved for integrating AI, cybersecurity, and robotics into the productive fabric, and the launch of a 6G Laboratory, an Industry and Innovation Hub for Defense, Security, and Dual-Use Technologies, and an investment of 16 million for the drone ecosystem are planned.
