Spain has spent only a fraction of the €401 million in European funds allocated for wildfire prevention and forest management since 2022. Most projects remain unfinished as the country faces another challenging fire season. Official data show that just between €103 million and €106 million has been spent, covering interventions in roughly 120 of more than 310 planned projects. That leaves 190 initiatives, representing €295 million, still awaiting implementation.
Spain’s autonomous communities have overseen 58% of the executed budget. By contrast, the central government has directly managed only €28 million. Various public entities have handled the remainder, with local authorities playing a smaller role. That distribution makes coordination and local implementation basic to delivery. The EU Civil Protection Mechanism supports cross-border cooperation on disaster prevention, preparedness and response, but national and regional authorities remain responsible for carrying out forest-management and infrastructure projects.
The funded projects cover modernizing firefighting aircraft and purchasing new fire engines, alongside work on forest tracks and firebreaks. They also include clearing undergrowth and restoring habitats. The largest single project, €22 million earmarked for replacing ten aging Canadair firefighting planes, remains unresolved after a failed procurement process. The Ministry for Ecological Transition canceled the tender four years after its launch because of procedural errors, leaving the future of the funds uncertain. This mix of equipment procurement and field work reflects a broader EU policy approach: wildfire prevention is both an emergency-preparedness priority and an environment-restoration objective.
Other planned investments include 40 fire engines, to be acquired for €12 million, and smaller-scale actions, most managed by regional governments. Spending has been uneven: the largest outlays occurred in 2022 and are projected for 2025, with between €40 million and €50 million spent in each of those years. By comparison, spending reached just €6 million in 2024 and a little over €3 million so far this year. European Commission adaptation guidance identifies wildfires among the climate hazards that require practical ability to recover measures from local and regional authorities. Turning budgets into work on the ground remains critical.
These efforts form part of the fourth component of Spain’s Recovery Plan, which focuses on ecosystems and biodiversity and is backed by €1.643 billion. The component is divided into four investment lines, including wildfire prevention and forest management. Its original targets were softened during the 2023 renegotiation of the Next Generation EU funds addendum, shifting the focus from aerial firefighting resources to broader goals such as digitalization and mapping, with biodiversity restoration also included. The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre has described how satellite and remote-sensing data can distinguish biomass losses caused by harvesting from those resulting from natural disturbances. That provides a technical basis for forest-risk mapping and post-fire assessment.
EU-funded Mediterranean forest initiatives also link restoration with reducing wildfire risk and conserving biodiversity. The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency has highlighted the LIFE GOPROFOR-MED project’s work to manage and restore Mediterranean forest habitats. Its approaches aim to reduce fire risk while improving conservation outcomes. Firebreaks and undergrowth clearance sit alongside habitat restoration, extending prevention beyond firefighting equipment.
The Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (AIReF) has raised concerns about the lack of reliable data for assessing the true fiscal cost of wildfires. Between 2005 and 2025, the government’s direct fiscal response to wildfires, including reforestation aid and compensation, amounted to just €615 million. Catastrophic events such as the 2005 Guadalajara fire and the 2006 Galicia fires heavily influenced that total. Intangible losses to nature and communities, but, remain incalculable.
AIReF also notes that its observatory tracks only tenders and subsidies, so additional investments may exist through other financial instruments. Without comprehensive data, it is difficult to evaluate how effectively public spending supports wildfire prevention and recovery.
As Spain approaches the end of the EU funding period, the risk of unspent resources looms large. The country’s experience shows the difficulty of turning ambitious funding commitments into action on the ground, particularly when national and regional authorities must coordinate. Underused public funds are an issue beyond wildfire prevention. Recent analysis has shown that frequently switching off air-conditioning systems in Spain can inadvertently increase electricity bills, as discussed in this report on energy efficiency and household costs.
Spain’s struggle to fully deploy EU wildfire prevention funds comes as the country faces increasingly severe fire seasons, with burned areas already approaching record levels before August. Administrative delays and shifting priorities, compounded by incomplete data, leave forests and communities exposed to ongoing risks.
