At its meeting on 15 September, Spain's Council of Ministers approved a Royal Decree regulating the Strategic Investment Committee (CIE) and establishing the criteria and procedure for designating Strategic Investment Projects (PEI). This initiative aims to facilitate and accelerate the implementation of investments considered particularly important for Spain’s economic, industrial and technological development.

The new interministerial committee will be attached to the Office of Economic Affairs and G20 at the Prime Minister’s Office and will be jointly chaired by the head of that Office and the Secretary of State for the Economy. Its aim will be to drive business and public-private partnership projects that help strengthen Spain’s productive, technological and scientific capabilities, provided they demonstrate a significant public, social, environmental or economic interest.

Selection criteria
Key criteria for designation as Strategic Investment Projects (PEI) include the scale of investment, the creation of skilled jobs and alignment with national and European strategic priorities. Of these, the most significant priorities are the energy transition, digitalisation, industrial decarbonisation, the clean technology industry, health, the agri-food sector and the aerospace sector.

The procedure for their recognition as strategic projects will comprise two stages. The first will be a preliminary declaration providing promoters with early guidance on the viability of their initiative. The second, a final declaration, will provide an in-depth assessment of the economic, social and environmental impacts of projects and their contribution to the country’s strategic autonomy. Following the committee’s proposal, the final decision will rest with the Government Delegated Committee for Economic Affairs (CDGAE).

Streamlining procedures
The regulation approved by the Council of Ministers implements the provisions of Article 29 of Royal Decree-Law 7/2026 and draws on similar initiatives launched in other European countries to attract strategic investment. With this operational framework in place, the regulation seeks to strengthen legal certainty and administrative coordination, and streamline procedures.

In addition to the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Economy, the vice-chair positions will include representatives from the Industry and Tourism, Finance and Digital Transformation ministerial offices, together with the State Secretariat for Energy. The Prime Minister’s Office will hold the fifth vice-chair position. There will also be 14 member positions, one of which will be reserved for ICEX Invest in Spain.

^{Photo: Prime Minister's Office}