This sum is part of the great European rescue plan for the countries that have been most hit by the novel coronavirus, and this first amount makes up 13 percent of the total of transfers to Madrid, the government said in a statement.

In what was considered a bold move, Spanish President Pedro Sanchez ventured to deploy EU funds (27 billion euros in investments) in April, when the plan still needed final approval.

Things went as planned, and his administration also announced that a second aid package of 10 billion euros is expected from this bloc this year.

The EU will send its aid on the condition that a series of reform measures have to be implemented by the beneficiaries.

Spain expects to create 800,000 new jobs over the course of three years and increase its annual GDP by two percentage points.

Germany, France and Italy, among others, will also benefit from the EU aid packages. ef/aph/mem/ft