(Bloomberg) -- The Spanish government will present a 3.75 billion-euro ($4.2 billion) stimulus program for the car industry on Monday, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said.
The plan includes reforms to the investment framework and fiscal rules, Sanchez said in a speech Sunday in Madrid. The government will also present a stimulus plan for the tourism industry on June 18, he said.
The two industries combined account for about 22% of Spanish gross domestic product, with car production accounting for a fifth of the country’s exports. Both sectors have been severely hit by the coronavirus pandemic, which led the government to impose one of the world’s strictest lockdowns. The economy could shrink as much as 15% in 2020, according to worse-case scenario estimates by the Bank of Spain.
The country is progressively lifting the confinement orders through a four-phase plan to ease the lockdown. As part of this plan, two planes with German tourists are scheduled to arrive on the island of Mallorca as a pilot test on a return to receiving visitors.
The country aims to open its borders with all members of Europe’s so-called Schengen-free travel region as of June 21, Sanchez said. The only exception to the re-opening will be Portugal, as the border between the two nations will remain shut until July 1.
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