Spanish science budget leaves billions unspent

Science : Since 2008, Spain has budgeted $11.1 billion more for science than it has spent. The amount of unspent funds is greater than the country’s entire science budget for 2011. The surplus has arisen because of the Spanish parliament’s long-standing practice of budgeting more money for loans than for funding government agencies. Those loans are set aside for companies, universities, and public research institutions; however, the majority of such groups are unable to take advantage of the loans for a wide range of reasons. As a result, the government was able to claim to have raised funding from 2007 to 2009 without having actually spent more money. The economic troubles that began in 2009 have resulted in a shrinking national budget, with the science budget sustaining significant cuts. The current budget proposal includes a 26% cut to science funding. However, 59% of the $8.25 billion budgeted for 2012 is allocated for the unused loan program.