In accordance with the provisions of article 133 of Law 39/2015, of 1 October, on the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations, in relation to article 26 of Law 50/1997, of 27 November, on the Government, and with the aim of improving citizen participation in the procedure for drafting regulations, a public consultation shall be held prior to the drafting of a preliminary draft law, through the competent Administration's web portal, in which the opinions of the most relevant subjects and organisations shall be sought; prior to the drafting of a preliminary draft law, a public consultation shall be held, through the web portal of the competent Administration, in which the opinion of the subjects and the most representative organisations potentially affected by the future regulation shall be sought on: a) The problems that the initiative is intended to solve. b) The need and timeliness of its approval. c) The objectives of the rule. d) The possible alternative regulatory and non-regulatory solutions.

In compliance with the above and, in accordance with the provisions of the Agreement of the Council of Ministers of 30 September 2016, whereby instructions are issued to enable public participation in the regulatory drafting process through the web portals of the ministerial departments, published by Order PRE/1590/2016, of 3 October, the following questionnaire is posed.

In accordance with the provisions of Article 26.2 of Law 50/1997, of 27 November 1997, of the Government, this document sets out the public consultation on the Draft Royal Decree regulating the direct granting of a subsidy to Paradores de Turismo de España S.M.E. for the refurbishment and modernisation of the Parador de Melilla.

1. Problems to be solved with this Royal Decree.

In October 2022, the Spanish Government presented the ‘Integral Plan for the Socioeconomic Development of the City of Melilla’ promoted by the Ministry of Territorial Policy with the aim of laying the foundations for the economic and social progress of Melilla and its citizens.

The Plan designed, after an analysis and diagnosis, through a process of participation of society and dialogue between public administrations, defines the strategic lines to be followed to meet the challenges faced by this territory.

As its mission, the Plan's main objective is to organise the future actions of the General State Administration in the City of Melilla, within the scope of its powers, by promoting the structural transformation of the City through a new economic model and repositioning the City in the current socio-economic context through urban, commercial and tourism development policies, connectivity and public services, all on the basis of dialogue with Melilla's society and Administrations.

In another instance, the medium and long-term vision of this Plan is to prepare the Autonomous City for the future, directing the transformation opportunities offered by the available resources and the different sources of financing towards a better use and a greater projection of the endogenous resources and singularities of the City.

Based on this, three axes of action have been established:

• Axis 1 (E1): New Economic Model.
• Axis 2 (E2): Infrastructures and housing.
• Axis 3 (E3): Public Services.

Among the specific objectives of the first axis is to strengthen and promote the tourism sector. An additional sector that would contribute to the diversification of Melilla's economy is the tourism sector, based on the City's rich historical heritage, which is rooted in its defensive nature and strong economic and social relations with Morocco. Therefore, the rehabilitation and enhancement of the historical and cultural heritage, the digitalisation of businesses and the attraction of new tourists will undoubtedly contribute to boosting Melilla's economy.

This is specified as Objective 2 (E1. O2) of Axis 1 of the Plan: Promote and strengthen the tourism sector, which includes, among others, a measure consisting of the implementation of Measure 05 ‘Actions in the Parador de Turismo de Melilla’ (E1.M05).

It is precisely the fulfilment of this measure that is the purpose of this Royal Decree for the direct award of a subsidy to Sociedad Mercantil Paradores de Turismo de España SME, S.A.,

2. Necessity and appropriateness of its approval.

It is considered necessary and appropriate to grant a subsidy for the modernisation and improvement of the service to tourists at the Parador de Melilla, as it is a publicly owned building whose maintenance is ultimately the responsibility of the State Administration and is one of the Paradors that, as it is not an Asset of Cultural Interest, has not been able to benefit from the funds of the National Plan for Recovery and Resilience as many others in the network of Paradors in Spain have been able to do.

Only responses in which the sender is identified will be taken into consideration and the contact details, particularly the e-mail address, must be included.

It must be indicated in the e-mail that it is sent in response to this public consultation process of the Draft Royal Decree regulating the direct granting of a subsidy to Paradores de Turismo de España S.M.E. for the refurbishment and modernisation of the Parador de Melilla. Finally, it should be noted that only those allegations in which the sender is identified will be taken into consideration.