Aragón guarantees loans for ZLC master's degrees with 156,310 euros

The Government of Aragon has authorized the Zaragoza Logistics Center Foundation (ZLC) to grant guarantees for a maximum amount of 156,310.00 euros in favor of students in its master’s programs for the 2026/2027 academic year. The agreement was adopted on July 29, 2026, and published in the Official Gazette of Aragon on September 17, 2026 (number 181), in section III, via Order HAP/1342/2026, dated August 31, signed by the Minister of Finance, Interior and Public Administration, Roberto Bermúdez de Castro Mur.

The publication is based on Article 90 of the revised text of the Treasury Law of the Autonomous Community of Aragon, approved by Legislative Decree 3/2023, of May 17, and Article 52, paragraph six, of Law 17/2023, of December 22, on the Budgets of the Autonomous Community of Aragon for 2024, extended for 2026 by Order HAP/1848/2025, of December 30. This regulation requires entities and bodies dependent on the Community included in the Public Administration sector to obtain prior authorization from the Government of Aragon to grant guarantees or any type of financial security, regardless of the amount or the way they are implemented.

The Zaragoza Logistics Center Foundation aims for scientific research and technological development in the field of logistics, teaching with criteria of excellence in this subject, contributing to the economic development of PLAZA and its regional environment, and cooperation with the university community. As a central part of its teaching activity, it offers three master’s degrees in logistics.

A public guarantee for students without banking history

The agreement details the reason for the operation: to cover the cost of tuition, ZLC offers students the possibility of accessing bank financing up to a limit of 70% of the tuition. The financial entity requires, however, that these loans be guaranteed by the foundation itself, given that most students are of foreign origin and lack a banking history.

The essential elements of the operation are as follows:

• Maximum guaranteed amount: 156,310.00 euros (one hundred fifty-six thousand three hundred ten euros).
• Beneficiaries: students of ZLC master’s programs for the 2026/2027 academic year.
• Coverage: bank loans of up to 70% of the tuition amount.
• Deadline to grant the guarantees: until December 31, 2026.

Prior authorization from the Council of Ministers

ZLC is part of the consolidation perimeter of the Autonomous Community according to the definition of the European System of National Accounts (ESA 2010), therefore the Resolution of September 9, 2015, of the General Secretariat for Autonomous and Local Coordination, regarding the principle of financial prudence of the autonomous communities in guarantee operations and other public guarantees, is applicable. Pursuant to that resolution, the guarantee operations provided for in article 20.1 of Organic Law 2/2012, of April 27, on Budgetary Stability and Financial Sustainability (LOEPSF), require authorization from the Council of Ministers.

This authorization was processed starting from the letter from the Councilor of Finance, Interior and Public Administration addressed to the Secretary of State for Finance on June 24, 2026, in which the guarantee operations planned by the Autonomous Community of Aragon for the following months were communicated. The file was supported by the report on compliance with the budgetary stability objective, public debt, and the expenditure rule for the 2025 financial year, dated June 2, 2026, published by the Ministry of Finance.

On July 14, 2026, the Council of Ministers agreed to authorize the Autonomous Community of Aragon to grant guarantees for a maximum amount of 156,310.00 euros until December 31, 2026, in order to guarantee loans from the ZLC Foundation to students for the 2026-2027 academic year.

Subsequent deadlines and procedures

The agreement of the Government of Aragon, adopted in its meeting on July 29, 2026, at the proposal of the Councilor of Finance, Interior and Public Administration, also establishes the following actions:

• The granting of the guarantees must be carried out within the current year, i.e., until December 31, 2026.
• The agreement shall be forwarded to the General Directorate of Financing and European Funds.
• The agreement is published in the Official Gazette of Aragon in application of article 90 of the consolidated text of the Finance Law of the Autonomous Community of Aragon.

The operation reaches the gazette after a journey of nearly three months: the communication to the Ministry of Finance in June, the approval of the Council of Ministers in July, and the authorization of the regional Executive at the end of that same month, now published with the councilor’s signature on August 31.

Impact

This concerns committed public funds: the Autonomous Community backs with its signature bank loans for students who, for the most part, arrive from abroad without a credit history and who would otherwise be unable to finance their tuition. The guarantee allows for the continued recruitment of international students in the logistics master’s degrees at ZLC, a training hub linked to PLAZA, but transfers the risk of non-payment to the regional accounts, limited in any case to 156,310.00 euros and to operations formalized before December 31, 2026.

Source: Official Gazette of Aragon, number 181, September 17, 2026, section III. Other Provisions and Agreements (official reference: BOA20260917008).