Video surveillance in depopulated villages: provisional resolution of the 2026 subsidies

The Official Bulletin of Aragon (BOA) number 157, of August 14, 2026, publishes in its section III, Other Provisions and Agreements, the proposal for the provisional resolution of the call for subsidies to local entities for the acquisition and installation of video surveillance systems in depopulated Aragonese municipalities, funded by the Territorial Cohesion Fund. The resolution, dated July 31, 2026, is signed by the Director General for Depopulation, Alberto Casañal Pina, and bears the official reference BOA20260814020.

The grants fall within the Special Directive on Territorial Planning for Demographic Policy and against Depopulation, approved by Decree 165/2017, of October 31, and the Territorial Planning Strategy of Aragon (Decree 202/2014), and are funded by the Territorial Cohesion Fund, regulated in article 45 of Law 17/2023, on the Budgets of the Autonomous Community for 2024, extended to 2026. The regulatory bases are Order VMV/1795/2021, of November 30, whose security program includes this line of action to improve the protection of people and property where coverage by the Security Forces and Corps is scarce.

The beneficiaries are Aragonese local entities with lower territorial development, affected by depopulation processes. The call was published by Order FOM/548/2026, of March 30, in BOA number 73, of April 17, 2026, and the deadline for submitting applications ended on June 2.

The funding, from 400,000 to 800,000 euros

The call order established an initial credit of 400,000 euros for capital expenditure. Subsequently, Order VFL/1089/2026, of July 9, published in the BOA on July 24, increased the allocation to 800,000 euros, recorded under budget item 13070/G/1260/760145/91002 (PEP 2018/000140).

After evaluating the applications, the Technical Assessment Committee issued its report on July 31, 2026. The proposal estimates, in whole or in part, the requests for a total amount of 796,192.74 euros, and the individualized amount may reach 100% of the eligible expenditure duly justified.

What each annex to the proposal decides

The provisional resolution organizes the files into five annexes:

• Annex I: applications admitted for processing, with the score obtained for each assessment criterion.
• Annex II: estimated beneficiary entities, with purpose, score, amounts requested and granted.
• Annex III: applications rejected due to insufficient credit.
• Annex IV: applications not admitted, with the reason in each case.
• Annex V: applications in which the entities have withdrawn.

The annexes can be consulted on the page of the Directorate General for Depopulation of the Government of Aragon.

Deadlines and appeals procedure

Interested entities have five business days from the day following publication to submit representations, electronically at the electronic office of the Public Administration of Aragon, using procedure 11571 (“Territorial Cohesion Fund Aid – Local Entities – Security Systems – 2026 Call”).

• Subsidized actions must be carried out between September 1, 2025 and October 25, 2026.
• The final resolution shall be issued by order of the head of the Department of Housing, Public Works, Logistics and Territorial Cohesion and published in the BOA.
• The provisional proposal does not generate rights against the Administration until notification of the final resolution, in accordance with article 25.5 of the consolidated text of the Aragon Subsidies Law (Legislative Decree 2/2023).

The measure seeks to compensate for the double disadvantage of rural Aragon: depopulation and lower police presence. Beyond the 796,192.74 euros that will be distributed among the estimated municipalities, video surveillance aims to deter crimes, protect people and property, and create a safe environment that favors the settlement and retention of population, one of the pillars of the community’s demographic policy.

Source: Official Gazette of Aragon, number 157, of August 14, 2026, section III (Other Provisions and Agreements) (official reference: BOA20260814020).