Congress will hold an extraordinary plenary session of the Chamber next August 25, from 9:00 am at the request of the Government, to validate energy saving legislation, transport subsidies and study grants; the one that introduces a new contribution system for the self-employed; and those on urgent measures to combat forest fires. In addition, the Senate amendments to the draft law on the comprehensive guarantee of sexual freedom will be discussed; on science, technology and innovation law and on the reform of the consolidated text of insolvency law to implement a 2019 European directive on debt relief and professional bans.
On August 1st, the Council of Ministers approved the energy saving plan, which stipulates, among other things, limiting the use of air conditioning in summer and heating in winter in public facilities and turning off shop windows after 10 p.m. Madrid President Isabel Díaz Ayuso’s threat of rejection – which she later corrected – sparked a political storm that prompted the PP to call for the decree to be withdrawn. The measures are in line with the European commitment to save energy in the supply in the event of possible blackmail by Vladimir Putin. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, a member of the European PP, warned that the Russian president intends to use “gas as a weapon” and that the EU must respond to the threat together, as it did during the pandemic have . Spain has managed to reduce the savings obligation from 15% to 7% because it is less dependent on Russian gas than other countries like Germany. Popular Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo, in an interview with EL PAÍS, called the decree “an act of authoritarianism” and believes the bailout measures should be recommendations, not obligations.
The government faces difficult negotiations to approve the decree in Congress – by a simple majority – because municipalities not led by the PP, such as Euskadi or Catalonia, have also complained about the forms without consulting regional executives. The measures have been in effect for eight days. At the meeting held on August 8 by Ministers for Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, and Industry and Trade, Reyes Maroto, with the sector’s regional councillors, the municipalities, chaired by the PP, called for the decree to be withdrawn and a new one to be negotiated ; Catalonia and the Basque Country, more time for the application. The executive refused. Despite the initial noise, Díaz Ayuso was left alone on the legal front against the decree and her appeal to the Constitutional Court.
What affects most is what happens next. Subscribe so you don’t miss anything.
Subscribe to