The Government of Spain promotes measures to reduce electricity bills for domestic and industrial consumers

Moncloa Palace, Madrid

The fourth Vice-President of the Government and Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, put forward that the cumulative impact of the two measures presented today, when fully effective, will mean a 15% reduction in the bills of domestic and industrial consumers.

National Fund for the Sustainability of the Electricity System

The Council of Ministers has approved the referral to Parliament of the Bill creating the National Fund for the Sustainability of the Electricity System (FNSSE) with the aim of promoting the electrification of the economy, ensuring the sustainability of the electricity system, providing certainty for investments and reducing the bill for households and companies.

This fund, which will be implemented gradually over five years, will make it possible to finance and redistribute the fixed costs of promoting renewable energies, high-efficiency cogeneration and energy recovery from waste, a cost that is currently only linked with the electricity sector.

Teresa Ribera stated that the government wants "all energy sectors, including gas and oil, to contribute to the historic take-off of renewable energies and support for cogeneration" according to the volume of energy they sell to the market in an orderly manner. To this end, she added, the regulations include exemptions for consumers who may find it more difficult to adapt: agricultural diesel, commercial diesel and gas in industrial sectors exposed to international competition.

The minister indicated that these measures, which will be incorporated progressively, will accelerate the benefits to consumers, promoting self-consumption and solar roofs, efficiency in industry, the residential and institutional sectors, storage and small industrial installations.

Reducing the cost of the energy transition

Foto: Pool Moncloa/Fernando CalvoThe Government also analysed today the draft bill to correct the dividend received by non-emitting power plants as a result of CO2 costs in the emission rights market and thus act on the high price of electricity bills in recent weeks, derived from the high price of emission rights in the community market.

The regulation provides for a reduction in the remuneration of non-emitting plants commissioned before 2005, when the emissions trading system came into force. The aim of the proposal is that part of the carbon dividend can benefit all consumers by reducing the cost of the energy transition.

In this regard, the fourth vice-president explained that the initiative facilitates consumer access to the carbon dividend, which is currently paid in full to electricity companies. The government estimates that the measure will lead to a decrease in the cost of electricity bills of around 4.8% for domestic consumers and 1.5% for large industry.

Teresa Ribera added that both pre-2005 and post-2005 investors know that they have a significant margin for growth in a "stable and solvent" system, which offers coverage to consumers, generates a reduction in their bills and contributes to the growth of the renewable energy plant by more than 600 new gigawatts between now and 2030.

The initiative, the vice-president continued, keeps all avenues open so that anyone can produce and sell electricity in Spain, through the electricity market, bilateral contracts or tendering systems.

New regulation of the maritime fisheries sector

Foto: Pool Moncloa/Fernando CalvoThe Government has analysed the draft bill on sustainable fishing and fishing research, the first of three bills with which it aims to adapt current legislation to the sector's new environmental, social and economic challenges, and to make progress in its modernisation, transparency and legal security. The next regulations will be on inspection and control, linked to the adoption of the Community Regulation on this subject, and digitalisation, management and commercialisation of fisheries products.

The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, highlighted the importance of this global update for a sector that has 30,000 direct jobs and another 30,000 in the processing industry, and which generates, from an economic point of view, more than 15 billion euros per year. There are currently 8,850 fishing vessels in Spain - 8,000 active, according to 2020 data - of which 95% fish in national fishing ground and the rest in EU waters or third countries, under international agreements. The latter account for two thirds of the catches.

Three objectives: sustainability, security and knowledge

Planas stated that the future law represents a step forward for sustainability from the environmental, economic and social points of view, to guarantee the maintenance of the resources that allow the activity, to make it profitable for fishermen and to ensure the future of the towns and communities along the almost eight thousand kilometres of Spanish coastline.

It also provides transparency and legal certainty by adapting Spanish legislation to European legislation, for example, in the use of quotas and Total Allowable Catches (TACs), their management and the possibility of transmission.

A third aspect relates to fisheries science and policy. "Without scientific knowledge, there can be no sustainable fishing", Planas pointed out, referring, among other aspects, to the need to know the biological state of the stocks and their link with the extractive activity. The minister praised the fundamental work of the Spanish Institute of Oceanography and the three fishing research vessels of the Ministry and one training vessel managed by the Navy, which will be reinforced thanks to the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.

The minister highlighted the new regulation of the extraction of living marine resources, known as new fishing genetic resources, which will be key for food in the future and which must comply with the same sustainability criteria established for other resources.

Planas also said that his department is also working on the creation of an official register to distinguish between professional and recreational fishing, and to delimit the practice of the latter, which, he said, also affects marine resources.

Pandemic situation and pace of vaccination

Foto: Pool Moncloa/Fernando CalvoThe Government has assessed the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, which shows a deceleration in infections and a very significant reduction in the number of deaths.

María Jesús Montero has put forward that this week the objective of 10 million citizens being vaccinated with the complete vaccination schedule will be reached and nearly 40% of the population will have at least one dose administered.

The vaccination campaign, she said, not only reduces the severity of cases, but also supports the recovery of the economy: "If the health situation is brought under control, if we get the number of infections and the number of people coming to our hospitals under control, our economy has a strong foundation and resilience to recover quickly.

In this regard, Montero noted that the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) predicted yesterday that Spain is the Eurozone country that will grow the most in 2021. She also pointed out that the State deficit fell in April for the first time since the pandemic began, that Social Security enrolment will increase by more than 200,000 contributors and that nearly 100,000 workers who were on Temporary Redundancy Programmes (ERTE) have returned to their jobs. "We are facing very positive figures because we are recovering the pre-pandemic level of contributors in just one year and three months," she remarked.

Limitations on entry into Spain

The Government has extended for the ninth time the limitations on entry into Spain by air from Brazil and South Africa to limit the spread of COVID-19. The measure will be in force from 00:00 hours on 8 June until 00:00 hours on 22 June (Spanish peninsular time in both cases).

The quarantine conditions for persons arriving on flights from any airport located in the Republic of India to any airport located in Spain, with or without intermediate stops, are also extended from 00:00 hours on 13 June until 24:00 hours on 26 June.

Quality and financing of the postal service

The Council of Ministers has approved the Plan for the Provision of the Universal Postal Service. The Minister of Finance and Government Spokesperson, María Jesús Montero, has stated that her objective is to consolidate the level of quality of the Correos y Telégrafos service, "fundamental for the structuring of the territory and to ensure the effective equality of all citizens regardless of their geographic or social situation".

This public company employs more than 54,000 people. The Plan provides for aspects such as the minimum extension of the postal network, the control system and penalties for failure to meet quality objectives, as well as the evaluation of the cost of the service and the criteria for determining the Spanish State's contribution to its financing, with the aim of ensuring a stable financial horizon and facilitating its modernisation.

Loan to the Social Security Treasury

The Government has approved the granting of a loan of 13.83 billion euros from the Spanish State to the Social Security Treasury. This transfer was already included in the General State Budget Law for 2021 and reflects the government's commitment to making this subsector sustainable, since it is "so important for citizens due to its relationship with pensions and temporary disability", said Montero.

In June and November, Social Security pays the ordinary and extraordinary pension payments together. This expenditure amounts to around 20 billion euros, which may generate liquidity tensions in the System, especially after the exceptional measures adopted as a result of the pandemic. The loan will be used in full to meet Social Security's obligations and enable it to balance its budget.

Grants for humanitarian assistance programmes

Foto: Pool Moncloa/Fernando CalvoThe Government has granted subsidies to the Spanish Red Cross, the Spanish Commission for Refugees (CEAR) and ACCEM amounting to 87.5, 47.5 and 30.5 million euros, respectively. These three entities manage 80% of the resources of the Humanitarian Assistance and International Protection Programmes.

Montero pointed out that these amounts will finance actions aimed at assisting immigrants who are in a situation of vulnerability due to physical deterioration and lack of social and family support and economic means. In the case of applicants for International Protection, they will also enable the development of itineraries for both integration in Spain and individualised labour market integration.

In addition, the Government has granted a direct subsidy of 27 million euros to the Spanish Red Cross to strengthen emergency actions in the reception, transfer and accompaniment of immigrants in a situation of vulnerability in the Canary Islands and Melilla.

Seville to host Euro 2020

The Council of Ministers has granted the guarantees requested by UEFA to the city of Seville to host Euro 2020 matches, postponed to this year due to the health emergency. These guarantees include organisational support, customs facilities, visa facilitation for accredited personnel and tax incentives.

The Government, the spokesperson explained, had already done this procedure for the matches that were to be played in Bilbao but, after the change of venue to Seville decided by UEFA, the organisation requested this confirmation.

Current affairs

The spokesperson of the Executive has said that the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, will travel to Libya on Thursday to show Spain's support for the political process that the country is undergoing after the ceasefire of August 2020. "Spain is committed to peace, stability and prosperity in Libya, a country it considers key in its relationship with its Southern Neighbourhood.

Asked about relations with Morocco, María Jesús Montero said that Spain has the "best constructive attitude" and hopes for the re-establishment of the good relations, both neighbourly and commercial, that both countries have always maintained. The obligation of the Government of Spain, she added, is to defend the unity and integrity of its entire territory and to continue to call on high diplomacy to work to normalise the situation.

Non official translation