The Government of Spain asks the General Courts for a joint session for the Princess of Asturias to take the oath of allegiance to the Constitution

Moncloa Palace, Madrid

At the proposal of the acting President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, the Council of Ministers has approved the agreement requesting the General Courts to hold a joint session for the crown princess, Leonor de Borbón y Ortiz, to take the oath of office.

The acting Minister for the Presidency, Parliamentary Relations and Democratic Memory, Félix Bolaños, recalled that the Princess of Asturias will be 18 years old on 31 October and that article 61 of the Magna Carta establishes that the Crown Prince or Princess, on reaching the age of majority, must take an oath to faithfully perform their duties, to uphold the Constitution and the laws, and to respect the rights of citizens and the autonomous communities, as well as to be faithful to the king.

Félix Bolaños remarked that this oath has "enormous symbolic charge" because the ceremony is held before the General Courts, where national sovereignty resides, and it also has a legal dimension, because it is the manifestation that the Princess of Asturias has the vocation to assume the presidency of the state.

The acting minister said that 31 October will be a date that will guarantee the continuity of the crown and will take us back to 30 January 1986, when the current King Felipe VI took the oath before the General Courts.

Decoration for the princess at the Royal Palace

At the proposal of the acting president, the Executive has also agreed to award the Crown Princess the Collar of the Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Carlos III. This collar is the highest honorary distinction among the Spanish civil orders and is awarded to members of royal families and heads of state and government, both Spanish and foreign.

Pool Moncloa/José Manuel Álvarez

Bolaños announced that the ceremony will take place in the Royal Palace after the oath in the General Courts. In his opinion, it will be an act that will demonstrate the strength of our democracy because it will guarantee the continuity of the crown, which is a central institution in our political system. The ceremony will also reaffirm the fundamental values of the Constitution: equality, freedom and pluralism, and demonstrate the monarchy's ability to adapt to the times.

"It will be a ceremony before the General Courts that will be different from the ceremony in 1986, and will demonstrate that the Constitution and the monarchy are capable of integrating all the different visions that coexist in our country", the minister stressed.

The acting Minister thanked the General Courts, the Royal Household and the Government for their "total and absolute collaboration" in bringing about this ceremony of "enormous historical, legal and symbolic significance".

Appeal on the grounds of unconstitutionality against the Galician Coastal Law

The Council of Ministers has agreed to lodge an appeal on the grounds of appeal of unconstitutionality against various precepts of the law on integrated coastal planning and management in Galicia.

The Minister for Territorial Policy and acting Government Spokesperson, Isabel Rodríguez, stressed that the appeal has the backing of the State Council and is very broad, as it challenges 31 articles, or almost 40% of the law. The appeal also seeks the suspension of the contested points. "It is the government's obligation to ensure and defend compliance with the Constitution throughout the country," said Rodríguez.

The spokeswoman argued that the Galician law appropriates exclusive competences of the state to regulate the legal system of the public maritime terrestrial domain: "There is reiterated doctrine of the Constitutional Court in this respect".

Pool Moncloa/José Manuel Álvarez

The appeal also argues that the regulation unilaterally incorporates the sea into the territory of the autonomous community of Galicia, reduces the protection of land adjacent to the seashore, attributes powers to Galicia that are not provided for in its Statute of Autonomy, and invades exclusive state powers over fishing in external waters.

Isabel Rodríguez remarked that the Government's will with respect to the regulations of the communities has been "permanent dialogue" throughout the legislature. During this period, 165 full agreements and 15 partial agreements have been reached with the communities. "In other words, we have avoided 180 appeals to the Constitutional Court. This is the rule, but when exceptions occur, as in the case of an autonomous community that arrogates competences that belong to the state, the Government of Spain ensures compliance with the Constitution," he said.

VET education in military schools

The Ministries for Defence and for Education and Vocational Training have signed six agreements with the communities of Castilla-La Mancha, Galicia, Aragón, Castilla y León, Madrid and Murcia to provide vocational training (VET) in military schools. The total amount of the agreements exceeds €1.8 billion.

The Government spokesperson assured that this system will allow troops and sailors to obtain the title of Vocational Training Technician, which will facilitate their incorporation into the labour market at the end of their commitment to the Armed Forces.

Infrastructure in investment

Among the territorial investments approved by the Cabinet, Isabel Rodriguez referred to the €32 million earmarked for the reconstruction of the Guardia Civil barracks in Cartagena (Murcia) (Murcia), affected by several adverse climatic phenomena in recent years.

Pool Moncloa/José Manuel Álvarez

In the week of the Civil Guard's patron saint's day, the spokesperson reaffirmed the Government's commitment to the force. "It is a commitment that translates into the fact that we have the highest ever number of officers, we have covered all the posts that were reduced under the previous government, their salaries have been revalued and we have invested as never before in infrastructures," she pointed out. Specifically, during the last legislature, more than €1 billion were invested in security infrastructures.

The Council of Ministers has also earmarked €48.5 million for the construction of the platform of the second section of the high-speed line project Antequera-Granada, "in Rodríguez's words "a much-demanded and very important infrastructure for the autonomous community of Andalusia".

Non official translation