Pedro Sánchez calls for unity as the right attitude to implement important changes that Spain needs

2020.8.4

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Moncloa Palace, Madrid

For Pedro Sánchez, the outbreak of the coronavirus suddenly changed the government's immediate priorities which "for many weeks, consisted of saving lives", and recalled that Spain has undergone a great many significant changes over the course of its history but has always come out of them moving forward fearlessly, with solidarity, courageously and with the unity that characterises the spirit of community. And this is the unity that he called for as the right attitude to be taken by all Spanish people in the coming months.

Measures to combat the pandemic

The President of the Government argued that the months the government has been in power have been marked by an incessant fight against the pandemic at a health, economic and social level which, on 14 March, led to the activation of the extraordinary constitutional mechanism of the state of emergency, with the aim of protecting public health.

Just three days after activating the state of emergency, the government approved the largest mobilisation of resources in Spain's history - 200 billion euros of a financial, labour, health and social nature, which sought to protect the health of the Spanish people and cushion the effects of the crisis without leaving anyone behind.

Pool Moncloa/Fernando CalvoA total of 22 Royal Decrees, 98 Resolutions and 130 Ministerial Orders have been approved in this period, most of them geared towards health management, seeking to boost, at all times, the necessary multilateral dialogue with the different regional governments and autonomous cities, holding 15 Conferences of Regional Presidents (14 by video-conference and one in situ in San Millán de la Cogolla) and 41 coordination meetings with the Regional Health Councillors and 14 meetings with Public Health Directors. In this necessary multilateral, social and bilateral dialogue, the President of the Government also recalled the agreement reached to extend the Temporary Lay-Off Plans (Spanish acronym: ERTE) and the employment agreement reached with social stakeholders and the achievement of an historic agreement by the European Union, with the approval of the Recovery Fund, with a provision of 140 billion euros.

In health and diagnostic terms, Pedro Sánchez provided the figures on diagnostic tests updated at 30 July, with a total number of 7,064,329 tests performed, of which 4.6 million are PCR tests, indicating that some 45,000 PCR tests are performed each day on average in our country. As regards the health response, the President of the Government recalled that the government has made available to the regional governments a Non-repayable Fund of 16 billion euros, in addition to the 14 billion extra in regional liquidity for the nine months after the pandemic and in addition to the 3.2 billion under the ERDF for health spending. He emphasised the human resources in the fight against COVID-19, pointing to the availability of close to 82,000 additional healthcare professionals assigned to the regional authorities and the resources allocated to their protection, with close to 200 million individual protective suits distributed to the regional authorities and a strategic reserve being set up, which now has 24 million units of health material

The President of the Government pointed to the demanding effort that the State is making in a tireless search for a vaccine against COVID-19, with Spain forming part of the production process for a vaccine being prepared by Moderna and the 102 clinical trials authorised by the Spanish Medication Agency

As regards the prevention and early response to spikes of the coronavirus that are breaking out and that may continue to break out, Pedro Sánchez recalled the Early Response Plan to control the Covid-19 pandemic", approved and agreed with the regional governments, which seeks to provide the National Health System with a greater advance response and action capacity to tackle the virus.

Balance of the government and investiture agreements

Pool Moncloa/Fernando CalvoPedro Sánchez explained the situation of the 428 commitments taken on in the progressive coalition government agreement, a balance that he considered to be very positive by pointing out that 55% of these have already been activated while another 17.3% of these will be implemented before the end of the year.

The Draft Financial Transactions Act, the Circular Economy Strategy, the approval of the Google Tax, the Digital Spain Strategy 2025, the Plan to Boost Tourism and the Plan to Modernise Vocational Training are some of the present measures to be implemented in the government's commitment to bed down economic growth and the digitalisation of the economy, together with the approval of the Draft Climate Change and Energy Transition Act and the Plan to Boost the Value Chain of the Automotive Industry and the Draft Waste and Contaminated Soil Act in relation to the ecological transition.

Gender equality has been another of the fundamental cornerstones of this government agreement, remarked Pedro Sánchez, adding that "the transformations will not be real if the gender perspective is not implicit thereto", recalling the approval of the passage of the Draft Constitutional Law to Guarantee Sexual Liberty and the implementation of the SOS button in the alertcops application to help victims of gender-based violence.

In taking stock of the agreements, the President of the Government sought to stress the importance of eliminating the current gaps in different areas of our society, seeking to guarantee a dignified life for all Spaniards, "wherever they may live". To achieve this, he recalled the approval of the Minimum Living Income, the reform of the State System for Grants and State Support, the draft law amending the Constitutional Law on Education, the pay rise for public servants, the Draft Law to Protect Children and Adolescents from all forms of violence, the Minimum Wage Rise and the repeal of objective dismissals due to a lack of attendance at work tied to common illnesses, as well as the pension rise in line with the CPI and the culmination of the third tranche of equal pay for police and Guardia Civil officers. And he did not forget to mention something he considered to be important - "the rapprochement between Catalonia and the rest of Spain", with a decisive commitment to dialogue and co-existence.

Future measures

Pool Moncloa/Fernando CalvoThe President of the Government also stressed in his speech the upcoming measures on the progressive coalition government's agenda, including those aimed at boosting quality jobs and those to benefit the public sector, such as the Draft Law on the Public Function of Central Government and the implementation of the Basic Statute on Public Employment.

This government agenda will prioritise everything related to health and care, updating the Mental Health Strategy and re-establishing assisted reproduction treatments on the common services portfolio of the National Health System and approving the National Action Plan on Care.

Housing will also be a priority issue, with the redirection of the State Housing Plan 2018-2021, which will promote affordable rentals and fit-outs, as well as industry and infrastructures, with the approval of the Electro-intensive Consumer Statute, the presentation of the 3rd Action Plan for the Internationalisation of the Spanish Economy 2021-2022, the approval of the State R&D+i Plan and the Spanish Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy 2021-2027 and fostering a mesh infrastructure policy, with investments in suburban trains and the Mediterranean and Atlantic Corridors.

The demographic challenge was also mentioned by the President of the Government as essential for the path our country must take, something that will be boosted with the approval of the Demographic Challenge Strategy and the commitment to inclusive, digital and sustainable recovery.

Equality will continue to be an inalienable goal for the coalition government, to which end the Strategic Equal Opportunities Plan 2020-2022 will be drawn up and the Draft Bill for Equal Treatment and Non-discrimination. As regards consumption, the government will implement specific actions to defend consumers through the approval of a Royal Decree on Gaming Advertising, and lastly, the democratic memory project will become a reality, which seeks to reaffirm the dignity and values of our democracy.

The President of the Government concluded his speech by calling for unity and an effort from all political parties by approving the General State Budget, more necessary now than ever, stating that "the recovery demands a new Budget in addition to the European agreement", and this task falls to everyone.

Non official translation