Sánchez announces that the Government has already met one of every three commitments and that almost all of them have begun

In this sense, he stressed that, "despite the exceptional times we are living through, the Government is moving forwards with its roadmap and fulfilling its legislative commitments". "We are making progress in the recovery and modernisation of Spain and are doing so thanks to dialogue and agreement and with the commitment that no one will be left behind".

Sánchez announced that "the next Council of Ministers will extend the social shield until the end of October". "Together we have suffered and together we will experience recovery," he remarked.

He also pointed out that "after a very hard time, it is time to choose between recovery or tension. The Government has already opted for recovery, for moving forwards, just like the majority of Spanish society", and for "not wasting time trapped in paralysis and rancour", he added. "If anyone wants to settle for negativity, pessimism and confrontation, they will not find it with us," the president said.

Overall balance of achievements and developments

The "Cumpliendo" Report, which was first presented in December 2020, responds to the Government's commitment to democratic regeneration and is an exercise in transparency and accountability to citizens for government action, on a six-monthly basis. "This has the aim of increasing citizens' confidence in their institutions and helping to improve the functioning of our democracy", said the president, who added that this initiative, a pioneer in our environment, "consolidates Spain as a country at the forefront of accountability".

Foto: Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa The methodology applied for preparing this report has been analysed and validated by a group of 12 independent recognised professionals from the academic world.

Since the investiture and up to 30 June, the government has made 1,463 commitments, 225 more than in December, as new measures have been included from the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, or from specific declarations by members of the executive. Of these, 32.8% have already been met and 38.2% are expected to be met in the next six months.

Likewise, if we add together the commitments that have been met and those that are currently being worked on, we can say that, at this point in the legislature, 94% of the commitments made have already begun, either because they have been met or because they are in the process of being met.

The main news of this edition lies in the inclusion of the measures from the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan into the map of commitments. The 212 measures included in the plan are integrated in the report through 317 commitments. The report shows that 16.4% of the commitments associated with the Recovery Plan have been met and 21.8% are expected to be met by the end of the year.

With regard to the commitments made in the investiture speech, 38.1% of them have been met at 30 June and 46.9% are expected to be met in the next six months.

Of the 428 commitments from the Progressive Coalition Agreement, 33.4% have already been met, with an expected evolution to December of 41.6%. In this area, the compliance forecast for the previous six-month period was exceeded by 3%.

Commitments from other political party agreements are also progressing, also exceeding forecasts by 1.2%.

Commitments associated with the Recovery Plan

Among the commitments met by the Executive associated with the 20 main reforms of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, it is worth highlighting the approval of the Climate Change and Energy Transition Law; the roadmap for hydrogen; the Spanish Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy 2021- 2027, and the presentation of the Draft Bill of the Criminal Procedure Code. The Plan for the Digitalisation of the Administration, improvements in employment policies and the creation of a committee of experts for tax reform have also been approved.

The Report also analyses the alignment of the Government's commitments with the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda. In this sense, the commitments are mostly linked to the SDGs on achieving inclusive societies, sustained growth and sustainable and innovative industrialisation.

The 2030 Sustainable Development Strategy, approved by the Council of Ministers on 8 June, which sets out the roadmap for the next nine years, is of the utmost importance in this area.

Fulfilment by axes

The Report presented today also analyses the most relevant commitments met and in progress for each of the main guidelines of the Government's action: ecological transition, digital transformation, gender equality and social and territorial cohesion.

In this sense, Sánchez assured, during his speech, that the exit from the crisis will lead us towards a "modernised Spain", which means "making progress on the green and digital agenda with greater equality and cohesion: social and territorial cohesion and gender equality".

Green Spain

The Government's has a total of 16 commitments in the "Green Spain" axis, of which more than 23% have already been met and 66.5% have begun. In fact, the head of the Executive has assured that "there has not been a more eco-friendly government in the democratic history of our country".

The approval of the Climate Change and Energy Transition Law; the Circular Economy Strategy and the Long-Term Decarbonisation Strategy, and the Hydrogen Roadmap are some of the most relevant commitments already met by the Executive in this area. The programmes for the introduction of electric vehicles must be added to this; the first renewable auction for 2020-2025; the entry into force of the new electricity bill model; and the 1.32 billion euros in direct aid to the regional governments to encourage self-consumption and renewables.

The Government is already working on the Draft Bill to create the National Fund for the Sustainability of the Electricity System; on the Preliminary Draft Bill to reduce the remuneration for CO2 emissions; on the Draft Bill on waste and contaminated soils and on the Preliminary Draft Bill on sustainable fishing. Progress is also being made on drafting the Sustainable Mobility Law and the Animal Welfare Law, as well as the creation of a Citizens' Climate Assembly.

Digital Spain

The Executive is making great strides in Digital Transformation, an area in which nearly 30% of the commitments made have already been met.

Thus, it is worth highlighting the approval of the 2025 Digital Spain Strategy; the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy and the Connectivity Plan for Digital Infrastructures, as well as the Strategy for the Promotion of 5G Technology. The Digital Rights Charter; a National Digital Skills Plan; the Tax on Certain Digital Services or the Financial Transactions Tax have also been approved.

The Government continues to work on the draft Audiovisual Communications Law and the draft General Telecommunications Law, on the drafting of the Law on the digital efficiency of the public justice service and on the extension of broadband.

Spain without a gender gap

In the area of gender equality, the Government of Spain has already met more than 46.8% of its commitments.

The Executive has approved the extension of paternity leave; equal pay; it has promoted reconciliation policies and the Draft Bill of the Organic Law for the Comprehensive Guarantee of Sexual Freedom; it has created a new pension supplement, linked to maternity and paternity, with the aim of reducing the gender gap, and the Co-responsible Plan has been approved, with 190 million euros for the transformation of the care system for children under 14 years of age.

An Urgent Action Plan against trafficking and sexual exploitation has also been set up and work is already underway on the Draft Bill for a comprehensive law against trafficking; 24h Care Centres for victims of sexual violence have been created; the 016 telephone service has been extended to deal with all forms of violence against women and the VioGén system has continued to be promoted with the signing of new agreements with different town councils.

The Law for the Comprehensive Protection of Children and Adolescents has included the suspension of the visiting regime for minors when the parent is serving a sentence for crimes of gender violence, as well as the right of access to assisted reproduction for all women in the Draft Bill for the Real and Effective Equality of Transgender People and for the Guarantee of LGBTI Rights. The Government is also working on amending the Organic Law on Sexual and Reproductive Health and the Voluntary Termination of Pregnancy.

Cohesive and inclusive Spain

The Executive has already met 32% of its commitments on social cohesion and 34% on territorial cohesion.

In the social sphere, we already have a Minimum Living Wage and the protection that ERTEs have provided. Also noteworthy were the approval of key laws such as the Child Protection Law, the Euthanasia Regulation Law, the new Education Law and the draft bill for the Vocational Training Law. We should also remember the Demographic Challenge Plan; the regulation of Teleworking; the Draft Bill on Democratic Memory, the reform of Article 49 of the Constitution for the protection of people with disabilities, and the processing of the Draft Bill on Effective Equality for Transgender People.

Agreements have been reached at the social dialogue table for the reform of the pensions system - establishing its revaluation in line with the CPI - or to guarantee the rights of delivery drivers. The Youth Guarantee Plus 2021-2027 Plan for youth employment and the Royal Decree-Law for the Reduction of Temporary Employment in Public Employment are other advances achieved by the Executive in employment.

In terms of taxation, the approval of the Law on the Prevention and Fight against Tax Fraud and the setting up of the Experts Committee on Tax Reform stand out. Progress also continues to be made in the drafting of the future Housing Law, as well as with the Affordable Rental Housing Plan, with an increase of 100,000 homes. In justice, work is being carried out on the draft bill on criminal prosecution among other aspects.

Spain, first in vaccinations and leading economic recovery forecasts

The Report also includes a summary of the initiatives developed in the first half of 2021 in response to the economic, social and health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In relation to vaccinations, the head of the Executive announced that yesterday we surpassed 55% of the Spanish population fully vaccinated, i.e., almost 26.5 million people. Around 55.2 million doses have been administered.

"Spain is the most vaccinated nation among the 50 most populous countries in the world. Above the United Kingdom, the United States, France and Germany. Spain has the gold medal in vaccinations," he said.

Foto: Pool Moncloa/Fernando CalvoIn this sense, Sánchez stated that "the merit of the vaccination levels we are achieving belongs to the whole of Spanish society".

He also recalled that, thanks to the success of vaccinations, the economic recovery is taking hold. In this respect, he recalled that the forecasts of the International Monetary Fund place Spain as the developed country in the world that will lead growth in 2022. These forecasts, said Sánchez, are today endorsed by the data from the Labour Force Survey, which shows that unemployment has fallen by 110,100 people and the number of people employed has increased by 464,900 compared to the previous quarter.

"When Spanish society is united, we can achieve everything we set out to do", he said, and for this reason the President of the Government of Spain once again called on "the political forces, the institutions and the public administrations of our country to follow this path of unity, compliance and responsibility" that will lead us to "a new, profound and definitive modernisation of Spain". "A great collective project, made by all, for the benefit of all, from which no one can or should be left behind," he said.

"The more we are united through dialogue and agreement, the better the future of our country, our elders, our children and future generations. There is no better way to get it right than through the greatest unity of all," he concluded.

Non official translation