The calling of early elections on July 23 and the dissolution of the General Courts published today in the Official State Gazette have caused more than a dozen economic laws to be condemned to lapse. The Spanish Parliament is now entering a period in which only the permanent deputation will be able to validate decrees, such as the drought with significant aid to farmers and ranchers.
The central government, however, can approve royal decrees if it argues the urgent nature of the measures and, in fact, plans to create one, that of the new anti-inflation aid, to abolish, extend or expand measures in force, such as the reduction of VAT on certain foods.
One of the rules that will not see the light of day in this legislature is the independent authority for the defense of the financial client, one of the star projects of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, which a few days ago passed from Congress to the Senate. The new defender wanted to bring together the skills of various organizations and be financed by the contributions of the banks.
“The law has died on the shore”, lamented Carlos San Juan yesterday, the promoter of the “I’m big, not an idiot” campaign, and also one of the defenders of the new rule. “It was a very well-made and very acceptable law” that “intended to protect the most vulnerable”, he pointed out. The banking consumer association Asufin described the interruption of the parliamentary procedure as “frustrating” yesterday. From the banking association AEB, they prefer not to comment.
The economic laws that wreck this legislature do so in four different stages. There is a first group that is in Congress, pending the amendments procedure. The Bureau has been progressively extending this process and Pedro Sánchez’s announcement has surprised them at this moment. Among these is the Family Law, which established a universal childcare allowance of 100 euros for mothers and paid leave of five days a year to care for a family member, among other aspects.
In a second group there is the Parity law, approved last week by the Council of Ministers, and which will not reach the Courts. One of the measures contained in this rule is the obligation that the boards of directors of large companies, including those listed on the Ibex, have at least 40% women.
There is another package of laws that, so far, is pending the report of the report to Congress and which, therefore, will not see the light of day either. The Sustainable Mobility law, the subject of an intense debate in the lower house between parties and companies for the measures that affect transport, is one of these. This group also includes the Civil Service law, which provides for incentives for a positive evaluation of employees’ work.
Finally, a fourth group of rules remain in the portfolio, waiting to reach the Council of Ministers. The Industry law stands out, a project committed to Brussels in the Recovery plan that contemplates a mechanism to deal with industrial crises where there are problems of shortages and which aims to boost the competitiveness of a strategic sector for the country.
The central government that emerges from the polls will have to approve it. For her part, the second vice-president, Yolanda DÃaz, also leaves without approving the Grantee Statute, which was considered almost consensual with the social agents multiple times without the agreement ever materializing.
The Executive should still make other important economic decisions before the elections. At this moment, the first vice-president, Nadia Calviño, is negotiating with the European Commission the addendum of the European funds with which up to 94,300 million will be mobilized in exchange for new commitments. Agriculture, for its part, is trying to unlock in Brussels the reserve fund of the Common Agricultural Policy (PAC) to help the agricultural areas that are most affected by the drought in Spain.