Pacta sunt servanda; what was agreed obliges. The Recovery Plan and the addendum that the Government sent to the European Commission commits Spain and, therefore, the executive that leaves the Congress of Deputies after the elections on July 23. The future Council of Ministers will only be able to negotiate with Brussels specific changes to the vade mecum to receive European funds, both in relation to the remaining 80,300 million in transfers, and up to 84,000 million in loans. There is a brief margin of a few months until the end of the year, explain sources from the economic area of ​​the Government.
The future Minister of the Economy, whatever his color, will not be able to alter the backbone of the Recovery Plan and the addendum. The agreed reforms are those that are approved or in the pipeline and a change of government could not alter the agreement. But it could adopt, after negotiation, what the executive calls “tactical modifications.” In other words, slight changes in the milestones and objectives to guide European funds towards greater demand in certain sectors or to adapt it to the macroeconomic situation in the coming years.
The window of opportunity that opens is the return of summer, confirm government sources. After the elections on July 23, the possibility of addressing an investiture and appointing a government will open up, which would cover practically the whole of August. A time that coincides with the margin that Brussels has to evaluate the addendum sent yesterday from Moncloa. The Commission has two months to be able to carry out said analysis and, then, a margin would be opened to be able to approach the negotiation.
“Between the Commission evaluating the addendum (it has a maximum of two months) and December 31, there is room to be able to change what the Government wants and agree with Brussels,” explains Paloma Baena, senior director of European affairs in Llorente and Cuenca ( LLYC). At the end of the year, the community authorities will close their debt margin and they must have completed negotiations with all member countries.
The negotiation period to modify the text that unlocks the European funds is, therefore, very short for Spain, a maximum of four months if the future president can set up a Council of Ministers quickly. The talks to illuminate the addendum have lasted for six months, since the initial project was submitted to Brussels last December.
The current government does not expect major changes in this negotiation. Neither did the LLYC expert, who adds that the Recovery Plan and the addendum “commit Spain as a country” and, therefore, must be complied with by the executive that can settle after the appointment with the polls. Moncloa sources recalled yesterday that a repeal of some compromised reforms “would bring consequences” for the country.
The PP has voted against some of the reforms committed to in the recovery plans. He rejected the labor law, which was validated by the error of former deputy Alberto Casero, the pension law and the Housing law, also a commitment to Brussels. Among the future plans negotiated with the commission are the tax reform or the plan for tolls on highways and highways.
The first vice president, Nadia Calviño, highlighted this Wednesday from Brussels that the European Commission has a period of two months to carry out the evaluation of the addendum, a period that can be extended “without any problem”. She added that the document “can be modified by the government that comes out of the polls.” “The sending of the addendum is an exercise of great responsibility that has incorporated the requests of autonomous communities, social agents and political parties”, affirmed the Minister of Economic Affairs.
