The European Commission has not only saved the Spanish government from fulfilling its initial commitment to implement a toll system on motorways from 2024, without penalizing Spain in receiving European funds. The review of the Spanish Recovery Plan, which the European Commission approved this Monday, also exempts the Government from these commitments. approve a new civil service law and leave Spain The way to request payment of the fee is clear. Fourth tranche of European funds (10,000 million) although it failed to achieve this initial goal.
The revised plan also gives the Government another year to add at least 60,000 jobs by the end of 2025. Educational places for children from 0 to 3 years old.
In Spain’s first Recovery Plan, presented in Brussels in April 2021, the Government committed to a new civil service law that will come into force in the fourth quarter of 2022, subject to the conditions for making requests. fourth payment from European funds. The government postponed and submitted a bill to Congress in March 2023, submitting a bill to the Congress of Deputies and demanding urgent action on the bill. The postponement of the general elections to 23-J and the dissolution of Las Cortes caused the decline of the project.
Reform by decree
Now the text of the new Spanish Rescue Plan, which includes the changes requested by the Government in the addendum submitted last June, frees the Government from approving a civil service law as a precondition for being able to demand the payment of the fourth salary. . Brussels is satisfied with the implementation of the promised reforms in the new plan By royal decree and ministerial order.
This could allow an incumbent government, such as the current one, to carry out reforms by decree if it proves the reforms are correct. necessary and urgent. It also eliminates the need to submit this reform to negotiations with other groups in parliament.
In particular, Brussels is now taking on the Government’s new commitment to regulate by decree the controversial evaluation of the performance of public employees as an incentive for their professional careers or for the purpose of receiving salary supplements. It can be regulated by the decision of the Ministry ‘senior’ officials have access to deputy general manager or similar positions It is based on merit and qualification criteria as included in the new document.
Only one payment in 2023
After Brussels agreed to this change to the initial commitments of the Recovery Plan, the incumbent Government expressed its intention to request this change “soon”. Payment of the fourth tranche of European funds, However, it is possible to think that ministerial decisions and orders on matters concerning public functions should be approved in advance.
If the procedures progress, it will still be possible for Spain to receive $10 billion, corresponding to the fourth payment of Next Generation EU European funds, in 2023. These will be added to the 37,000 million already received (out of a total of 77,200 million European subsidies planned until 2026). What the government will not be able to achieve is to comply with the original timetable. It included two requests for payment in 2023: fourth (10,000 million) and fifth (7,000 million). Secondly, with the changes made this Monday, it has now been postponed to 2024.
Total 52 modified commits
In addition to relieving the Government of its commitments to impose tolls on motorways or approve a new public services law, the new amended Recovery Plan changes the content or implementation dates of a total of 52 of the Executive’s previous commitments. This procedure is regulated in the Regulation. Article 21 of the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism regulationThe regulation allows commitments to be changed according to “objective conditions” such as the war in Ukraine, disruptions in the supply chain, changes in macroeconomic conditions, and a decrease in demand due to the crisis. high inflationunexpected technical or legal difficulties or the introduction of better alternatives capable of achieving or improving the objectives originally set.
This last argument is what served the Government to reverse the introduction of tolls on highways. The executive has proposed alternative measures to advance the decarbonisation of transport through incentives. rail freight transportation The European Commission also found this valid.
It is possible to think the following regarding the cancellation of the commitment to approve a public service law. Dissolution of Cortes It caused an unexpected legal challenge, which led the European Commission to agree to meet the same initial objectives through the approval of a royal decree and a ministerial order.
Among the changed commitments is an increase in the number of commitments. Public education for boys and girls aged 0 to 3 at least 60,000 units. There is now one more year until the fourth quarter of 2025 to achieve this goal.