Government approves Draft Laws on Railway Sector and on Highways

Moncloa Palace, Madrid

The Council of Ministers approved, for submission to Parliament, the Draft Law on the Railway Sector, which updates the current legislation in force since 2003 and adapts it to European Union guidelines. The draft law was presented on 13 March.

The Minister for Public Works, Ana Pastor, highlighted the fact that the new legislation establishes "a legal framework that will enhance the continued development of a benchmark railway model", increase the services on offer to the public and improve the quality of the service. Moreover, it will strengthen aspects relating to safety. Ana Pastor recalled that the latest international reports underline that a key factor of tourism to Spain "is the quality of the infrastructure".

Pool MoncloaThe text establishes future railway infrastructure planning through three instruments: the "Indicative Strategy", which corresponds to the Ministry of Public Works and plots out all new infrastructures; the "Activity Programme", which depends on ADIF (Railway Infrastructure Administrator) and will contain the forecasts for the next five years; and an agreement between ADIF and the Ministry of Public Works that sets out the targets to be attained by ADIF and the State's economic contributions.

The minister stressed that "no new lines or infrastructure will be built in Spain without an exhaustive preliminary analysis of the socio-economic returns therefrom".

With the aim of increasing use of the railway network, Ana Pastor explained that the current fee system will be modified. "The fee for access to the network will be eliminated and a fee for electrical power use and electricity in unloading areas will be created", he said.

The legislation includes measures that will improve the competitiveness of goods transport. In this regard, the minister highlighted that "all the operators will be accountable to the infrastructure administrators. We must verify their costs and how these affect prices in a transparent manner".

Moreover, the tariff system and authorisations will be simplified and the role of ports as administrators of railway infrastructures will be boosted, since part of the railway network is within ports.

In terms of passenger transport services, railway operators will have to provide the Ministry of Public Works with information on activities and accounts, as airlines do. Companies must keep separate accounts for goods and passenger services.

In terms of safety, the Railway Safety Agency will be set up, which will be independent from the infrastructure administrators and will oversee strict compliance with standards. Furthermore, sanctions for breaching passenger rights and safety norms will be stepped up.

Highway Act

The Minister for Public Works also reported on the approved of the Draft Law on Highways, which updates the current legislation and promotes better use of available resources. The draft law was studied by the Council of Ministers on 17 April.

Ana Pastor asserted that henceforth "highways will not be built according to individual interests, but rather to the general interest", and hence there will be a preliminary analysis of efficiency, socio-economic return and inter-modality.

Pool MoncloaAmong the new features of the future legislation, the minister highlighted that town-planning reclassifications that may affect highway planning will be suspended on a precautionary basis in order to "avoid speculative activities". Furthermore, town-planning decisions adopted without considering the needs for a highway to be built will be declared null and void.

The text contains measures to improve road safety and to protect public heritage. In this regard, the Ministry of Public Works may order advertising that may distract drivers to be pulled down, even on city streets. The minister added that private initiative will be allowed to promote service stations.

On another note, a single supplier may not operate three consecutive petrol stations in order to foster competition and obtain better prices. Moreover, the new legislation modifies the penalty system on toll motorways and sets the maximum fine at 15,000 euros.

Reform of the Public Administration Services

The Council of Ministers approved, for submission to Parliament, Draft Laws on the Common Administrative Procedure of the Public Administration Services, and on the Public Sector Legal System, which will implement "interconnected, transparent e-government with a clear and simple structure", announced the Vice-President of the Government, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría.

Law on the Common Administrative Procedure of the Public Administration Services

The Vice-President of the Government pointed out that this law fosters relations between public authorities and both citizens and companies. In this regard, it provides for the creation of an electronic register so that citizens can deal with paperwork any day at any time, and it simplifies identification and electronic signatures.

Pool MoncloaSoraya Sáenz de Santamaría underlined that those people that wish can leave their mobile phone number in order to receive notifications from the public authorities. Furthermore, it will not be necessary to present photocopies of documents given that, since they are electronically registered, the public authorities will make such copies as they may need.

It will be compulsory for companies to deal with all the public administration services electronically, as has been the case to date with the Tax Office and the Social Security system. At a State level, a common date is set as a general rule (January and June) for the entry into force of the legislation that imposes obligations on professionals and companies for the development of their economic or professional activity, which will enable them to plan their activity with greater certainty and better adapt to regulatory change.

Law on Public Sector Legal System

The new legislation fosters organisation and internal relations within each public administration service and between different public authorities. In this regard, the Vice-President of the Government pointed out that communication between public authorities will be exclusively electronic, which will help speed up the system.

In order to increase transparency, she added that "a unique and public inventory will be created of all the bodies and entities related to or dependent upon the public administration", which will make it possible to establish which public body or entity is dependent on which public authority. A State register will also be created with a list of cooperation bodies in which the General State Administration participates and all the agreements relating thereto.

Quarterly balance of reform of public administration

Pool MoncloaThe Vice-President of the Government took stock of the figures contained in the quarterly rolling report on the Reform of the Public Administration Services (CORA Report): a saving of 20.2 billion euros in efficiency and re-organisation measures; the elimination of 2,194 public companies and bodies, and the implementation of 70.2% of the measures.

Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría explained that of the 222 measures contained in the CORA Report, 156 are fully implemented, in other words, 70.2%. To achieve this, since June 2013, three constitutional laws have been approved, 21 draft laws, 41 royal decrees and numerous agreements and ministerial orders.

The elimination of 2,194 public bodies, which "have disappeared off the administrative map", has been one of the greatest efforts made, according to the Vice-President of the Government. Of the bodies eliminated, 105 corresponded to the State, 715 to the regional governments and 1,374 to local authorities.

Centralised public procurement has resulted in a saving of 454 million euros, equivalent to the budget of the Ministry of the Presidency, highlighted Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría.

The implementation of e-billing is also a major step forward; 900,000 have now been processed, which means they are processed faster, saving in paper and avoiding them "being stored in a cupboard", pointed out the Vice-President of the Government.

She also described the agreement to extend connectivity in schools around Spain as major progress, such that the educational authorities can progressively incorporate fibre-optic networks in primary and secondary schools.

State of drought in Rivers Júcar and Segura

The Council of Ministers approved two Royal Decrees declaring a state of drought in the land corresponding to the Júcar and Segura River Basin Authorities.

The aim is to adopt exceptional measures to respond to the lack of precipitation in these regions and the demand for water. This legislation, announced the Vice-President of the Government, will be accompanied next week by an extraordinary credit in the sum of 50 million euros, allocated to financing actions to be urgently undertaken.

Current affairs

Pool MoncloaIn relation to the difficulties facing Susana Díaz to complete her investiture as President of the Regional Government of Andalusia, the Vice-President of the Government pointed out that "it is not down to the government to tell any party what it has to do". "We will not interfere". It corresponds to the candidate who decided to call the elections when they were not obligatory, to be consistent with the decision taken, assume responsibility and "work to ensure a stable government", she concluded.

In light of the triumph by the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría stressed that this reflects the achievements under the reformist policies of David Cameron, as is right between "partners and allies", and that work will continue on helping to strengthen British-Spanish relations.

As regards the teaching of Castilian Spanish as the vehicular language in Catalonia, the Government Spokesperson recalled that the government acts within a framework of respect for the rights and liberties of its citizens and of legal rulings. The education system, she said, "must form citizens in liberty. For us, the co-official languages are the languages of Spain". "The freedom of parents and pupils is fundamental and must be respected. The courts have ruled on how this must be carried out, and they have been very clear on this matter".