Government approves Draft Law on National Security

Moncloa Palace, Madrid

The Council of Ministers approved the Draft Law on National Security, which will improve coordination between different public authorities in emergency situations, for submission to Parliament.

The Vice-President of the Government , Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, explained that, on a recommendation from the Council of State, which was presented on 16 January as a draft constitutional law, this will be passed through Parliament as an ordinary law, given that "it does not affect fundamental rights and public liberties".

She highlighted that the text provides the State with suitable instruments to tackle risks in a "more coordinated and effective manner, stepping up capabilities in order to respond to challenges of a very varied nature". Moreover, it covers the present legal loophole between the most serious crises - those which give rise to a state of alarm or emergency - and others which are tackled with standard means and resources.

Pool MoncloaIn this regard, the Vice-President of the Government specified that the new legislation regulates the situation of interest for national security, in other words, a situation which, due to the potential or actual seriousness of its effects and size or cross-cutting nature of the measures necessary to resolve it, requires increased coordination from the competent authorities in the performance of their ordinary duties under the direction of the government. This situation will be declared by the President of the Government, through a royal decree, and the government will inform the Lower House of Parliament.

The new legislation also legally establishes the concept of national security within the legal system, which is considered to be a State action aimed at protecting the liberty and well-being of citizens, guaranteeing the defence of the State, its principles and constitutional values, and contributing to meeting international commitments on security issues.

A system of national security is established based on the criteria of the National Security Council, headed up by the President of the Government. This system includes public safety, foreign affairs and coordination in areas such as cyber-security, energy security and the protection of critical infrastructures.

The contribution of resources to national security is made "in accordance with principles of gradual and proportionate contribution according to the situation", concluded the Vice-President of the Government.

More fluid communication between the public authorities and citizens

The Council of Ministers amended the Official State Gazette (OSG) rules in order to set up a Single Bulletin Board, "one of the key elements in the reform of the public administration service", according to the Vice-President of the Government.

Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría recalled that this reform has resulted in a saving of 20 billion euros but added that "the saving is not the most important feature, we must also consider the improvement made through modernising the public administration to the benefit of our citizens". The Single Bulletin Board, together with an" a la carte OSG" and electronic notifications will contribute to "guaranteeing much more fluid and instantaneous communication between our public authorities and our citizens", she claimed.

Pool MoncloaCurrently, the corresponding public authority sends out a notification by post with a cost of 2.5 euros. Two attempts must be made to deliver this, in different timetables, and if delivery is not effected because the interested party is not at home or because the domicile is unknown, the public authority must proceed to a "notification via bulletin" on a notice board. These notifications are published on one of 63 official notice boards that exist, at a national, regional or provincial level. Moreover, in recent years new notice boards have appeared on tax and traffic issues. Once the announcement is published, the interested party is considered to be notified and the notification takes legal effect, although the citizen may not be aware of this.

In order to change the system, electronic notifications are going to be stepped up, "should the citizen so decide", pointed out Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría. 90% of notifications to companies are already made electronically, and the Law on Administrative Procedures that the government submitted to Parliament on 8 May is working along these lines: the citizen can voluntarily provide the public authority with an electronic mail address in order to remain in contact.

When it is not possible to make the notification, whether electronic or ordinary, as from 1 July - with a series of transitory deadlines for notice boards in relation to the traffic and tax authorities - this will be made through the OSG regardless of the authority or body making the notification. Public authorities may use their own bulletin board but it will be necessary to publish the notification in the OSG and this will be binding in terms of the deadline. Moreover, through the "a la carte OSG", citizens can receive alerts on issues of interest via e-mail or when their national ID number appears in the OSG.

Other agreements

As regards investment, the government has ratified a partnership agreement between the Ministry of Public Works, the Regional Government of Aragon and ADIF to improve the management and the railway installations between Sagunto, Teruel and Zaragoza, with the aim of boosting rail freight traffic with an estimated cost of 4.8 million euros. Moreover, the government pushed through the "Algeciras water trap" project in order to resolve the flooding problems due to deficiencies in the sanitation network in the area.

Pool MoncloaOn another note, the government authorised membership of the Marrakesh Treaty in order to provide the blind and persons with sight disabilities with access to published works, which "underpins Spain's commitment to defending the rights of these groups and their full integration in social and cultural life", stressed the Vice-President of the Government.

Moreover, the Council of Ministers authorised the former Isla Pancha lighthouse, in Ribadeo (Lugo), to be used for hotel activities. Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría pointed out that this is the first case in Spain, but that the Ministry of Public Works is aware that similar initiatives will be adopted in other lighthouses, "in recognition of the singular nature of these buildings", which will allow environmentally-friendly tourism to be stepped up, which is compatible with other social and cultural uses without affecting the signalling service provided by lighthouses.

Current affairs

In regard to the municipal and regional elections to be held on Sunday, 25 May, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría called for the law to be upheld and the decisions of the electoral boards to be respected, both on the day of reflection and on Election Day. "I hope that the organisations and our citizens will do this".

As regards the publication of the 2013 tax details of the PP candidate for Mayor of Madrid, Esperanza Aguirre, the Vice-President of the Government declared that the Tax Office has opened an investigation in order to determine the origin of the leak and, depending on the results, it will take the appropriate decisions. It falls to the government "to respect the law and legal procedures", she added.

Pool MoncloaAs regards the possibility of protests against the King and symbols of the Spanish State during the final of the football King's Cup, she asked for people to "differentiate" between "football and politics" and advocated "greater respect for football fans" in what should be a celebration of football, because "not everything should be used to serve independence and a very specific political programme".

In response to questions from the press on the breakdown of the commuter railway network in Barcelona and its possible ties to the State budget in this region, the Government Spokesperson stressed that the government, when faced with a situation of this nature, "suffered by such a high number of citizens", exercises the corresponding responsibilities. "We will analyse how this happened, ask for the railway company to accept responsibility and will impose sanctions and, if necessary, will rescind the contract", she said.

The Vice-President of the Government added that the government will "remain committed to the investment in commuter trains in Catalonia"; as can be seen by the figures in this regard. The government seeks to "manage competencies in the best way possible to the benefit of all the people of Spain regardless of where they may live", she concluded.