Government approves aid to repair damage caused by latest storms

Moncloa Palace, Madrid

Before reporting on the issues addressed at the Council of Ministers, the Vice-President of the Government, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, expressed the government's solidarity, support and condolences following the death of the three servicemen in a Spanish Air Force helicopter accident: Captain José Morales Rodríguez, Lieutenant Saúl López Quesada and Sergeant Jhonander Ojeda Alemán.

The Government Spokesperson thanked their families for the example shown and the dedication of the members of the air force, the navy and the various Moroccan authorities that have collaborated in locating the missing servicemen. "The priority now is to recover their bodies with all due security guarantees", she declared.

Aid for storm damage

Pool Moncloa / J. M. CuadradoIn terms of the Council of Ministers, the government approved a Royal Decree-Law for aid to repair the damage caused by the storms in the Canary Islands and in the East and South of the mainland in the months of September and October. The measures extend to people and property affected in the provinces of Almeria, Granada, Malaga, Seville, Murcia, Alicante, Valencia, Girona and Tarragona.

In the case of the Canary Islands, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría recalled that the very heavy rainfall affected almost the whole autonomous region, and hence the local and regional measures adopted were complemented by the intervention of the Emergency Military Unit (Spanish acronym: UME).

The Minister for Home Affairs, Jorge Fernández Díaz, explained that the amount of damage caused remains provisional and that once a definitive assessment has been made, the government will determine "the amount of the subsidies to be provided to cover the repair to the damage".

As regards the damage caused, the minister announced that infrastructure owned by the State has been affected, such as secondary highways; public land and maritime public domain and inland waterways; municipally-owned infrastructure - principally the sewage network - and dwellings, garages and privately-owned commercial and industrial premises. Jorge Fernández Díaz highlighted that direct economic subsidies have been agreed for personal and material damage, as well as aid to individual and legal entities that have loaned goods and to local authorities for the expenses caused to cover these situations.

Those requiring so may request subsidies within a period of two months and the period for resolution of the requests is three months. All subsidies will be covered charged to the credit made available, which may be extended, by the Ministry for Home Affairs. The Royal Decree-Law also provides for other measures of a very varied nature, both of a fiscal and legal nature, that are the competency of other ministerial departments.

On another note, the minister pointed out that by Royal Decree, the government may declare the application of measures provided for in the legislation agreed to other emergency situations that may occur anywhere in the country until 9 January. The following day, 10 January, the National Civil Protection System Act will come into force, which provides for a different system to grant aid of this nature.

Organised gas market

Pool Moncloa / J. M. CuadradoThe Council of Ministers approved a Royal Decree developing the rules for the functioning of the organised natural gas market.

The Minister for Industry, Energy and Tourism, José Manuel Soria, explained that to date Spain only had a bilateral market that "did not provide clear or transparent price indications". The organised market, which will technically be run by the company Mibgas, will facilitate the entry of new suppliers and offer greater transparency in prices. The minister highlighted that this will lead to a fall in gas prices and greater competitiveness throughout the industry.

The new legislation also regulates the procedures for inspecting gas installations. The consumer may choose who it wishes to undertake the obligatory inspection of their gas installations, which must take place every five years. The distributor will have to notify the user, 45 days in advance, of the need to carry out the inspection, as well as the possibility to doing so with another authorised installer or with the same distribution company. The consumer will not directly pay for these inspections as they will be applied through the supplier's invoicing system.

Support for tourism sector in Canary Islands

Also within the scope of the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism, the government approved a direct subsidy to the Regional Government of the Canary Islands for a sum of three million euros to boost the competitiveness of the tourism sector in the period 2015-2018. The measure is framed within the plan, which is financed with another three million euros from the Regional Government of the Canary Islands that fundamentally seeks to finance public works to improve tourism infrastructures, indicated José Manuel Soria.

On another note, the Council of Ministers regulated the legal system covering the obligation to provide advance financing for certain European audiovisual works. The Vice-President of the Government explained that this obligation is backed by EU law and has been applied in Spain for more than15 years. The decree approved on Friday amends the current legal regulation to offer legal certainty to the system covering this obligation, "by clearly specifying the conditions in which this may be demanded", she pointed out.

Regulatory clarification

Pool Moncloa / J. M. CuadradoThe Vice-President of the Government reported on the approval of four recast texts within the framework of the Committee to Reform the Public Administration Services (Spanish acronym: CORA) related to "four of the most important laws in our legal system", with the aim of facilitating their comprehension.

Hence, the government approved, through a Legislative Royal Decree, the new recast text of the General Social Security Act. The text unifies more than 100 regulatory amendments on the issue and offers greater transparency and legal certainty to citizens and legal operators.

The government also agreed, through a Legislative Royal Decree, to the recast text of the Traffic, Motor Vehicle and Road Safety Act. The document incorporates those provisions in force that were not previously incorporated; furthermore, it covers legal loopholes and removes inconsistencies.

It also approved the recast text on the Urban Land and Redevelopment Act, which will come into force on 31 October and includes the content of the 2008 Land Act and legislation relating to the areas of urban redevelopment, regeneration and renovation that fall under Act 8/2013. The document is yet another step in changing the model of housing policy driven by the Ministry for Public Works with the aim of balancing new construction works with redevelopment and fostering energy efficiency in the Spanish building sector, as well as removing administrative burdens and making the system more flexible.

The Council of Ministers also approved a Legislative Royal Decree with the recast text of the Basic Statute on Public Employment, which includes all of the improvements for public employees that were previously approved. Among these, the recovery of personal days and annual leave, as well as improvements in such areas as mobility, the working day and authorised leave.

Other agreements

As regards whether the government intends to talk with Convergencia to redirect the situation, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría specifically mentioned that the President of the Government "has spoken with, is speaking with and will speak with all those who, one way or another, are in line with defence of the unity, equality and legality", with those "who are not in agreement with this independence", since this is an "affair of State on which we must strengthen that which binds us". She underlined that there exists "a higher goal for all concerned, which is the defence of Spain, of the rights of the Spanish people, of their equality and respect for the law".