The Government of Spain promotes the creation of the State Public Health Agency

Moncloa Palace, Madrid

The Council of Ministers has approved the draft law for the creation of the State Public Health Agency, which will seek to address risks and threats to citizens' health and improve equity in this area.

The Minister for Health, Mónica García, said that the COVID-19 pandemic "put our health system in check" and highlighted the challenges of early detection, assessment and rapid response to emergencies. The creation of the State Public Health Agency will address these shortcomings and strengthen the capacity to anticipate, coordinate and react. "It is not only an outstanding debt to public health, but also incorporates lessons learned," García said.

Missions of the State Public Health Agency

The Minister for Health, Mónica García, at the press conference after the Council of Ministers | Pool Moncloa / José Manuel Álvarez

The draft law, which is now entering parliamentary procedure, sets out five key tasks for the Agency, starting with the modernisation and cohesion of systems for monitoring the health status of the population and the problems and risks it faces.

Secondly, the new body incorporates the concept of 'One Health', which implies that human health is interlinked with environmental and animal health.

Thirdly, the law aims to lay the foundations for adapting the health system to threats and anticipating them. The minister stressed that among these risks is climate change: "These anomalous temperatures we are having are not good weather, they are bad news for our planet, but also for our health," she said.

A fourth objective of the agency will be to improve coordination and collaboration with the scientific community, industry, administrations and institutions to monitor and accompany the different response strategies.

Finally, the State Public Health Agency will assess the determinants that have the greatest impact on the health of the population.

The Minister for Health stressed that this initiative once again demonstrates the Executive's commitment to public health. The project, she added, is in addition to actions already undertaken such as the reinforcement of primary care - the Ministry of Health has transferred around 1 billion euros from European funds to the regional governments for this purpose - and the INVEAT Plan, which has provided the regional governments with some 850 high-tech devices.

Experts committee to protect children and adolescents in the digital environment

The Minister for Youth and Children, Sira Rego, at the press conference after the Council of Ministers | Pool Moncloa / José Manuel Álvarez

The Government has approved the creation of an experts committee to design a country strategy to promote a safe digital environment for children and adolescents, as announced yesterday by the president of the Government of Spain.

The Minister for Youth and Children, Sira Rego, detailed that the committee will be made up of a maximum of 50 people who will have two objectives: to design a short, medium and long-term strategy and to promote an intergenerational agreement for the country. "We talk about an intergenerational agreement because the complexity of the issue requires all political and social elements to agree. And, furthermore, we want to have the opinion and participation of the voice of children and young people in this committee," she remarked.

The experts group will include representatives from the Childhood Observatory, the Spanish Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia, the State Council for Child and Adolescent Participation, the Youth Council, the Youth Digital Advisory Council, the Spanish Data Protection Agency, the State School Council, the National Cybersecurity Institute (INCIBE), the National Markets and Competition Commission and the Council of Consumers and Users.

The minister also announced that there will be specialists in the areas of paediatrics, psychology, gender equality and mental health protection, experts in the technological area of cybersecurity, as well as jurists specialising in guaranteeing the rights of children and young people. It will also include representatives of the confederations of parents' associations and of third-sector entities and organisations at a national level.

The composition of the experts committee, which the Ministry of Youth and Children will present in a fortnight's time, will be gender-balanced. The group will have to report back to the Government within six months.

Sira Rego reiterated that the report will allow for the further implementation of measures to create safe digital environments for children, while allowing them to enjoy the benefits of technology.

Employment, rights and coexistence

The Minister for Education, Vocational Training and Sports and Government Spokesperson, Pilar Alegría, during her speech at the press conference after the Council of Ministers | Pool Moncloa / José Manuel Álvarez

During her speech at the press conference following the Council of Ministers, the Minister for Education, Vocational Training and Sports and Government Spokesperson, Pilar Alegría, recalled that the Government's project is based on three objectives: employment, rights and coexistence.

In this context, the minister referred to the progress of the Quarterly National Accounts published today by the National Statistics Institute, which show that the growth of the Spanish economy in 2023 was 2.5%. In her opinion, it is "very good news that conveys the image of a strong and fit Spain".

In this regard, Pilar Alegría also highlighted that last year, more than 783,000 new jobs were created in Spain, which "enabled a record employment figure of more than 21,200,000 workers to be reached", according to data from the Labour Force Survey published on Friday.

Alegría stressed that four out of every ten new jobs in Europe are created in Spain. In addition, she pointed out that "there is a clear improvement" in female employment and permanent contracts, and partial and temporary contracts are being reduced. The most important thing," she said, "is that behind these numbers there are men and women who today have a better quality job that allows them to look to the present and the future with greater security.

In the line of improving the lives of citizens, the spokesperson also stressed that the rise in the Minimum Wage benefits three million workers. In 2018 it stood at 735 euros and now at 1,134 euros, an increase of more than 54%.

The minister also pointed out that 11 million people are receiving an increase in their pension this week of approximately 52 euros per month, which will mean an average increase of 734 euros per year.

Regarding the International Tourism Fair (Fitur 2024) held last week in Madrid, Pilar Alegría stated that it closed with "13.7% more visitors than the previous year".

Official mourning for the death of Jacques Delors

The spokesperson said that the governments of Spain and Portugal had declared 31 January as an official day of mourning for the death of Jacques Delors, President of the European Commission between 1985 and 1994. "He was one of the architects of European integration and played a key role in the accession of Spain and Portugal to the EU in 1986," he said.

Alegría also reported that the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, will attend the tribute organised by the European Commission in Brussels tomorrow.

Non official translation