The Government of Spain strengthens the social shield and reactivates the productive fabric of the areas affected by the DANA

Moncloa Palace, Madrid

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, appears before the media after the meeting of the Council of Ministers (Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa)

The Council of Ministers has sent to the Spanish Parliament for validation a new Royal Decree-law with urgent measures to deal with the damage caused by a DANA in various municipalities between 28 October and 4 November. It contains more than 110 measures, in addition to those agreed at last week's Cabinet meeting. They amount to a cost of over €3.76 billion which, added to the just over €10.6 billion already activated, brings the investment in emergency response to more than €14.37 billion.

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, explained after the Council of Ministers that the measures strengthen the first phase of the plan drawn up to alleviate the damage as an immediate response, and initiate the second phase, which aims to rebuild the affected areas. They also include initiatives of a structural nature because, as the chief executive pointed out, this climatic event is unfortunately going to happen repeatedly throughout the Iberian Peninsula. In this regard, the text incorporates prevention and protection against the effects of climate change in the education system and in driver training.

The chief executive expressed his conviction that, as happened after the pandemic, this policy of protecting incomes and the productive fabric will allow for economic recovery "in a short space of time". The initiatives already approved will help 100,000 households to meet their basic needs, 400,000 workers to maintain their income and 30,000 businesses to restart their activity.

Extension of the social shield

Among the measures adopted to strengthen the "social shield" against the DANA, Pedro Sánchez highlighted the extension of aid for damage to homes to homeowners who did not live in them but rented them out. Compensation for loss of household goods is also extended to tenants, and includes non-essential goods.

To speed up the arrival of the funds, all citizens who apply for this aid will receive an immediate advance of 50%, without having to wait for the file to be processed. To facilitate the procedure, staffing numbers at the sub-delegations of the Government of Spain will be temporarily extended, service points will be created in all the offices of the state-owned company Correos, and a network of temporary offices will be created in the affected municipalities, 10 of which will already be operational tomorrow.

Other initiatives in this area include a temporary 30% increase in the Child Support Supplement, which is received by some 10,000 families in the affected areas; the extension of the Code of Good Mortgage Practices created in 2022, such that affected households can freeze their mortgages for a further 12 months (in addition to the 12 months already included in last week's Royal Decree-law), and the free and immediate provision of 150 Government-owned homes located in or near the damaged areas to those affected. The president added that the government is going to allocate €25 million to acquire housing and expand this housing stock.

Worker protection

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, upon his arrival at the press conference following the meeting of the Council of Ministers | Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

Strengthening worker protection is another pillar of the new measures. Last week the Government activated the Temporary Employment Regulation Files (ERTE) due to Force Majeure, and today its application has been extended to all companies which, although not located in the damaged municipalities, have seen their activity severely damaged. The aim is to protect the incomes of thousands of workers, prevent redundancies and facilitate the earliest possible return to business.

Along the same lines, the temporary incapacity benefit is assimilated to work-related accidents, thereby by-passing the requirement of a number of previous years of contributions.

In the area of self-employment, a new extraordinary benefit has been approved for this group which will allow them to combine their activity with an extraordinary benefit for partial cessation, equivalent to 50% of their contribution base, for a period of three months.

The Royal Decree-law also protects consumers. Electricity and gas cuts to affected households are prohibited and the consumer is allowed, free of charge, to modify or temporarily suspend supply contracts and defer bills. The Government has also agreed with telecommunications operators to automatically compensate for service interruptions caused by the DANA in their bills.

Measures to support the productive fabric

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, during his speech at the press conference after the Council of Ministers | Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

The president stressed that the effects of the DANA have also been devastating for the countryside, which has suffered severe damage, so the agricultural sector must be helped with the same solidarity with which farmers went help affected neighbours with their tractors.

To this end, the Royal Decree-law approved today provides for the creation of a new line of direct aid, amounting to €200 million, which will go to farms that have suffered damage that prevents them from approaching next season in the normal way, or that have production losses of more than 40%.

The Government is also launching an additional €60-million line of credit ICO-MAPA-SAECA, aimed at farmers and livestock farmers, and a programme that will allocate €175 million to repair agricultural infrastructures such as roads, terraces and irrigation systems. "Our objective is to recover food production as soon as possible and to avoid the abandonment of agricultural activity, especially in urban areas with small farms on their periphery," the president said.

First tranche of ICO loans activated

The Government has also activated the first tranche of the €1-billion ICO loans announced last week. The guarantees will cover 80% of the total loan so that households, businesses and the self-employed can quickly access the amount in aid, subsidies and compensation and undertake the investments they need.

Environmental actions: sludge plan

Pedro Sánchez appears before the media after the meeting of the Council of Ministers | Pool Moncloa/José Manuel Álvarez

The president also stressed that a plan has been promoted with €45 million for the restoration of the Albufera and the river basins affected by the flooding.

The Government has also earmarked €500 million to fund a Sludge Action Plan to remove mud, repair water supply, sewerage and water treatment networks, and clean sewage systems as soon as possible. The idea is to restore normality to those affected and to make all state resources available to effectively and safely remove the remnants of the DANA.

Pedro Sánchez stressed that it is a "huge task" that is urgent and a priority for all administrations, which is why the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, together with experts and public technicians and private sector companies, has developed a comprehensive proposal that has been approved today.

These measures come in addition to those approved last week to pay 100% of emergency expenses and up to 50% of all infrastructure repairs for affected municipalities in the coming years. They also join the EU's Civil Protection Mechanism, which was activated three days ago by the Ministry of Home Affairs at the request of the Generalitat Valenciana.

Support for culture

The royal decree-law also includes some of the actions included in the Plan for the Reconstruction of Valencian Culture presented on Thursday by the Minister for Culture, Ernest Urtasun. This amounts to €2 million in direct aid for cinemas, bookshops and cultural entities that have closed because of the DANA. Furthermore, in the affected municipalities, the validity of Bono Cultural Joven 2023 cards that expire between 29 October and 31 December will be extended until 31 March 2025.

Advancing the Immediate Response, Reconstruction and Relaunch Plan

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, during his speech at the press conference after the Council of Ministers | Pool Moncloa/José Manuel Álvarez

During his appearance, Pedro Sánchez recalled that last week the Council of Ministers activated a plan for the recovery of the affected areas - with a budget of €10.6 billion - with three phases: immediate response, reconstruction and relaunching. He reiterated that "the Government's objective is for the municipalities that have been hit by this terrible tragedy to recover as quickly as possible, and be able count on infrastructures that are more resilient to a climatic reality that is changing at a dizzying pace and with a more modern and competitive productive fabric".

The chief executive has guaranteed that all state resources are being used to meet this commitment: "The Government is and will be there, with all the necessary resources and for as long as it takes. Even when the media attention wanes, we will continue to work to restore normality to the areas affected by this natural disaster".

A total of 5,000 public employees are currently displaced in the province of Valencia, and almost €14.37 million in direct aid, credits and tax exemptions have been mobilised and will be deployed in the coming weeks.

The president reviewed the "colossal logistical and human deployment" in the area over the last week, which has carried out 406 new arrests and 108 detentions, removed 550 vehicles, drained 600 garages and basements, and distributed 51,000 litres of bottled water and 22,500 kilos of food.

The president stressed that the technicians have restored electricity to almost all the homes affected, repaired 95% of the damaged telephone lines, both fixed and mobile, and reopened numerous roads and railway lines. The supply of medicines to the entire population, including chronically ill patients with limited mobility, has also been restored.

Truthful and verified information to combat hoaxes

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, during his speech at the press conference after the Council of Ministers | Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

During his speech, Pedro Sánchez thanked the media for the "great informative work" they have been doing since the tragedy started to unfold: "Truthful and verified information is the best way to combat one of the main evils of this era of the digital society, which is the hoax, the disinformation that seeks to fuel chaos and create unrest and division in a population already greatly affected by this tragedy".

Likewise, the chief executive stressed the "titanic effort" of neighbours, volunteers, public servants and the third sector, who are carrying out extraordinary work and who have also been the target of misinformation. He also expressed his gratitude to the employers, businessmen and trade unions in Valencia and throughout the country who "are making a formidable collective effort" and inspiring the Government's actions in the face of the crisis.

Non official translation