Mariano Rajoy stresses that government decisions during this legislature have enabled 124 billion euros to be uncovered

Lower House of Parliament, Madrid

In response to a question from the Member of Parliament for the PSOE [Spanish Socialist Workers' Party], Pedro Sánchez, on the democratic quality of Spanish institutions, the President of the Government said that Spain "is a country with strong, democratic institutions that work well".

After underlining the independent nature of the justice system in Spain, the President of the Government recalled that the appointments to the Constitutional Court and the General Council of the Judiciary were supported by a vote in favour from the PSOE. As regards the Spanish Tax Agency (Spanish acronym: AEAT), Mariano Rajoy stressed that the decisions taken by the Government of Spain have enabled 124 billion euros to be uncovered during this legislature, money that will now be taxed in Spain.

The President of the Government also highlighted other figures. Between 2012 and 2014, the fight against fraud led to the collection of 34.79 billion euros - the best result ever in the history of the AEAT. Along the same lines, he went on to add that, according to the INE, a total of 2.89 billion euros have been collected in the first quarter of 2015.

Besides explaining that the tax regularisation process "neither wipes clean nor deletes offences", Mariano Rajoy stressed that he will not release data on any taxpayer, just as the previous governments did not in compliance with their obligation.

Same electricity tariff for all

In response to a question from the Member of Parliament for the BNG [Galician Nationalist Bloc], Olaia Fernández Davila, the President of the Government stressed that his government will continue working to lower the price of electricity in Galicia and the rest of Spain. In this regard, he recalled that the electricity reform undertaken during the current legislature has eliminated the tariff deficit of 26 billion euros and avoided a repeat of that same situation. Furthermore, the reform has allowed the price of electricity to go down after several years of continuous rises.

Mariano Rajoy pointed out that the electricity tariff went down in 2013 for domestic consumers by 3.1% and by 5% in 2014. According to the INE, this reduction stood at 2.1% in the first quarter of 2015. Furthermore, the President of the Government explained that efforts are now being made on electricity interconnections - an issue of "key importance for lowering electricity prices" and for "our economy to become more competitive".

The President of the Government has consistently argued that the electricity tariff should be the same for all Spaniards "regardless of whereabouts in Spain they live". He explained that removing the principles of equality and solidarity would be bad "for all Spaniards and especially negative for the people of Galicia".

Regional police forces and the fight against Jihadi terrorism

The Member of Parliament for the PNV [Basque Nationalist Party], Aitor Esteban, asked the President of the Government a question about police coordination in the fight against Jihadi terrorism, alluding to the role played by the regional police forces. In his reply, Mariano Rajoy said that "everything can be improved upon" but said that his overall assessment of that coordination "is positive".

The President of the Government explained that the fight against terrorism is an on-going objective for the European Council, as well as for the EU's Justice and Home Affairs Councils and the Foreign Affairs and Defence Councils. He added that coordinated efforts are already under way in various areas, such as external border control, the fight against arms trafficking, information exchange and the prevention of radicalisation.

As regards the role played by the regional police forces, Mariano Rajoy explained that their powers are established by both the Spanish Constitution and Article 17 of the Statute of Guernica, and that those powers correspond to the regional territory of each autonomous region. He also said that those regional governments with powers over public security have "sufficient and adequate" access to Interpol, Europol and SIRENE. Specifically, the Ertzaintza [Basque Police Force] is represented in the International Cooperation Division of the Spanish National Police Force via the permanent assignment of four liaison officers.