Pensioners, self-employed and civil servants affected by the election advance

The call for elections for the next one July 23 Not only did it find the opposition parties on the wrong foot, but also citizens who have been waiting for months, if not years, for laws that, with the dissolution of the Cortes, will remain in limbo, at best. .

Congress has up to 60 bills in its portfolio in various stages of processing that will be frozen until further notice. Many of them are the result of the commitments the Government has made for this legislative body, both with social entities and with Brussels. And a good part of them has great economic importance.

pensioners

There are no amendments to the reform. “We will be open to anything that can improve the law,” the Minister of Inclusion and Social Security promised in mid-March. Jose Luis Escrivain order to attract enough support with which he approved the royal decree law with which he was able to put the finishing touches on pension reform —effective from last April 1—. That is why the announcement of the election advance fell like a pitcher of cold water among those who believed in it and thought to change the said reform during its processing as a law. Among them EH Bildu and ERC, partners of the Government who hoped to get more concessions, or for parties who advocated the introduction of system sustainability guarantees.

That process has now been stopped and the text of the decree remains in force. This establishes an increase in social contributions of 0.6% this year, which will be followed by a progressive increase of one-tenth a year to 1.2% in 2029. It also includes an increase in the maximum contribution bases —1.2% above the CPI — in for the next 25 years, a generalized increase in low-income and widow’s pensions, with the establishment of a dual system for calculating pensions — 25 years or 29, with the possibility of removing the two worst values. It also includes a solidarity allowance for the highest salaries (those that exceed the maximum contribution base: 4,495 euros per month in 2023).

just busy

real income. The same fate will be experienced by pensioners just busy, who have been quoting their real incomes since the beginning of the year. Those who hoped to be able to amend the new system in Congress will be left wanting. We will have to wait for the next legislative body to change the meaning of the legal regulation, which establishes a minimum quota of 230 euros for these experts. Until then, the current model will remain in effect.

civil servants

Salary supplements. Another one of the victims of electoral dominance is Law on Civil Service. Obligation integrated into the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, which the Government wanted to process as a bill under urgent procedure. The text includes initiatives such as measuring productivity officials offering salary supplements, equipping registered couples to married spouses, standardizing access to permits or administrative situations. It also guarantees an increase to 30% of the minimum number of places for internal promotion, to which is added a greater territorialization of selective tests.

Farmers

Drought relief. The agricultural sector lives in uncertainty. Not only because of the lack of rain, but also because of the lack of drought relief aid. The government gave its consent on May 11 784 million euros of palliative measures —636 million in direct transfers— but the electoral progress announced on Monday forced the postponement of the debate on the confirmation of Royal Decree Law 4/2023. Does this mean they will run out of money? Not. There is a possibility that it will be approved by the Permanent Deputation, a body made up of 21 members from all parties charged with assuming the authority of Congress in matters of decree law when the House is dissolved. Of course, the payout will take longer than expected.

Consumers

Body of the financial client. A bill to create it also remains in limbo in the Senate An independent administrative body for the defense of financial clients, the body for the out-of-court settlement of disputes between banks and customers promised by the government to Brussels. Initially, it was proposed to charge financial institutions 250 euros for each settled dispute, but the text that reached the Senate proposes “requiring an annual fee throughout the Spanish territory for the activity of resolving claims”, after a barrage of criticism from the banks.

Elections threaten to slow down the execution of European aid

Payments from European funds are not in danger Although the help is related to some of the laws that were clouded by the election advance, the truth is that European Comission sending money is subject, in most cases, to the publication of measures in the BOE or to the consideration of the “circumstances” of each country. In other words: no interference in election cycles.

So far, Spain has received €37,000 million in pre-financing and three aid payments from the Recovery and Resilience Fund. The delivery of the fourth envelope, of 10,000 million euros, was planned before the end of June, but the Spanish government has not yet requested it. Attention is now on the elections. Brussels conditioned the sending of the money on its positive assessment of the pension reform. And that requires a guarantee of its sustainability.

The new election program not only disrupts the calendar, but also threatens to slow down the execution of funds in the administration, which continues to have problems with the efficient delivery of money to companies, as the European Commission clearly stated in its report on the European Semester.

CEO of the company seatsWayne Griffiths, believed yesterday that the Government will start the second part of the electric car, after the fiasco of the first, before the elections. connected construction battery factory in Martorello (Barcelona) upon receipt of these aids. He also expressed his fear that the elections will further delay the electrification of Spain, which is already poorly positioned in Europe.