A fresh direct aid package to help farmers cope with soaring energy prices following the war in Ukraine will be approved by the government on Tuesday, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced.
At a socialist political rally in La Palma, together with the President of the Canary Islands regional executive, Ángel Víctor Torres, Sánchez reiterated the good economic prospects for Spain this year, after a very positive 2022.
The Spanish economy ended the year with GDP growth of 5.5%, the same rate as the previous year and, in both cases, the highest since 1973, despite the fact that all forecasts pointed to a slowdown, EFE reported.
Sánchez accused right-wing Partido Popular (PP/EPP), the main opposition force in the Spanish parliament, of being “prophets of the apocalypse,” always with a negative attitude of “blockade” of what the government does or proposes, he lamented.
On the contrary, said Sánchez, adding that the government rules the Iberian country with “zero triumphalism,” looking for solutions for the people.
He highlighted the challenging events that the left-wing government had to deal with since it took office, and among others, he cited the COVID-19 pandemic, the eruption of the volcano on La Palma, and the war in Ukraine and its effects on the economy.
“We don’t choose the crises, but we do choose how we respond (to them),” he stressed, adding that the progressive Executive –of the PSOE and left-wing Unidas Podemos (GUE-NGL), has put the focus on defending the people.
Despite the government’s optimism, trade union UGT recently warned that high inflation and the consequent loss of purchasing power are “dragging down” the Spanish economy, and reiterated its demand for a wage increase to reactivate consumption and, with it, the economic activity.
In UGT’s view, the fall in household consumption is the direct “consequence” of the combination of high inflation, which ended 2022 at an average of 8.4%, and the moderate increase in wages agreed in the salary pacts between workers and employers, which was 2.8%.
For this reason, the union insists that it will continue to defend wage increases and the “immediate” rise in the minimum wage (SMI) to €1,100 per month in 14 installments, “essential” to reactivate consumption, UGT defends.
Municipal elections will be held in May in Spain – a vote many views as the first litmus test for Sanchez’s governing coalition with Unidas Podemos.
General elections will be held in December when Spain is in the final month of its EU Council presidency, which starts on 1 July for a period of six months.
(Fernando Heller | EuroEFE.EURACTIV.es)
Source: euractiv.com
