Parliament gave its final approval on Tuesday to a fresh anti-inflation package the government presented in the form of a decree to help mitigate the impact of high energy prices on food products.
The new anti-inflation package was adopted in parliament, with 175 votes in favour, seven against, and 164 abstentions. Those abstaining included lawmakers from centre-right Partido Popular, far-right Vox and centre-liberal Ciudadanos.
Measures in the now-approved decree include the abolition of VAT on staple foods and the reduction of VAT from 10% to 5% for oils and pasta. It also features a €200 cheque for households with annual incomes of up to €27,000 and free travel on local and medium-distance trains in 2023, among others.
The new measures were defended by the Minister of the Presidency, Félix Bolaños, who gave a speech in parliament.
For Partido Popular, the strongest opposition in parliament, reducing the VAT on foodstuffs was justified as this was among the measures the right-wing party put forward in its strategy to curb inflation. It still did not back the measure as it hoped the VAT reduction would also include meat, fish and tinned food.
Partido Popular would vote in favour of the decree if it is passed as a bill and includes at least some of the measures it has proposed, such as the extension of the fuel rebate to the self-employed, party spokesman Jaime Eduardo de Olano said.
Parliament also agreed, almost unanimously, that it would be processed through an emergency legal process, in order to speed up the administrative procedure.
The government of socialist PSOE and left-wing Unidas Podemos will do “whatever is necessary to protect families and companies while the war lasts”, Bolaños assured, adding that the current situation “is complex” and “there are still uncertainties to be cleared up”.
Unidas Podemos MP Pilar Garrido insisted that this Royal Decree includes measures “of dignity” because they “protect people’s lives” and try “to guarantee basic goods”.
It should be defended “by any government of any colour and any representative who respects their people”, Garrido added.
Municipal elections will be held in May in Spain – a vote many view as being the first litmus test for Prime Minister Pedro 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
