“Spanish energy policy is inspiring the European response”

by time news

A year ago he spoke in “pandemic terms”. Since then, war, inflation, energy crisis… Can’t you catch your breath?

It is true that after two such hard years, marked by the pandemic and which fortunately we see differently thanks to vaccines, we have been hit by another catastrophe such as Russia’s attack on Ukraine. It is a shock that requires a different response, but with the same determination, resoluteness and solidarity at European level.

Move people forward.

Advance the people, the country, Europe. Cushion the negative impact. Also ensure a fair distribution of the cost of the war and that the economy continues to create employment and continue to grow this strong recovery that we have been experiencing since last year.

In April he said that the peak of inflation had been reached and that it would not reach 10%.

In fact, the biggest increase in prices will take place in March. The evolution of prices depends fundamentally on how energy and raw materials evolve in international markets. Unfortunately, these are factors over which we have no control, but we can take measures to try to cushion the impact on Spanish families and businesses. And this is what we are doing with the two packages of measures that we have adopted, which are already being very effective in curbing the rise in prices. Our estimate is that the price increase is being reduced by more than three and a half points. This is what we must continue to do, acting with determination and solidarity with the European countries that are most exposed, and trying to anticipate what is to come.

How long do they plan to extend the anti-crisis measures?

At the moment we have measures between now and the end of the year. In an environment of such uncertainty, it is advisable to adapt them to the evolution of the situation. This is what we did with the pandemic, with measures that have been very effective and have been evolving from March 2020 until this past June. I think now is the time to act effectively, quickly, but also with flexibility to adapt to the circumstances.

The PP insists on lowering taxes, does it agree with this vision?

At this time, measures must be taken to help contain the rise in prices. It must be the priority, that they are effective now, not tax cuts for a year from now.

Do you think it is feasible to raise the SMI again as proposed by Treball?

Our commitment is that the SMI reaches 60% of the average salary next year and I hope that in the autumn we will have an agreement with the social agents in this regard.

Do you trust an agreement with the employer?

I hope.

Do you think that social peace can be affected by this climate at an international level, with energy or inflation?

Precisely in this environment of uncertainty and with external aggression, it is even more important that we are united. I hope that as soon as possible the dialogue with the social agents will be resumed with a view to an income pact, which must incorporate the increase in the SMI, the evolution of the salaries of civil servants and of the economy as a whole… All the elements that can give stability and confidence to employers, workers and citizens as a whole.

He said, a few days ago, evaluating the unemployment data, that there is a “slowing down of the labor market”. Do they set any specific goals by the end of the year?

The labor market has had an extraordinary behavior in the first part of the year. We have more than a million more employed with indefinite contracts in the last year. We are seeing very hopeful data, such as the drop in youth unemployment and the number of young people neither working nor studying, which are both at historic lows. Indefinite occupations are also on the rise, with almost one out of every two contracts. There was some slowdown in July from the extraordinary data of previous months, partly because the tourism sector brought forward hiring in the spring, but even in this month there were 145,000 indefinite occupations signed in a month in which they are usually reduced by 100,000. There are many elements that indicate a structural change in the labor market that should give us more stability, robustness and resistance.

Optimism?

No, realism. In every moment there are always positive and negative elements and I think it is very important to see them all. We must be very aware of the risks, that we are in a moment of enormous uncertainty, and that in the case of Putin, experience tells us that we must prepare for worse things. And that’s what we’re doing, taking steps to be as prepared as possible for what may come. And support us in the positive elements, which are many and should give us hope and confidence for the future.

Did you expect to see the energy saving plan implemented?

Vice-president Ribera and I were the first to sound the alarm in Europe regarding the rise in energy prices. We now know that Putin was already preparing the attack, reducing energy reserves to weaken the EU. It’s been a year since we sounded the alarm and started calling for measures that, at the time, seemed disruptive, but have now been put in place and have proven to be very effective. For example, the cap on gas is allowing Spain to have wholesale prices well below France, Germany or Italy and protects us in the coming months in this context of possible increases. In general, I think that Spanish energy policy is inspiring the European response. Spain has a very respected voice in the international arena.

How important will the construction of a gas pipeline through the Pyrenees be?

Just as the other countries were in solidarity with Spain in being one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, we must be with other European countries that are currently more vulnerable and face possible gas supply disruptions. Anything that strengthens the interconnection capacity is positive so that Spain can become a kind of logistics center to supply gas and electricity by different routes to the rest of the countries and thus contribute to the strategic autonomy of Europe.

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