The call for early elections on July 23 and the dissolution of the Cortes Generales published today by the Official State Gazette have caused more than a dozen economic laws to be condemned to decay. Parliament is now entering a period in which only the permanent council will be able to validate decrees, such as the drought with significant aid to farmers and ranchers. The Government, however, can approve royal decrees, arguing the urgency of the measures and, in fact, plans to issue one, that of new aid against inflation, to suppress, extend or extend measures in force, such as VAT reduction on certain foods.
One of the regulations that will not see the light of day in this legislature is the independent authority for the defense of financial clients, one of the star projects of the Ministry of Economic Affairs that a few days ago passed from Congress to the Senate. The new defender was going to bring together powers from various organizations and financed with contributions from banks.
"The law has died on the shore," lamented yesterday Carlos San Juan, the promoter of the "I'm older, not an idiot" campaign, and also one of the defenders of the new norm. “It was a very well done and very acceptable law” that “was going to protect the most vulnerable,” he said. The Asufin banking consumer association described yesterday as "frustrating" the interruption of the parliamentary process. From the AEB banking association, they prefer not to comment.
The economic laws that shipwreck this legislature do so in four different stages. There is a first group that is in Congress pending the process of amendments. The Board has been progressively extending this process and Pedro Sánchez's announcement has surprised them at this time. Among them is the family law, which established a universal parenting aid of 100 euros for mothers and paid leave of five days a year to care for a relative, among other aspects.
In a second group is the parity law, approved last week in the Council of Ministers, and which will not reach the Parliament. One of the measures contained in this regulation is the obligation for the boards of directors of large companies, including those listed on the Ibex, to have at least 40% women.
There is another package of laws that, until now, are pending the report of the presentation in Congress and that, therefore, will not see the light either. The sustainable mobility law, the subject of an intense debate in the lower house between parties and companies due to the measures that affect transport, is one of them. This group also includes the Public Function Law, which contemplates incentives for a positive evaluation of the work of employees.
Finally, a fourth group of regulations remain in the portfolio, pending reaching the Council of Ministers. The Industry Law stands out, a project committed to Brussels in the Recovery Plan that contemplates a mechanism to deal with industrial crises where there are problems of shortages and that aims to boost the competitiveness of a strategic sector for the country. The government that comes out of the polls must approve it. For her part, the second vice president, Yolanda Díaz, also leaves without approving the Scholarship Statute, which so many times was considered almost consensual with the social partners without the agreement ever materializing.
The Executive should still make other far-reaching economic decisions before the elections. At this time, the first vice president, Nadia Calviño, is negotiating with the European Commission the addendum for European funds with which up to 94,300 million will be mobilized in exchange for new commitments. Agriculture, for its part, is trying to unblock the reserve fund of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in Brussels to help the areas most affected by the drought.
