Just a few minutes after the spokesperson for the PSOE parliamentary group, Patxi López, recognized that the Government still does not have guaranteed the support of the groups that endorsed the investiture to validate the energy saving decree law that will be voted on Thursday, the vice president Third of the Government and Minister for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, has taken it for granted.
Shortly after the appearance of the socialist spokesman, Ribera has assured in an interview in La Sexta that the Government has "sufficient support to validate the Decree" without detailing which parties will support it. And that López had made it clear from Congress that he would negotiate until the last minute as has been happening with this type of parliamentary initiative.
The spokesman was cautious. He avoided assessing the state of the negotiations and has insisted that the dialogue will continue until shortly before the vote with the aim of ensuring the support of parties such as ERC, Bildu and the PNV, which have so far raised some problems in voting in favor of the decree. However, the vice president has dynamited the weighting of the socialist leader by announcing that they already have sufficient parliamentary support
What does not offer doubts is the royal decree on energy saving measures will end up being processed as a bill to give the groups that will vote in favor of validation tomorrow in Congress room to present amendments. Patxi López has confirmed this, criticizing the attitude of the PP and Cs before the vote because it does not contradict his declared will to improve the measures.
Ribera has also admitted that "proposals" can be made for the contingency plan that will be approved in September and also in the processing of the decree as a bill, but has ruled out repealing an already approved rule, "which has been effective" and that “it is supported by the president of the (European) Commission.” That the decree is processed as a bill does not mean that the measures included cease to be in force as they have been since last August 1.
According to Ribera and the Minister of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, Raquel Sánchez, the Executive is open "to improvements or additional measures" in the decree that will be validated this Thursday in the Congress of Deputies.
If the rule were processed as a bill, a period would be opened for the presentation of amendments. In this sense, Raquel Sánchez has insisted in an interview on TVE's La hora de la 1 that the Government "is characterized by its willingness to make a pact".
Ribera, for his part, explained during an interview on Telecinco that "we will be very happy to receive proposals" if the parliamentary groups "want to continue working on that basis of the validated decree law being processed as a bill", as well as within the framework of the contingency plan that will have to be approved in September.
He stated that he is "completely" confident that the decree will go ahead and stressed that in energy saving "we must have the doors open to continue working in this direction." Ribera stressed that so far measures have been adopted "without negative effect of any kind."
He defended that for this first package there has been a dialogue with the affected sectors and with the parliamentary groups and affirmed that the intention of the Executive is "not to introduce many more mandatory measures, but rather recommendations, relaxations for the industrial sector".
Ribera cited the Basque Government and "some comments" from industrial sectors as the only proposals received. In this sense, he said he "misses" some initiative of the PP and considered "a frivolity and an improvisation to leave the context, to lose his place and not understand the situation that Europe is experiencing" in reference to the position of the PP, rejecting the decree to unless their views are considered.
"Ration cards, unfortunately, can be a reality in countries as relevant as Germany or Austria, not in our case," said the third vice president in line with the PP's statements stating that "we are embracing an energy ration card" .
Ribera commented that in July a letter was received from the councilor of the Community of Madrid asking to return to coal and look for more nuclear power, "which has little effect" on the energy situation.
He also pointed out that the directors of the branch of all the regions and the parliamentary groups have transferred "disposition and, in theory, understanding of the reality that we are living". "This is what they say in the meetings, which has little to do with the public statements," he stressed.
Asked about the escalation in the price of electricity, which today exceeds 436 euros per megawatt hour, Ribera acknowledged that it is "extremely high", although he stressed that Spain is "two and three times below" the prices of the most relevant countries in the world. Europe for the application of the cap on gas.
He exemplified that, with this mechanism, a family of four is saving between 140 and 150 euros per year compared to if it were not applied, and if the "runaway" prices continue, the savings would be higher.
The third vice president urged to "take advantage of all the resources that the Government has made available to the autonomous communities and families", among which she cited the promotion of self-consumption and the rehabilitation of homes to save energy.
The Defense Minister, Margarita Robles, has also spoken about the consequences that the war in Ukraine has for energy on the continent. In fact, Robles has once again predicted a "long and attrition" war and has equated the conflict with the First World War due to its tendency to attrition. When asked how long she thinks it will last if more weapons and resources are not provided to the Ukrainian Army, she stated that it is "difficult to know": "We have to be prepared for this winter, which is going to be very hard."
Robles has pointed out that "unfortunately" the conflict is being "very harsh and cruel" because it is "violating all the rules of the Law of War" with attacks on the civilian population, "women and children", for whom a winter awaits "very hard" of "suffering" with, among other misfortunes, "very low temperatures".
