The Diplomat
The acting government is finalizing negotiations with the European Commission to exclude the introduction of tolls on Spanish freeways as a condition for receiving funds from the European recovery plan. Brussels sources have assured that the progress of the negotiations is “satisfactory”.
Last July, Brussels confirmed that the introduction of tolls in 2024 was linked to the disbursement of more than 8 billion euros from the fifth tranche of the Spanish recovery plan, adopted by the Commission and the Member States.
Specifically, the issue of tolls figured in milestone number three of the plan, whereby Spain undertook to create “a payment mechanism for the use of State roads, which will begin to operate from 2024, in accordance with the polluter pays principle.” The commitment was included in the Sustainable Mobility Law agreed between the Government and Brussels and which was being processed precisely at the time when the Chambers were dissolved to call the early general elections of July 23.
Last summer, the Executive in office expressed to the European Commission its wish to renegotiate this point, within the framework of the Addendum to the Recovery Plan. According to several Spanish media, the Commission finally agreed to this request in exchange for the Government seeking other environmentally friendly alternatives, such as the promotion of the transport of goods and people by rail.
Last Tuesday, the acting Minister of Transport, Raquel Sanchez, said in the European Parliament that “the conditions that existed at the time the measure was presented are not the same as they are today”. “The Commission is analyzing our approach and there is a shared vision that allows us to be optimistic, but we still do not have an official response from the Commission,” she added. Likewise, the minister advanced that the changes to avoid the implementation of tolls are “along the lines of reinforcing many measures that have already been applied”, such as “incentivizing rail transport or encouraging public transport”.
The European Commission assured yesterday that there have been “positive advances” in its evaluation of the revised recovery plan sent by Spain and the spokesperson for Economy, Veerle Nuyts, assured that the evaluation work “is still in progress”, including “the required modification of this measure”. Raquel Sánchez has been chairing since yesterday the informal EU Transport ministerial meeting, which is being held in Barcelona in the framework of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
