The Government announces its urgent measures to mitigate a war that “will cost Spaniards 5 billion euros”

The Diplomat The Council of Ministers approved this Friday the Royal Decree-Law with urgent measures to mitigate the impact of the conflict in the Middle East, a war that, in the words of the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, “will cost Spaniards 5 billion euros that we could be allocating to scholarships, healthcare, or long-term care.” In the press conference following the extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers at the Moncloa Complex, Sánchez announced that the Royal Decree-Law will come into effect tomorrow and will exceed 5 billion euros, benefiting “the three million businesses and 20 million households in the country.” These measures, he warned, “will not prevent the effects of this illegal war from reaching Spain, but at least they will make them less devastating and somewhat more bearable.” According to the president, in addition to the cost in lives of the war, these first months of conflict “will cost Spaniards 5 billion euros, which we could be allocating to scholarships, healthcare, or long-term care.” “Those political leaders who remain neutral and do not clearly reject this war must explain that Spaniards will have to contribute 5 billion euros with their taxes to protect the productive sector and the most vulnerable,” he warned. When these measures come into effect, he assured, “Spain will become the country with the strongest social and economic safety net in the entire EU.” These measures, he added, “will remain in place for as long as necessary, and if circumstances require it because the severity of the crisis worsens, we will extend them, because this is not a closed plan.” “If more economic resources are needed from the central government, they will be allocated,” he added. Nevertheless, Pedro Sánchez reiterated his demand for “an immediate end to the conflict” in the Middle East and for “respect for international law,” emphasizing the slogan “No to war,” which “is no longer just Spain’s cry, but a cry filled with pride and truth that the whole world is embracing.” As the Prime Minister explained, the Comprehensive Response Plan includes two main pillars: the first, of a temporary nature, to “create a social safety net to protect the most vulnerable households and economic sectors,” and the second, of a more structural and strategic nature, with measures aimed at boosting energy sovereignty and making Spain “an increasingly resilient country in the face of external crises.” To complement all these measures, the Council of Ministers has approved a second Royal Decree-Law establishing a temporary freeze on rental prices, similar to that implemented by the government in previous crises to address the housing emergency, which will be negotiated with the parliamentary groups. In total, the plan includes 80 urgent measures, among others, a reduction in electricity taxes of up to 60 percent, a decrease in VAT on electricity, fuels and natural gas from 21 percent to 10 percent, a subsidy of 20 cents per liter of fuel for transporters, farmers, livestock breeders and fishermen and an equivalent subsidy for fertilizers, an extension of the extraordinary discounts of the social electricity bonus, the extension to the whole of 2026 of the ban on cutting off basic supplies to vulnerable households, a series of structural measures to accelerate energy sovereignty and a temporary freeze on rental prices, similar to that of previous crises.

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