Madrid (EFE).- The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has ratified that there will be no tolls for the use of highways in 2024 despite the fact that Brussels explained this Thursday that the Recovery Plan proposed by Spain included a commitment in this regard.
Sánchez has referred to this matter in an interview on Spanish Television in which he has acknowledged that this possibility was included in the Recovery Plan, but has specified that it has been withdrawn in the addendum that is being negotiated with the European Commission.
A modification that he has justified because there is a “dynamic reality” after overcoming the coronavirus pandemic and now living through the consequences of the war in Ukraine.
In addition, he has highlighted that the Sustainable Mobility bill that the Government drafted and that the next legislature intends to present to Parliament does not include the payment of highway tolls either.
Faced with the specific question of whether, therefore, the Spanish will not pay more in 2024 for the use of motorways, he has responded with a “no” and has said that, in fact, they are already paying less as the Government has raised the tolls of many motorways.
Sánchez denies payment
Sánchez has denied this payment after a spokeswoman for the European Commission assured the day before at a press conference that they will evaluate the payment mechanism for the use of roads that Spain promised to implement from 2024 in its Recovery Plan when the Government requests the tranche of funds linked to this objective.
The socialist candidate has once again guaranteed that with him as president there will be no self-determination referendum in Catalonia, something that he has insisted is not allowed by the Constitution.
Regarding the change of position with Morocco, he has defended that there has been transparency and has regretted that “barbaric things” have been said as it was a consequence of his mobile being spied on or that his wife was in a drug trafficking network.
That is why he believes that, journalistically, many red lines and even the ethical codes of the trade have been crossed.
Positive balance of coalition management
The head of the Executive has made a positive assessment of the management of the coalition government and in the face of a hypothetical new coalition with Sumar, he only believes that it would be necessary to reduce internal noise.
Faced with the possibility that in this hypothesis the Ministry of Equality would demand for the PSOE, he has said that he has no intention of monopolizing something that he has considered belongs to everyone and that it will be a matter that he would decide together with Yolanda Díaz.
If he is re-elected, the three things he intends to do immediately is respond to the mortgage problem, make public transportation free for children under 24 years of age, and enshrine by law that the minimum wage is 60% of the average wage.
Sánchez has insisted on his conviction that the PSOE will win the elections because it has campaigned “from less to more” against a “deep bottom” PP, and has once again lamented the “string of lies” of the PP leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo in the face-to-face he had with him.
He has shown himself in favor of making it compulsory by law to carry out debates before the elections, although he has indicated that it should not be necessary because everyone should comply with the commitments that he believes a democracy entails.
Feijóo says that he would not know where to go if the EU had disavowed him like Sánchez
The PP candidate for the Presidency of the Government, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, stated this Friday that he would not know where to go if the highest EU authorities had disavowed him, as, in his opinion, they have done to Pedro Sánchez, due to the issue of toll roads.
Núñez Feijóo, in an interview on the Cope channel collected by EFE, made these statements after Brussels confirmed, despite having denied it, both the Prime Minister and several of his ministers, having committed to the Community Executive to implement tolls on Spanish highways in 2024.
“If it had happened to me, I wouldn’t know where to go,” said Feijoo, who described as “infantilism” that the minister of the sector said again yesterday that tolls were not going to be implemented, despite the confirmation and, therefore, “disavowal” of the European Commission.
When asked what he is going to do if he is president of the Government and Brussels demands the implementation of committed tolls, he has commented that he will talk to them to see what can be done after they have looked “the other way” with Pedro Sánchez.
However, he recalled that there is a commitment that Spain has signed and that is closed, as the European Commission has corroborated, in order to receive European funds. EFE