Brussels corrects the Government by reminding it that it promised to apply tolls in 2024

The economic spokesperson for the Community Executive, Veerle Nuyts, told reporters that they understand that the plan presented by Spain “refers to a payment mechanism for the use of roads that will begin in 2024, in line with the principle of ‘whoever pollutes, pays’.

Actually, the controversial measure appears in the plan that was approved both by Brussels and by the Member States. This commitment is linked, specifically, to the disbursement of the fifth tranche of funds, which amounts to more than 8,000 million euros.

Said text establishes that “it is necessary to develop a system of payment for the use of the high-capacity road network that makes it possible to cover maintenance costs and integrate the negative externalities of road transport, as is the case with other infrastructures”. The objective is to narrow the hole of maintaining the 26,466 kilometers of roads –12,000 of them high-capacity– with 20,000 million euros a year.

In any case, the community spokesperson refused to confirm whether the EU will force the application of the measure from January 1, 2024. Specifically, she clarified that the Commission will evaluate this measure together with the Madrid Executive “when we reach the fifth request for payment from Spain, so it is not a discussion for today.”

“Redefine” the measure

That is the idea that the Government clings to to try to get out of the garden it got into, starting with the president himself, by denying in this electoral campaign that the tolls had been compromised with Brussels. In fact, Pedro Sánchez insisted this Friday that the tolls are “a hoax” by PP and VOX to fuel the electoral contest despite the statements of the community spokesperson. A week ago, the Minister of Transport, Raquel Sánchez, spoke of “categorical denial”, although from her department they acknowledge that “they are talking with Europe to redefine that milestone” and say that all options are open, including postponing it, eliminating it or modifying the initially proposed toll system.

They point out that although in 2021 it was included in the plan, in 2022 the Government did not do it again in the draft of the Sustainable Transport Law when it was sent to Congress, in view of the rise in fuel prices that affected drivers due to the war in Ukraine.

In this context, the Executive considered that “optimal conditions” did not exist for a measure of this magnitude, with a significant economic and social impact. In any case, Minister Sánchez tried to consider this possibility “resolved” last week, after the television debate between the two candidates of the PSOE and PP for the presidency of the Government.

The DGT uncovered it again

The controversy had been aired shortly before by the director of the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT), Pere Navarro, who warned of the need for the future Government to implement a system of tolls or payment for use of the highways, as demanded by Brussels. Earlier, in the Atresmedia television face-to-face, the PP candidate, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, asked the PSOE candidate, Pedro Sánchez, if he was going to apply the tolls, showing a map of Spain. “But what does he say,” the president replied then.

The proposal on which the Ministry of Transport had worked included two payment methods. On the one hand, the so-called vignette, which would work as a kind of fixed rate without taking into account the kilometers traveled. In a second phase of implementation, the payment per kilometer traveled would arrive, which, according to the internal studies of said department, would impose the model of one cent per kilometer.