Although they assume that they must comply, they observe “faults” in the decree such as not indicating how long the shop windows should be turned off
While the Government insists that the measures of its energy saving plan are “lighter and less intrusive” than those that are being considered in other European countries, doubts are growing among the Autonomous Communities due to the gaps surrounding the decree- law approved on Monday in the Council of Ministers and that enters into force next week. Once they assume that they will have to abide by them –despite the threats of taking the text before the Constitutional Court– some autonomies such as Madrid denounce “failures” in the drafting of the norm that makes it “inapplicable from the sanctioning point of view” or that , directly, “does not comply” with the hotel and trade agreements “which indicate that there cannot be more than 25 degrees in the workplace.”
The situation is reminiscent of what happened during the pandemic, when powers were centralized in the Ministry of Health. Rules such as perimeter closures or the use of the mask outdoors were contested by barons from both parties. In this case, the position of the Madrid president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, as the main spearhead of criticism towards Pedro, is also repeated. Sánchez, sometimes dragging his own party with them without counting on the opinion of its leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, who just two weeks before defended this type of saving measures.
If four days ago the Baroness of the PP initiated a controversy on social networks with her intention not to apply the blackout in shop windows or public buildings – “Madrid does not turn off”, she settled –, this Thursday her vice president, Enrique Ossorio , admitted that they will comply. However, he insists that the restrictions should be clearly defined. “If the law does not say how long the shop windows have to be turned off and a merchant turns it off for 10 seconds, he is complying with the law and he will not be able to be sanctioned, because the sanctioning regime is what the law says,” he said. Thursday. The truth is that the fourth point of article 29.4 of the decree-law is limited to establishing that shop windows with access to public roads “must be kept off from 10 p.m.”
These types of questions, although they are not outsourced so vehemently, are being asked these days at regional government headquarters, in the middle of August and with legal services running at half speed. In the Basque Country, whose Executive has also been rebellious with the new law, the lehendakari, Iñigo Urkullu, recognized this Thursday that they will also comply with all its points. However, the Basque president regrets that the sanctions have not been verified. In his opinion, in this matter, “the much proclaimed co-governance without excluding, from the beginning, the normative intervention of the Communities” could have been made clear.
Other autonomies such as Andalusia, Galicia, Murcia or Castilla y León, all governed by the PP, are still waiting for the report of their lawyers and to review the fine print point by point to decide whether, despite abiding by the rule, they appeal to the Constitutional Court. The Andalusian president, Juanma Moreno, already distanced himself from the war started by Ayuso on Tuesday, although this Thursday, his Employment Minister, Rocío Blanco, acknowledged that the savings plan “lacks the necessary solidity” and criticized, as they have done numerous voices in the Popular Party, the “lack of dialogue with the autonomous communities” by the Government.
“There may be blackouts”
On the other hand, in other territories such as the Balearic Islands, they have been earlier in applying this energy saving plan. The headquarters of the island presidency already turned off its exterior lighting this Thursday while the head of the autonomous Executive, Francina Armengol, of the PSOE, harshly criticized Ayuso for his resistance to comply with the measures. The President of the Government of the Principality of Asturias, Adrián Barbón, also gave orders to turn off the headquarters of the Presidency of the community at night, highlighting the importance of complying with the regulations included in the energy adjustment plan promoted by the central Government. “If we don’t control energy consumption now, there may be blackouts in the fall and winter,” he warned.
Extremadura, the Canary Islands, Navarra, La Rioja, the Valencian Community, Cantabria or Aragón will also abide by the savings plan despite current doubts. The president of the Catalan Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, for his part, has already announced that he will not start “a war competence”.
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