The Minister of Consumption, Alberto Garzón, advances that they will do so with a more progressive measure than the generalization of 20 cents per refueled liter
The Minister of Consumption, Alberto Garzón, has advanced this Wednesday that the Government “is studying and negotiating” to introduce greater progressivity in the fuel discount so that this measure is more effective and reaches those who “truly” need it and not the whole of the population.
“When they are subsidies to the entire population, they are regressive measures. A large fortune that earns 200,000 euros a year does not need the same amount of subsidy as a small fortune, to put it ironically, that does not even reach 10,000 », he has defended.
Garzón, in statements to RNE, stressed that the Government is not only open to extending the anti-crisis decree that contains this fuel subsidy beyond June 30, but also to modifying it. “You have to be open to both possibilities,” he said.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is driving up energy prices and driving inflation to record levels. The serious effects that the conflict continues to have on Spanish families and companies to this day have led President Pedro Sánchez to open the door to a possible extension of the Royal Decree-Law on urgent measures to respond to the consequences of this crisis . “Obviously we are open to extending it beyond June 30,” said the Spanish president at the end of the European summit that was held on Monday and Tuesday in Brussels.
In the case of the 20-cent discount on fuel, Garzón has indicated that, at the time, the most effective thing was for this measure to have a direct implementation, so that the population as a whole could benefit from it.
“Now what we have to talk about is whether it is possible to specify it much better, directing it to the incomes that really need it or that are much more exposed because they are more vulnerable,” the minister pointed out.
Garzón explained that the Government “has been debating for some time” how to better specify this measure “so that it is much more effective and more progressive” and has pointed out that, if this is not included in the extension of the anti-crisis decree due to lack of time or technical reasons, “will have to enter through another formula”.
“Here politics has to be above the legal. And if it is not done in this decree for technical reasons, the legal formula that best suits will have to be found », he stressed.
Garzón has stated that “experience” suggests that aid should be structured according to income. “What needs to be done is to help the most vulnerable, which are tens of thousands of Spanish families, who use the car to work”, said the minister, who also pointed out that “the main objective of a progressive government is to protect working families and the most vulnerable”.
Regarding inflation, Garzón has indicated that its rebound is mainly due to energy prices, but he has indicated that the underlying inflation is also on the rise, which means, in his opinion, that “companies are passing on production costs, especially energy, in the final products”, such as food.
To this must be added, he said, the concern about the problem of “scarcity” of basic supplies such as wheat or some minerals necessary for the manufacture of fertilizers as a result of the war in Ukraine, but also about “the effects of change climate in India. “This problem is starting to get very tense and we need to be very prepared to face it,” he stressed.
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