In a parliament with such tight majorities, even the last vote counts. The , which received the approval of the Lower House this Wednesday after 20 months of processing, has been the latest example of this. The norm, fundamental for the disbursement of 10,000 million European funds, has passed by 174 votes in favor, 170 against and, the absence of a PP deputy and despite the error of another from the PNV.
In the last few hours, the Executive had intensified negotiations with Ione Belarra’s party, with which it has finally agreed to reinforce the environmental criteria in the expansion works at the Prat airport, as clarified by Minister Óscar Puente, who rejects, as Podemos initially assured, that the expansion be postponed until 2031, because that was something that “was already contemplated.” “The agreement does not imply any variation in the deadlines specified in the DORA III. It is nothing new. El Prat has a complex environmental procedure ahead of it. This agreement reinforces the environmental parameters of a project that will be an environmental example for Spain and Europe,” he noted. “These five points do not contribute much because they were already announced,” the Minister of Culture and spokesperson for Sumar, Ernest Urtasun, also assessed the agreement. “This specific agreement is not valid: for the Catalans, the Catalans decide. The deadlines do not vary,” Junts sources agree.
The , after Podemos insisted on the platform to put this condition as a red line. Many of the groups had reprimanded the party for its attitude. “The time has come to choose: either you are with the new rights or you are with the extreme right,” said socialist deputy Ignacio López.
On another crazy day in the chamber, the absence of the popular Guillermo Mariscal, third secretary of the Congressional Board – on vacation in Mexico after getting married – seemed to have tipped the balance towards yes no matter what those from Belarra did, but the error of PNV parliamentarian Mikel Legarda in the telematic vote once again warned that the law was in danger. Finally, the agreement with Transport has paved the way for the approval of the standard. The pact includes the obligation on the part of the ministry to prepare a binding report by which any project for El Prat will have to comply with the emissions reduction objectives of the European Fit for 55 Directive. This text establishes an emissions reduction of 55% by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050.
“So that Podemos does not overthrow the mobility law today, we demand a clear written commitment that there will be no expansion of the Prat,” said deputy Javier Sánchez Serna in his turn to speak during the debate, who has maintained the critical tone of his party these weeks and has denounced that the rule “is a lost opportunity.”
“Don’t be deceived, we are here to do politics. If you think that we are in the schoolyard and that you come here to kick around to see if it will harm the Government of Spain, no. Being responsible is saying yes to this bill today, because it is good for the people,” Ignacio López stated.
The Executive has rushed the talks in the last hours to find a way out and thus obtain, at least, the abstention of its four deputies, enough to approve the law. The Government defends that the text seeks to modernize transport, promote decarbonization and that it is essential to guarantee access to the 10 billion European funds linked to a package of reforms of the Recovery Plan.
Veiled allusions to Podemos have been a constant among the groups. “Make no mistake, there will be no expansion of the port of Valencia or the Prat airport in this legislature,” Sumar’s deputy spokesperson Alberto Ibáñez had already responded to Sánchez Serna, in a very harsh intervention in which he attributed the doubts about the approval of the law to four factors: “The fear on the left of malmenorism, the clumsiness of the PSOE’s climate retardation, the fanaticism Vox’s climate and Mr. Feijóo’s fear of overtaking of Vox.” The Compromís deputy has disgraced the parliamentarians who were not talking “about the content” of the law, but rather “making a short strategy.” “Leave your complexes at home and vote in favor of a law that advances the democratization, decarbonization, decentralization and digitalization of transportation. The rest is a shabby electoral campaign,” he concluded.
“The crossroads are between becoming great and returning to square zero and remaining in the Brotherhood of the Holy Reproche or making this the arrival at the base camp to continue climbing,” defended Mikel Otero, from EH Bildu. The deputy has recognized that the balance is “bittersweet” and that the final result “is not up to what the climate challenge requires.”
In her speech in the plenary session, the Canarian Coalition deputy, Cristina Valido, also highlighted that the norm has incorporated the requests of her party and that the archipelago lives in terms of mobility. Valido has also asked for the support of the groups: “I hope they prioritize the interest of the citizens over the navel of their parties.”
On the other side of the scale, PP spokesperson José Alberto Herrero, who has called the law “purely ideological”, has reproached the coalition parties for not having tried to “reach an agreement with the majority group in the Chamber” and has included in his speech the alleged cases of corruption that haunt former high-ranking socialist officials to compare “the black marketing of amendments” during the processing. of the text with “the money in envelopes that enters and leaves Ferraz”.
A new right
For the first time, the text was approved, which is linked to the obligation to develop a State Strategy against Transport Poverty. The standard establishes that companies with more than 200 workers must have sustainable mobility plans to work. and charging points for electric cars. The law will promote the recovery of night trains connecting with Europe and includes a reform of the DGT’s environmental labels. After passing through the Congressional commission, the groups have modified the text through thirty amendments. Among the novelties, “the reduction of domestic flights will be promoted on those routes in which there is a rail alternative with a duration of less than two and a half hours”, except in cases of connection with airports that link with international routes.
El Prat expansion plans
The design of the new T1 will mean gaining 70,000 square meters of extra surface area, at the cost of moving the entire façade of the building by 38 meters, and also foresees the occupation of roads and parking spaces currently used for cars and buses. In addition, an old control tower that has been in disuse for twenty years will be demolished.
The start of the first works inside T1 has already begun, with the change of the security filters. The interior remodeling has to run in parallel with the administrative processing to obtain the environmental permits that have to give the green light to the extension of the third runway, the one closest to the sea. The intervention on the track is planned from 2031 and involves the impact of a protected area with the Red Natura 2000 seal, so authorizations depend on the authorities of the European Union. The forecast is to cut the inauguration ribbon in 2033. Report Marc Rovira.
