Background information

The war in Ukraine has increased economic and political uncertainty, and has led to higher commodity prices. The substantial increase in electricity and gas prices may jeopardise the coverage of companies' liquidity needs and put pressure on the cost and price structure of the economy.

This measure intends to lower energy prices, support the most affected sectors and the most vulnerable groups, and reinforce price stability. The aim is to limit the economic and social costs of this temporary distortion in gas prices and to facilitate the adaptation of the Spanish economy.

This support is additional to other existing support measures within Royal Decree-Law 6/2022 (also described in this database), such as:

• Limitation on rental payments for housing
• Public aids for the transport sector granted after strike action by employers

Content of measure

The Royal Decree-Law 6/2022, which approves the "National Plan of response to the economic and social consequences of the war in Ukraine", includes a rebate of 20 cents per litre of refuelled fuel (e.g. diesel, petrol, gas and adblue) for individual persons and companies). The government applies a rebate of 15 cents, and fuel suppliers (e.g. petrol stations) apply a rebate of at least 5 cents.

The fuel suppliers who collaborate in the implementation of this measure provide a discount of 20 cents off the retail price (including taxes) on each supply. Fuel suppliers may apply for a monthly refund of the discounts implied by this rebate (15 cents). They may also request an advance payment from the Tax Agency. The Tax Agency is responsible for the management, control and collection of this discount. This is an extraordinary and temporary discount on the retail price, available between 1 April and 30 June 2022. The budgetary impact of this measure amounts to €1,423 million, charged to the general state budget.

Use of measure

There are no estimated number of users. All Spanish citizens and companies can benefit from this measure.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Applies to all workers	Applies to all businesses	Applies to all citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Company / Companies	National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Consulted	Consulted
Form	Consultation through tripartite or bipartite social dialogue bodies	Consultation through tripartite or bipartite social dialogue bodies

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Social partners jointly
• Main level of involvement: Peak or cross-sectoral level

Involvement

As stated in the background section, this measure is part of the "National Response Plan to the economic and social consequences of the war in Ukraine" and social partners were involved.

In order to reach a consensus with all interest groups on the "National Response Plan to the economic and social consequences of the war in Ukraine", the government held a round of contacts with parliamentary groups, social agents, and the autonomous communities (regional governments).

On 21 March 2022, the meeting of the "Social Dialogue Table" was held, continuing the meeting held on 7 March with the President of the Government. The representatives of workers and employers had the opportunity to share their proposals for dealing with the economic impact of the war. On the employers' side, the president of the CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, and the president of CEPYME, Gerardo Cuevas, attended; and on the workers' side, the secretary general of UGT, Pepe Álvarez, and the secretary general of CCOO, Unai Sordo.

Views and reactions

There are no views from social partners on this measure. Concerning the "National Response Plan to the economic and social consequences of the war in Ukraine" as a whole, the unions looked at the huge profits of electricity companies as one of the points to act on. CCOO also proposed to the government to intervene and limit the price of the most expensive raw materials, both for companies and households (gas, electricity and fuel).

From the employers' side, Garamendi (President of CEOE) warned about the temptation for companies to contain dividends, as they can generate mistrust and discourage investment. The president of the employers' association expressed his support for the decisions taken by the European Union and the government since the war began, but called for action to be taken quickly to avoid greater consequences.

Sources

• 29 March 2022: La Moncloa. Presidency of the Government. Agreements and regulations approved by the Council of Ministers (www.lamoncloa.gob.es)
• 30 March 2022: BOE, Spanish State Official Gazette (Real Decreto-ley 6/2022, de 29 de marzo, por el que se adoptan medidas urgentes en el marco del Plan Nacional de respuesta a las consecuencias económicas y sociales de la guerra en Ucrania) (www.boe.es)
• 25 June 2022: Royal Decree-Law 11/2022 (boe.es)