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.

Against this background, the Spanish government has decided to promote the "National Response Plan to the economic and social consequences of the war in Ukraine" (Royal Decree-Law 6/2022 of 19 July). The basic objectives of the measures that make up this Plan are 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:

• Public aids for the fisheries sector, read more on the EU PolicyWatch Data Base
• 20 cent reduction per liter of fuel refuelled, read more on the EU PolicyWatch Data Base
• Public aids for the transport sector granted after strike action by employers, read more on the EU PolicyWatch Data Base

Content of measure

Royal Decree-Law 6/2022 ("National Response Plan to the economic and social consequences of the war in Ukraine") includes an aid package for the agricultural sector to mitigate the effects of the increase in the price of electricity, animal feed and fuel.

For the agricultural and livestock sector, Spain obtained €64.5 million in the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/467 of 23 March 2022, to be complemented by up to 200% with state aid (€128.16 million). Thus, the agricultural and livestock sector has aids for a total of €193.47 million. The funds from the EU budget will be transferred by the FEGA (Spanish Agricultural Guarantee Fund).

For the milk producing sector in particular, €124 million for cow's milk producers, €32.3 million for sheep's milk producers and €12.7 million for goat's milk producers (to be distributed according to the number of animals owned by each farmer) have been assigned. The maximum amount to be received per enterprise may not exceed €35,000. This aid is also managed by the FEGA (Spanish Agricultural Guarantee Fund).

Use of measure

There are no estimated number of users. All Spanish companies and self-employed in the agricultural and livestock sector can benefit from this measure.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Self-employed	Sector specific set of companies	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government EU (Council, EC, EP)	European Funds National funds

Social partners

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

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Consulted	Consulted
Form	Any other form of consultation, institutionalised (as stable working groups or committees) or informal	Any other form of consultation, institutionalised (as stable working groups or committees) or informal

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

• No involvement
• Main level of involvement: Sectoral or branch 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 the involvement of social partners is explained for this plan as a whole.

With the aim of reaching a consensus with all interest groups on the "National Response Plan to the economic and social consequences of the war in Ukraine" (Royal Decree-Law 6/2022 of 19 July), the Government, prior to its approval, 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, following on from 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

A few days before the approval of Royal Decree-Law 6/2022, agricultural and livestock sector trade unions agreed that the situation of the farms was practically unsustainable, as a result of the increases in the price of diesel or feed. UPA (the professional organisation 'Union of Small Farmers') accused large energy companies of seriously damaging the agricultural sector through speculative practices, and called on the Government to intervene to halt this 'unacceptable' rise in energy prices.

The approval of Royal Decree-Law 6/2022, which was well accepted by companies and trade unions, has helped to appease the complaints of social agents in the sector, who were calling for aid to deal with the sharp price rises.

Sectors and occupations

This case is not occupation-specific.

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)