The new Minister of Economy, Carlos Body, has promised that he will carry out his role with “continuity” of the legacy of his predecessor, Nadia Calviño, in terms of “heart, head and effort”. These were her first words after receiving the portfolio of the Ministry of Economy from the former first vice president.. High state economist, replaces the one who will be president of the European Investment Bank (EIB) from January 1. The first Vice Presidency has fallen to María Jesús Montero, Minister of Finance, who wanted to have a few words of gratitude to President Pedro Sánchez and Calviño herself.

“I want to leave the idea of continuity,” Corpus began by saying in his exchange of portfolios, which was attended by a large part of the socialist wing of the Government.. This “continuity” takes, for the minister, form “in terms of heart, head and effort.”. The heart, he declared, “is the core of the economic performance” of the Government because “the figures are not just figures, but they are decisive for the future of the people, who are continually managing great changes and an increasingly more complex”.

Body has also highlighted the need to continue “with the process of modernization of the economy”, which will allow “to continue growing so that our companies are increasingly competitive.”. Here he highlighted the important work that the European recovery funds will have, in the negotiation of which his predecessor and himself participated.. In addition, he has also asked for “commitment” so that there is “a fair distribution of the progress, but also of the costs.”

As Calviño has repeated ad nauseam, Corps has also set “fiscal responsibility” as one of its priorities to “continue on the downward path of the deficit and do so in a credible manner, while forming a cushion for future crises and power.” continue with the transformative impulse”. “This, together with strong growth forecasts, will allow us to continue to have the confidence of the markets and investors,” he highlighted before naming the fiscal rules, in whose negotiation with the rest of the Member States of the European Union he has played a role. a key role as Calviño's “sherpa”.

“I leave with the feeling of a mission accomplished and that I am passing the baton to two extraordinary people,” highlighted Calviño, who will assume the presidency of the European Investment Bank (EIB) on January 1.. “María Jesús is my twin, although it may not seem like it.”. We have left behind that urban legend that the Ministers of Economy and Finance do not get along. Our harmony has been total and I think it has been key to success,” continued the former vice president, who has also praised Corps.

After weeks of waiting, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, revealed this Friday who will occupy the Ministry of Economy after the departure of Nadia Calviño, who will direct the European Investment Bank (EIB).. This is Carlos Corpus, a senior state economist and close collaborator of the former first vice president, who will have to face the return of European fiscal rules and confront Sumar at a time when a slowdown in the European economy is expected and, therefore, of the Spanish economy.

The new holder of the Economics portfolio joined the Corps of State Economist Technicians in 2008, after completing a degree in Economics at the University of Extremadura, completing a master's degree in the same field at the London School of Economics and a doctorate in the Autonomous University of Madrid. In his first years in the Government, he was part of the Ministry of Economy in the last cabinet of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, with Pedro Solbes at the helm, and in the first of Mariano Rajoy, when Luis de Guindos was the economic head.. In those years he was an economic analyst in the General Directorate of Economic Analysis and International Economy and also held a similar position in the General Directorate of Economic and Financial Affairs of the European Commission during the toughest years of the economic crisis in the last decade.

Subsequently, he coincided with José Luis Escrivá – who lost powers in the formation of the Government after losing Social Security, but now gains Public Service – in the Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (AIREF) when the minister directed it.. In this institution he was deputy director general of Public Debt and, later, director of the Economic Analysis Division. In recent years, he served as general director of Macroeconomic Analysis of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and, since August 2021, he was secretary general of the Treasury and International Financing.

In addition, he has served as Calviño's “sherpa” at the European level.. As EFE recalls, the “sherpas” are the senior government officials of each country who prepare the ground for the agreements that are later concluded by the ministers or presidents.. According to the aforementioned agency, Corpus has been the former vice president's right-hand man in the negotiations prior to the meetings of the European Council of Economic Affairs, in the assemblies of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or in the G20 meetings that bring together the large economies. of the world.

Likewise, it played an important role in one of the successes of the Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union: the reform of fiscal rules.. It was just over a week ago when the 27 Member States of the European Union reached a political agreement for the reform of fiscal rules, the final text of which must now be developed to come into force in 2024 “with effects on 2025 budget planning “. Countries must present their own four-year fiscal plans – with the possibility of extending it to seven – and an average annual effective reduction of 1 percentage point in the debt ratio is set for countries with a debt greater than 90% – such as the case of Spain – and a structural deficit fiscal margin of 1.5% of GDP, below 3% “in the preventive arm.”

Corps must continue with the orthodoxy set by its predecessor, who endorsed the mantra of “fiscal responsibility, social justice and structural reforms”. He will also preside over the Delegate Commission for Economic Affairs, from where the Government's economic policy is set and where he could confront Sumar, a coalition partner more inclined to expansionist public spending policies.

All of this in an international context that is beginning to get complicated.. It is true that, as announced this Friday, Spanish inflation has moderated to 3.1% in December, its lowest level since last August, and Spain is growing more than double that of its European partners, with a 2.4% increase in GDP this year. However, next year a slowdown is expected with a growth of 1.6% due to the drop in demand in the main destination countries for our exports, according to the Chamber of Commerce.

The year 2024 will begin without national safeguards in the face of a new uncontrolled increase in energy prices. After giving up on requesting a new extension of the Iberian mechanism that Brussels would not have authorized, this Wednesday the Government dropped another limit, which prohibited charging more than 67 euros/Mwh in electricity contracts, which since 2021 had thus reduced profits. extraordinary payments from the electricity companies, which assumed the difference with the real price. Without an extension, this measure will expire on December 31 and only the 180 euro cap on gas prices throughout the EU will remain in place, which has never been activated because it was too high.

The continuity of the so-called reduction in profits of electricity companies was one of the unknowns in the face of the new anti-crisis decree that the Government approved this Wednesday, in which it began to withdraw some, such as VAT on electricity and gas, as requested months ago by the European Commission and supported by the fact that the energy prices that gave rise to them are stabilized and close to normal. The text published this Thursday in the BOE does not contemplate an extension of this instrument.

The cap of 67 euros per megawatt hour at which electricity companies could charge for electricity in their contracts with consumers will disappear on December 31, more than two years after its creation in October 2021, to try to get electricity companies to contribute part of their enormous benefits to reduce the cost of electricity, which at the gates of the Russian attack in Ukraine had already been at levels much higher than normal for months. At first, this limit of 67 euros was applied only to new contracts but was extended to all, including those that were renewed, in March 2022, when the energy price crisis was already more than a reality.

As has happened with each Government measure to intervene in energy prices, the electricity sector has been very critical of this cap, which it considered the most restrictive of the others that existed in Europe and, despite this, the possibility that the Government would choose to extend it.

Too high a ceiling

This has not been the case, nor will it happen with the Iberian mechanism, which has not been activated since February of this year because the price of gas in the market has not exceeded the set limit since then.. Even so, the Government defended it as a “safety net” in case prices went out of control again but finally gave up asking for a second extension because the European Commission made it clear that it would not approve it beyond December, at a time when The price of gas in the Iberian market is around 33-34 euros/MWh, almost half of the ceiling of 65 euros set for this last month of existence.

According to Commission sources, if the Government wishes from now on to subsidize the generation of electricity with natural gas again – which is what, in the end, the Iberian mechanism has been, which thus managed to decouple its more expensive price, than other cheaper technologies – could turn to it to request state aid according to European regulation.

Thus, with the end of the Iberian mechanism and the cap of 67 euros/Mwh for electricity contracts, the only instrument that remains 'alive' for Spain to contain the price of electricity if it were to skyrocket again would be the cap of 180 euros/Mwh for the gas price that the EU agreed on last year and that a few weeks ago decided to extend until June 2024. It was a minimum agreement that managed to overcome the pressures against Germany but was born useless.. Although in the summer of 2022 gas rose to between 200 and close to 300 euros/Mwh hours, these prices are something that will hardly be seen again and, to date, 180 euros has not been seen either, so this cap – already much higher than normal or acceptable gas prices – has not been activated even once.

Fuel discount and local TUR

On the other hand, and as expected, the Government has decided not to extend beyond 2023 the discount for gasoline or diesel, which began at 20 cents per liter for all drivers in April 2022 and which, as the over the months and the drop in fuel prices, it became increasingly residual.

In December of last year it was limited only to transporters and agricultural workers, which later became 10 cents and in its last modification, in January 2023, the discount was reduced to 5 cents per liter only for these professional groups.

The decree of urgent measures approved this Wednesday does not contemplate it, so its validity will expire at the end of the year.

What is extended is the regulated gas rate for neighborhood communities with central heating (TUR4), for which an expense of 300 million is expected.. Although with one exception: the communities that on October 1 had not fulfilled the obligation to install individual meters or sent the responsible declaration that was established in exchange for accessing this more advantageous rate will not be able to continue benefiting from the TUR4 in 2024.

Those that did not do so on that date were already paying a surcharge of 25% of their gas consumption in November and December before moving to the free market in January, something that communities that completed the process on time and want to continue will be able to avoid. with the regulated rate. According to the decree, they have until January 15, 2024 to terminate “without penalty” their new gas contracts with free marketers that they had signed before knowing that the TUR4 would be extended.

The Government gives a new opportunity to neighborhood communities to install individual meters or cost allocators: those that take advantage of this extension and did not have them installed on October 1, 2023 will have to do so before October 1, 2024. Otherwise, a charge of 25% of the cost of all the gas consumed since they signed up for TUR4 will be applied.

The new anti-crisis decree that the Council of Ministers approved this Wednesday generally maintains the discounts and free use of certain train journeys for frequent users, although with some variations. For example, three lines of the Avant network will be discounted at 100% instead of 50% as in the majority and, conversely, another three will be considered Cercanías service and not medium distance, so that the price of finance will be reduced from 20 to 10 euros. In all these cases, users must be holders of frequent traveler passes for which the Ministry of Transport is preparing an “anti-fraud” plan that will be announced at the beginning of January.

The Government will allocate 600 million to compensate Renfe for discounts on train fares and another 80 million more in compensation for the free state bus lines, which will also be free in 2024 for those who have a frequent passenger subscription.. Transport estimates that the savings for households add up to hundreds and thousands of euros, depending on the route and the number of members.. For example, a family with two adults and two teenagers that uses the Cercanías from the outskirts of Madrid will save 3,297 euros in 2024 or 1,252 euros for a passenger traveling by train from Valladolid to Palencia.

As detailed by the Ministry of Transport, in 2024 the 50% discount will be maintained for frequent passengers holders of Avant passes, although some lines will be free, the one that links A Coruña and Ourense, Murcia and Alicante and the connection points between Madrid and Salamanca.

Although they are free, subscribers in these three cases must leave a deposit of 20 euros, the same amount that the rest of the users of the Avant lines declared “public service” will have to pay, who will continue to enjoy a 50% discount throughout 2024.. The cost of the deposit will be halved for five “local” routes that in 2023 were considered 'medium distance' and will now be considered Cercanías services, so that subscribers will only have to leave a deposit of 10 euros that , as in the rest of the cases, will be recovered when the four-month validity period expires.. These are the rail services between Palma del Río and Villa del Río (Córdoba), Málaga-El Chorro-Caminito del Rey, Murcia-Cartagena and Medina del Campo-Valladolid-Palencia.

As recalled by the Ministry, the Avant lines with a 50% discount are: Seville-Córdoba-Málaga, Seville-Córdoba-Granada, Málaga-Granada, Figueres-Girona-Barcelona, Lleida-Barcelona, Madrid-Medina del Campo, Valladolid- Segovia-Madrid, Segovia-Medina-Salamanca, Madrid-Ciudad Real-Puertollano, Madrid-Toledo, Albacete-Cuenca-Madrid/Toledo, Cuenca-Madrid, Cuenca-Requena/Utiel-Valencia, Madrid-Palencia, Madrid-Zamora, León -Valladolid, Burgos-Madrid, León-Palencia, Burgos-Valladolid, Ourense-Zamora, A Gudiña-Ourense, Palencia-Valladolid, Huesca-Zaragoza, León-Segovia, Segovia-Zamora, Palencia-Segovia, Medina del Campo-Zamora, To Gudiña-Puebla de Sanabria, Zamora-Puebla de Sanabria, Puebla de Sanabria-Ourense and To Gudiña-Zamora.

As detailed by the Ministry of Transport, next year free multi-trip passes will be maintained for each Cercanías network and for each origin-destination of conventional medium-distance trains.. As until now, they will be valid for four months, valid until April 30, August 31 and until December 31. The Ministry reminds that users will be able to buy the voucher for the first four months of the year on the Renfe or Cercanías and Rodalíes website and app in “the next few days”, when the anti-crisis decree approved this Wednesday is published in the Official Gazette of the State (BOE).

Anti-fraud measures

Both in the case of Cercanías and Media Distancia and to access the free passes to travel by bus, these bonuses are limited to “recurring users” who must comply, such as making at least 16 trips in the period of validity of the pass, for four months in the case of trains or a whole year in the case of buses.

However, Transport has announced that Renfe “will reinforce anti-fraud measures” to prevent people who only travel punctually from using them, which will be accompanied by “citizen information campaigns.”. A few months ago it changed the way of issuing passes in the case of Cercanías and Media Distancia trains and now it is finalizing measures focused on Avant trains that will be announced at the beginning of January.