a little over a year ago we collected that Spain seemed to have achieved the impossible in its relations with Europe. The Country It indicated that Brussels had given up and intended to stop demanding that Spain, once and for all, impose tolls on its roads as a financing measure.

The history of European pressure for our country to install tolls on the roads goes back a long way. If we look back, we will find that the Popular Party already studied in 2012 the formula to implement tolls on Spanish roads. Then, in 2018 This possibility gained strength again.

The chapter we are experiencing now opened in 2021. Then, the Government, already chaired by Pedro Sánchez’s PSOE, committed to seeking a new financing for their roads in exchange for up to 70,000 million euros from the Next Generation funds.

The message, then, was clear: In three years it would be paid for the use of roads in Spain. Three years have indeed passed since then. And although some tolls have increased in price, others have disappeared and what is evident is that a special pay-per-use pricing system that did not exist before has not been imposed.

Now the European Commission has given an ultimatum to Spain and seven other countries. The information was collected by the EFE Agency from Brussels. In addition to Spain, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland and Portugal have two months to “respond and take the necessary measures” in the second step of the community infringement procedure for not fulfilling promises.

And the European Commission has issued a warning: if corrective measures are not taken, the European Commission “could decide to refer the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union.”

25 years late

What the European Commission alleges is that these countries, including Spain, have not implemented the European Eurovignette directive. A directive from 1999. This measure had the intention of establishing a pay-per-use basis for roads so that States would finance the maintenance of these expressways.

This directive It was reviewed in 2022 and it specified that the CO2 emissions emitted by vehicles will have to be taken into account in the pricing systems, with the intention that within these countries the adoption of cleaner cars and heavy vehicles will be encouraged.

Since then we have had more noise than concrete actions. Last year, shortly before the elections, the Popular Party pointed out that voters should be clear that “they are going to pay for the highways.” These were the words of Juan Bravo, economic spokesperson for the group, in statements during a conference organized by Communication Study.

In those words he pointed to Recovery and Resilience Plana document provided by the Government of Spain as a guarantee to continue receiving the aforementioned European aid. Shortly after, even Pere Navarro, director of the DGT, paved the way for the application of these new tolls.

However, the general elections passed and the waters seemed to calm down again in September when the newspaper The Country published that news that the European Union eliminated the obligation to implement tolls in the short term. However, the information specified that they would not push to implement it in 2024 but nothing had been written for later.

Now, the European Commission is aiming for that future. The European ultimatum before taking the next step and bringing Spain and the other seven countries identified before the European Justice if they do not apply a toll system or new financing on the roads expires on March 25, 2024, they explain in media such as The Vanguard.

This same year, Oscar Puente, Minister of Transportation, has already launched the probe balloon that “roads are paid for with taxes or tolls” and encouraged reaching a “country agreement” to establish a pay-per-use system. One that has been on the table for some time and for which there is no type of concrete measure on the table.

Attempts to give some kind of example have always been extremely vague, such as the one made Pere Navarro in 2021 when he said that “the guy who has to take the highway every day to get to and from work is exempt from paying, otherwise we would crack him” or that “granny when she goes to the doctor” wouldn’t have to pay either. However, it was never black and white what exceptions would apply and how they would be monitored.

At the moment, Spain is in the obligation to show face before the last days of March. If you do not comply, you may have to answer to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). It would be just one more chapter before an example of procrastination.

A chapter that has a lot to write, since the Government has stated that they do not plan to “apply new tolls or modify the current system”, in words collected by Europa Press.

Everything indicates that we will not see tolls on Spanish roads before spring arrives, but we are waiting to know how the Government is going to respond and if we will continue to ignore European demands or, on the contrary, if they are finalized. a project that culminates in payment for use of Spanish roads.

Photo | Araf Khan

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