The delay in the approval of the Sustainable Mobility Law in Spain generated an intense debate among legislators, experts and stakeholders in the sector.
Despite initial forecasts that pointed to 2024 as the final year, Santa Claus ultimately did not leave the legislation under the tree.
One of the sources consulted by Mobility Portal España, assures that “the presentation will be opened in February.”
When is it expected to be approved?
Carlos Bravo, an environmental consultant, tells Mobility Portal España: “It is possible that it will happen in May or June, given the amount of paperwork that still needs to be done. I don’t think it can go any faster.”
Since its announcement in the last legislative session, the legislation has faced various challenges along the way.
“The law was announced in 2020, but it was not until March 2022 that the draft was submitted to Public Information,” says Bravo.
Following the period of objections, the draft was returned to the Government, where the Ministry of Transport prepared the final project, which was approved by the Council of Ministers and submitted to Congress in December 2022.
Finally, the process began, but due to the early elections in 2023, it was left without effect.
“When the Cortes was dissolved, the bill fell through and the entire process of its passage was rendered void,” explains the expert.
It was resumed in 2024 due to the existence of European funds committed for a value of 10 billion euros, the delivery of which was conditional on the approval of the law before December.
What happened in the last months of 2024?
The deadline for submitting partial amendments closed on 30 October.
In order to start the debate on these, it is necessary to establish a committee within the Transport and Sustainable Mobility Commission of the Chamber.
“The constitution of this is still pending and represents the first step towards calling meetings to discuss the amendments,” says Bravo.
He adds: “Therefore, it is to be assumed that this will be one of the first actions to be carried out at the beginning of the next session.”
Once the commission’s report has been debated and ratified by the plenary, the bill will be sent to the Senate, where it must follow the same procedure.
It will then be returned to Congress for final approval and publication in the Official State Gazette (BOE).
“We are in the final stretch of the parliamentary process in the Congress of Deputies,” says the environmental consultant.
But what does the future hold for European funds?
One of the aspects that accelerated the approval of the law is its relationship with the European recovery funds, estimated at 10 billion euros.
Initially, it was indicated that ratification of the Law before 2024 was an essential condition for accessing this financing, so it was proposed to present the same project to speed up the process.
In this regard, Bravo says: “Now it seems that it is not an obstacle and, in principle, it does not seem that the funds are at risk.”
“In that case, either the project was only required to be in the process of being processed, although this point was not clarified, or an agreement has been reached with the European Commission,” he stressed.
Political consensus
In the political sphere, the Law has generated a level of cooperation between parties of different ideologies.
According to Bravo, 64 of the 65 amendments proposed by his organisation were accepted by different parliamentary groups, from Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, EH-Bildu, Sumar and Podemos to the Popular Party.
Among the most debated aspects is the regulation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in maritime transport.
Several political groups, including Sumar and Podemos, have advocated eliminating support for this fossil fuel, considering it incompatible with sustainability objectives.
