Spain takes part of the energy poverty Catalan law before the Constitutional Court

Barcelona (CNA).- Current Spanish Vice President Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría confirmed this Friday that some articles of the Catalan law against energetic poverty will be ultimately taken before the Constitutional Court (TC). The announcement comes less than 24 hours after her meeting with the Catalan Vice President, Oriol Junqueras, during which he asked the Spanish executive to “reconsider” the suspension of this particular law. Although Santamaría nuanced that those precepts which are in relation to guaranteeing the energy supply to those who may be at social risk are not affected by the suspension, however, some measures oriented toward avoiding evictions will be annulled. Catalan President Carles Puigdemont has commented that this decision leaves “in the open” the most vulnerable families.

According to Sáenz de Santamaría, the decision to partially take this law before the Constitutional Court aims to guarantee “that all Spanish are equal before the justice” in view of a possible “conflict of competences”. She also nuanced that Spain’s executive is appealing law 24/2015 but will not suspend those articles which ensure the supply of electricity, gas and water to those at social risk.

However, some measures oriented toward stopping evictions or at least examining each situation before proceeding to this, have been suspended.

Puigdemont: Spain’s executive leaves the most vulnerable “in the open”

President Puigdemont firmly criticised the decision to partially appeal the law and accused the Spanish executive of carrying out “political manoeuvring” with subjects which have to do with “dignity”. According to him, the Spanish government “is deliberately leaving in the open many families”. He accused the executive of “pulling the wool” as “energy poverty can hardly be fought if there is no house at all”.

He also regretted that Spain’s executive missed an opportunity to show its willingness to dialogue, as current Spanish President, Mariano Rajoy, promised him during their meeting last week; a promise which “many people expected to be fulfilled but which in the end hasn’t been”.  

Therefore, he announced that the parliamentary groups which promoted the law will be summonsed “immediately” to study which measures should be taken. President Puigdemont committed the Catalan government to “continuing to apply this law” and not leaving “anybody unattended”.  

Colau: “What they have done is unspeakable”

Barcelona’s mayor Ada Colau assured that Barcelona’s City Hall “will continue to make the most of its capacities with the skills available” to guarantee the right to housing. Colau, former activist and president of PAH, the Mortgage Platform which has been fighting to stop house evictions in Spain, criticised the “daring and arrogance” of the Spanish government and emphasised that law 24/2015 was approved by unanimity, supported by thousands of signatures and by a great social mobilisation. “The fact that a temporary government would dare to appeal and would try to paralyse a law which was approved with such consensus and which aims to face one of the worse social problems we suffer from, is unspeakable”, she stated.