Daily updates

The cancellation of restrictions will be effective from today which is the day the DOGV is published.

National rules on face mask wearing are still in force.
In all indoor areas open to the public
In public transport and transport terminals
In private cars where the occupants are not from the same household
In large sporting events where those attending are standing and cannot maintain a 1.5m distance.

Other restrictions on personal space are cancelled.

The mask wearing is a Spanish Government requirement so until Central Government abolishes the regulation the face masks stay as per the BOE from February last. I notice some airlines are also abolishing the masks. Ryanair has said they will be mandatory on all their flights until all airlines are required to drop the regulation. It would be very confusing for passengers as you would be required to wear the mask in some airports, then take it off on the flight but put it back on when you land. I am looking forward to normal beach life this year and not being roped off and having to enter and exit at designated areas. I hope the no smoking extends to the beaches.

Bee

The truck drivers strike continues. The Spanish government offered to reduce the price of commercial diesel by 20 cents a litre until the end of June but the independent truck drivers have refused to cooperate. This would cost the government over 1 billion euros which is more than double the amount the offered last week. The big grievance of the independent truckers is that the government have excluded them from talks and are only meeting with the national distributors rather than the independents.

I haven't seen any updates on the taxi and public bus strike which is scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday, but more demonstrations and blocking of ports will continue today.

Fishermen have ended their participation in the strike and will go back to normal today.

Three large distribution companies have closed their depots and ERTE some 3,000 workers in the region.
Fish and dairy products are the most affected with markets now using frozen fish from stock and limiting the amount of items customers can buy. Two items I noticed on ration were vegetable oil (but that's more to with supplies from Ukraine) and milk which was being rationed at 6 litres per customer, both fresh and UHT. There didn't seem a shortage of anything in the stores yesterday apart from the oil.

Germany has withdrawn its objections to Spain and Portugal being able to reduce the price of gas that powers the electricity plants. The EU had agreed but objections from Germany were holding it up. UK, though not a EU member but a member of the National Power Generators Committee, also objected but said they would support a cut in IVA.

It was decided that Portugal and Spain should be treated as special cases and you should see the cost of electricity coming down from April 1st.

Truck drivers will have a 25 cent reduction in the price of diesel. The government has pledged 15 cents reductions if the oil companies would add 5 cents but the big suppliers have agreed to another 10 cents after seeing a fall in consumption due to people using the cheaper outlets. Again, this will be from April 1st.

Germany, France and Italy have already reduced the cost of diesel by 15 to 30 cents and UK has reduced fuel costs by 5p a litre.

The independent truck drivers who started the strike today voted to continue the strike indefinitely. They are complaining the government is not allowing them to take part in meetings but the national chains will probably go back to normal deliveries as from Monday next.

At the moment, dairy products, especially milk deliveries, are the hardest hit and Danone has closed 3 of its distribution centres and 4 of its production centres.

Some ports are still being blockaded and supplies coming in are being severely disrupted.
The government called the continuation of the strike by some truck drivers as a jug of cold water which could have disastrous effects on the supply chain.

Edited to add
BP, Repsol and Cepsa have announced they will reduce the price of fuel in their garages by up to 12 cents a litre to private individuals as well.

The central government has announced a string of measures to help with the fuel crisis and will be put into a BOE tomorrow. These will probably take effect from 1st April but should be set out in the BOE.

A reduction of 20 cents per litre on fuel for all persons. This will be 15 cents from the government and 5 cents from the companies. Some companies have announce they will add a further 5 cents reduction so fuel prices in some outlets will be reduced by 25 cents.

The tax reduction on home electricity to 10% for those contracted to less than 10kwh will be extended until June 30th as will the 0.5% special electricity tax and the suspension of the tax on contracted power rates. Those on unregulated electricity rates will have access to a social voucher to reduce the costs. This last is already being used but will be extended to a further 600,000 households making 1.9 million households in all.

Rent increases will be limited to 2% over then next 3 months.

Employment and dismissals will be protected. The extension of the ERTE (similar to furlough) will be extended until the end of June.

A fund to be used to help truckers on top of the reduction in fuel prices and will depend on the type of the vehicle. Truck drivers will receive €1,250 per truck, €900 per bus, €500 per van and €300 per taxi.

Other measures will refer to business loans, the agreed Iberian reduction on electricity and gas prices plus subsidies to the sustainable electricity providers.

The other measures will be contained in the BOE after a meeting in Madrid today.

Thanks Marcliff. Very disappointed not to see any reduction or reduced IVA on natural gas and even the gas bottles. They were only too keen to promote installation of natural gas and since January the price per kWh is far higher than even the peak electricity rate

The "Iberian agreement" allows Spain and Portugal to cap the price of gas. Up until now, when electricity goes up, so does gas. The agreement cancels the so-called compatibility rates and will allow the Iberian countries to cap the prices but this was only given a passing mention in the speech by Sr Sanchez and, as I understood it, applies to gas imports which fuel the electricity generators.

The BOE tomorrow may show a reduction from March 29th regarding gas prices.

marcliff wrote:The central government has announced a string of measures to help with the fuel crisis and will be put into a BOE tomorrow. These will probably take effect from 1st April but should be set out in the BOE.

A reduction of 20 cents per litre on fuel for all persons. This will be 15 cents from the government and 5 cents from the companies. Some companies have announce they will add a further 5 cents reduction so fuel prices in some outlets will be reduced by 25 cents.

The tax reduction on home electricity to 10% for those contracted to less than 10kwh will be extended until June 30th as will the 0.5% special electricity tax and the suspension of the tax on contracted power rates. Those on unregulated electricity rates will have access to a social voucher to reduce the costs. This last is already being used but will be extended to a further 600,000 households making 1.9 million households in all.

Rent increases will be limited to 2% over then next 3 months.


Employment and dismissals will be protected. The extension of the ERTE (similar to furlough) will be extended until the end of June.

A fund to be used to help truckers on top of the reduction in fuel prices and will depend on the type of the vehicle. Truck drivers will receive €1,250 per truck, €900 per bus, €500 per van and €300 per taxi.

Other measures will refer to business loans, the agreed Iberian reduction on electricity and gas prices plus subsidies to the sustainable electricity providers.

The other measures will be contained in the BOE after a meeting in Madrid today.

Hi Marcliff
Can you tell us what this social voucher is please?

The social voucher is for people with a low income, those who cannot work because they are caring for others in their household, cannot work due to disability or are on the lowest rate of social benefits.

Thank you for continuing these updates through the latest crises.