Spain has managed to avoid the imposition of tolls on motorways that were linked to European recovery funds. The European Commission has approved the revision of Spain's recovery and resilience plan, which means a significant step towards the elimination of tolls on the country's motorways.
Although the European Council must give its final approval in about a month, the approval by the European Commission indicates that Spain will probably be freed from this unpopular measure, which has been the subject of controversy since it was announced.
The European Commission has presented a "positive assessment of Spain's revised Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP)," which includes a total of 59 new measures. One of these measures is the elimination of tolls on Spanish motorways.
To support this change, Brussels has taken into account "objective circumstances" that have made it difficult to implement certain measures, such as the high inflation of the last three years and the supply problems stemming from the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
This also means that Europe is giving the green light to the entire Next Generation European funds, which will amount to a total of 163.000 billion euros, with 83.000 billion in loans and 80.000 billion euros in grants. Spain is therefore securing this important injection of funds for its economic recovery.
Instead of motorway tolls, the Spanish caretaker government has proposed promoting rail as an alternative means of transport. They argue that the current conditions are different from those initially proposed for motorway tolls, and this has been supported by Europe.
Tolls on motorways, based on the "polluter pays" principle, will be replaced by the creation of rail motorways, promoting the use of rail for both freight and passenger transport.
To achieve this, it is proposed to subsidise railway charges for at least five years, replacing tolls on motorways. This change will be implemented through the Sustainable Mobility Law, the final version of which is expected in 2024.
The elimination of tolls on motorways is positive news for drivers, who have already faced an increase in fuel prices and can now expect relief on their transport expenses.
