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The coronavirus crisis has "revealed the structural problems" of the Spanish health system and "deficiencies in investment in infrastructure and in the recruitment and working conditions of" health workers. There is a "substantial risk of widening regional disparities within Spain". Poverty is going to skyrocket in many families and Spain is the Member State with the lowest average of family benefits per child and where spending on social protection continues to be highly geared towards older people. Therefore, a change is required towards "intergenerational solidarity in favor of the younger generations". This is what Brussels warns and requests today.

This Wednesday, the European Commission has released its Country Specific Recommendations , an annual procedure, well regulated, and which usually assesses the operation of continental economies down to the smallest detail. This time, however, it is different. There are no fiscal, macroeconomic, or well-defined budgetary recommendations, as in the past. Because the institutions believe that as the situation is, they do not make sense, and they will wait for autumn.

Spain has evident imbalances , already noted from Brussels. And systemic problems reported a million times, such as regulatory fragmentation and barriers preventing companies from benefiting from economies of scale, which negatively affects productivity. Or the lack of coordination between the different Public Administrations. In addition, the deficit did not drop last year and debt remains high. And there was a clear deviation in the structural adjustment requirements agreed in 2018, which called for the growth rate of government primary spending not to exceed 0.6%.

All this is highlighted, but the priorities are now different, and for this reason the Commission urges our country "to take all necessary measures to effectively tackle the pandemic, sustain the economy and support the subsequent recovery." And it limits itself to stressing that "when economic conditions allow, fiscal policies are applied aimed at achieving prudent fiscal positions in the medium term and that guarantee the sustainability of the debt, while improving investment."

Preserve employment

The bottom line is that the emergency measures taken this week, the economic ones, "are generally in line with the guidelines set out in the Commission Communication on a coordinated response to the Covid-19 outbreak." But the debate of the day is social, fundamental.

Recommendations as such, the last specific part of the paper, are few: preserve as many jobs as possible, improve coverage for those who lose it, provide liquidity to companies and the self-employed, and "improve coverage and adequacy of income schemes minimums and family support, as well as access to digital learning. " But throughout the review there are dozens of emergencies.

The Spanish document, like that of most partners, leaves little room for optimism , for the future and for the past. "The Spanish health system has offered good results despite the relatively low level of investment. However, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has generated unprecedented tension in the system and has revealed its vulnerability to crisis (. ..) Existing structural problems, some of which stem from certain deficiencies in investment in infrastructure and deficiencies in the recruitment and working conditions of health workers, "stresses the Commission.

The problems are outlined, many of them, but there are no very clear solutions because the thresholds remain uncertain. "The socio-economic consequences of the pandemic are likely to be unevenly distributed in Spanish regions due to different patterns of specialization. This is the case, for example, in regions that are most dependent on tourism , such as those on the Mediterranean coast. , Andalusia or the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands, where more than a quarter of jobs are linked to that sector. This carries a substantial risk of widening regional disparities within Spain. Combined with the risk of a temporary collapse of the process of convergence between the Member States, the current situation requires specific political responses, "says the text published this noon.

The European institutions ask Spain to think about the long term, with its very high debt very present. But they also ask that "strengthen resilience and the capacity of the health system , in terms of health workers, critical medical products and infrastructure."

Economic consequences

The economic consequences will be clear, the impact on GDP and unemployment will be very visible. But the report highlights that the "crisis will probably increase the high levels of poverty or social exclusion in Spain , especially among families with children." And it uses a devastating statistic: "In 2019, Spain was the Member State with the lowest average of family benefits per child. Families with low to medium incomes do not have access to the strict benefits for children, and tax deductions are limited for them, "he laments.

Brussels clearly points to these inequalities, notes a very political problem and asks for a reaction. "Social protection spending continues to be highly geared towards older people, and the level of pension spending will increase significantly in the medium and long term, should the measures announced for the 2013 pension reform become permanent and not take appropriate compensatory measures. The difficult economic and social context resulting from the pandemic instead requires intergenerational solidarity in favor of the younger generations. "

European technicians have studied the minimum income proposal announced by the Government , and which could serve to address some of these concerns. But he does not dare to pronounce himself yet. "In the current pressing context, it is planned to quickly introduce a permanent national income guarantee scheme, with an estimated coverage of three million beneficiaries, to complement the existing regional minimum income schemes. Its impact on poverty reduction and sustainability in the short and medium term they cannot be evaluated at this stage, "the statement read.

In the final part, the same battery of recommendations and regrets that have been reading for a decade, without fail. "Regulatory fragmentation and barriers in Spain prevent companies from benefiting from economies of scale and negatively affect productivity," says the Commission, a recurring mantra. "The Market Unity Law, which is already being applied by the courts and competition authorities, should be used more actively to promote better regulation and competition during the recovery, " urges the Commission, because "in this context, the strict Property and market restrictions that have sought to ensure the supply of strategic goods and services during the pandemic crisis should be removed as soon as the emergency ends. "

Those accustomed to the Brussels language are not surprised by these requests that five after five ignore or postpone all governments. "More broadly, stronger and sustained coordination between different levels of government could make policies to facilitate recovery more effective," said the team at Von der Leyen. A clear, simple message that all parties have heard a thousand times. But that does not stop.

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