The question of farmers' standard of living is "very important" for Teresa Ribera: "Agriculture is strongly threatened by climate change, drought, soil erosion. [...] What we missed - and we need to make a lot more effort on this – it’s supporting the sector. [...] Farmers have a feeling of being forgotten which we need to pay attention to, [...] and work to preserve their ability to earn their living in a dignified and simple way, not just with regulations, but with specific policies, a much more fluid dialogue." Taking a regulatory break in environmental matters would be "not a good idea", believes the Minister for Ecological Transition, even if she agrees that "there are problems around the Green Deal, which is sometimes not very well understood ".

This Green Deal, initiated by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in 2019 and which she made the priority of her mandate, is in fact strongly criticized by the parties of the right and the European extreme right. Spain is no exception, the Vox party, which sits among the group of European Conservatives and Reformists in the European Parliament, accuses it of wanting to destroy Iberian agriculture. For Teresa Ribera, "there is [among farmers] a very strong feeling of anger, and it is on this anger that the extreme right can play unfairly. [...] Policies surrounding the surveillance of price, the ability to ensure a future for young people who want to stay in the agricultural field, are much more effective than saying that we don't like the elements of green policy that come from Europe."

For the Spanish minister, one thing is clear: “We must be very careful not to forget the Green Deal!” Even before the agricultural discontent, one of the texts of the Pact, which provided for a 50% reduction in the use of pesticides by 2030, was vilified by the right and the far right. The European Commission finally buried it in January, to the great dismay of the Spanish Minister for Ecological Transition, who recalls that "the relationship of agriculture to chemistry and pesticides has significant effects on people's health, but also soils", adding that it is appropriate to support the sector and commit "to a transformation of our economic model towards something that makes sense from an ecological point of view. Otherwise, we will depend much more on others, or activities that are not related to agriculture. That's not good, either."

Spain, one of the southernmost countries in the EU, is bearing the brunt of climate change, and water shortages are becoming more and more frequent. "Climate change means that the availability of water changes: there may be floods or there may be terrible droughts. [...] We must develop plans for anticipation and adaptation to these situations different climates, but we must also count on emergency measures", notes Teresa Ribera. Catalonia is experiencing an unprecedented drought, and on February 1, the regional government declared a state of emergency, imposing water restrictions on residents, businesses and farmers. Paradoxically, in the Andalusian Sierra Nevada, a region experiencing the worst drought in its history, snow cannons are working at full capacity to allow ski resorts like Monachil to make a living from their business. "The Sierra Nevada is the corner of Spain with the most important areas of the Iberian Peninsula. The number of snow days decreases every year, but there is still the possibility of going skiing. But it probably won't won't last very long." Teresa Ribera therefore pleads for a transformation, a transition to new activities "with understanding and social participation, not a ban. But on the other hand, my bet would not be to invest more, even if there are local governments and regional authorities who ask for it. I don't think it's a good idea", explains the Minister of Ecological Transition.

Spain is one of the good students in terms of green energy: in 2023, 50% of the electricity produced on its soil came from renewable sources, with very low production costs, "and this will increasingly be a reality ", Teresa Ribera tells us. “But the connection with the rest of Europe is still very weak” and to keep these prices low, the Spanish and Portuguese governments have set up an “Iberian exception”, between mid-2022 and the end of 2023, with the approval of Brussels: a cap on the price of gas which limits the operating costs passed on to the wholesale electricity market by gas-fired power stations, thus allowing Spain to make 15% to 20% savings on the electricity bill: “This allowed us to keep a price which much more reflected the real costs of producing electricity and not the extraordinary profits of the electric companies due to the price of gas.” This measure made people jealous in Europe, and certain countries would have liked to implement it at home, but Brussels refused it, due to their interconnection.

The polls are clear, if the European People's Party and the Social Democrats keep most of their seats in the next European elections in June 2024, they show a rise in the far right of the Conservatives and Reformists and Identity and Democracy groups. , who could win between 15 and 30 seats each. “It’s quite worrying to see these polls which show us a shift towards the extreme right, which has an aggressive discourse, more destructive than constructive.” For her, "The messages of the far right are arguments to undo Europe or undo the policies that have improved our lives. But we must return to why we needed Europe: because we wanted a project in common which could guarantee well-being proposals for all Europeans. And it is a largely successful project. [...] But there are still things to do, and we cannot solve any challenge alone. We have need to be together.”

On October 1, 2017, Catalans went to the polls to vote for the region's independence in a referendum quickly deemed illegal by the constitutional court. Nine pro-independence political representatives at the origin of this referendum were subsequently found guilty of sedition and embezzlement of public funds, then imprisoned. At the head of this movement, Carles Puigdemont, then president of the generality of Catalonia with the Junts per Catalunya party, escaped incarceration: he took refuge in Belgium, which did not extradite him, and he was elected European deputy in 2019.

In July 2023, the President of the Spanish Government Pedro Sanchez calls early elections, the result of which will be very close. In September, after the failure of Partido Popular leader Alberto Nuñez Feijoo to form a government, the task fell to Pedro Sanchez. After tough negotiations, he proposed an amnesty law to the Catalan separatists so that they would join his coalition, thus ensuring the majority necessary to form his government. What was said was done, and the law was presented to Parliament on January 30. Hard blow for Pedro Sanchez: she is rejected. "It's a major error!", regrets the vice-president of the Spanish government, "we tried to propose a text which would put an end to this situation, a proposal for the coexistence of Spaniards and Catalans within the framework of the constitution and European laws. [...] A majority of Catalans, including the separatists, supported the text. Only a small group of them did not support it, as well as deputies from the right and from the far right, who wanted it to go further."

A new text is in the hands of the Justice Committee, which is studying the amendments made by Carles Puigdemont and his party, "to see if it can still work", hopes Teresa Ribera. It will be presented and put to a vote in the coming months.

Program prepared by Perrine Desplats, Johan Bodin, Isabelle Romero and Sophie Samaille

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