Time is ticking in favor of the third vice president and acting minister for the Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera. This week the consultations of the different parliamentary groups with the king have begun to try to get out of the political ‘vacuum’ with a new Executive and meanwhile Ribera continues to lead the changes in the wholesale electricity market that are being negotiated in Brussels.
One of Ribera’s greatest wishes is to complete the European electricity reform within the Spanish presidency of the Council of the EU and the difficulty of the Popular Party in obtaining the necessary support to form a new Executive plays in his favor. With the Cortes Generales already constituted, there are two possible scenarios. Plenary sessions and, therefore, investiture sessions can now be called. If any of the candidates manages to gather support, they could be sworn in as president even in September/October. Otherwise, Congress and the Senate will be dissolved 47 days after the first failed investiture session, leading to another election at the end of the year.
“The voice of Spain in the Council continues to be Teresa Ribera,” parliamentary sources tell La Información. Since the price crisis began in the summer of 2021, Ribera became strong in Brussels and has managed – along with Portugal – to give a historic turn to the position of the European Commission. She had never before achieved anything like the ‘Iberian exception’. In addition, she has led the meetings of European Energy Ministers even before Spain took over the baton for the European presidency.
Ribera has defended a harsh reform of the market
Since the Ecological Transition they have opted for a hard market reform and put an end to the current marginalist price system. It was in December 2021 when we saw Ribera defending before the EU Union Energy Ministers the need to address a reform of the wholesale electricity market in the face of exorbitant prices. Germany, backed by eight other countries from the north, knocked down all their claims and a few months later the Commission closed the discussion arguing that the pool was the “best option” for users and companies.
For its part, the European Parliament has already done its homework and has agreed to a reform that finally does not include the maximum limit on the income of producers (‘revenue cap’) as requested by Ribera herself. Now, the Council still has to adopt a common position (‘general approach’) to be able to negotiate the electricity reform in a trialogue with the European Parliament. In the Trialogues, the Speaker (The Spanish Nicolás González Casares) On behalf of the Parliament and the Presidency of Turn (In this case Spain) on behalf of the concavejo, negotiate on the Legislative Text to Reach a Common Ground With the European Commission Acting as an arbitrator .
The confrontation between France and Germany is what is holding back reaching a common position and jeopardizes the deadlines managed by the Spanish Executive. One of the last clashes took place in Valladolid. The two countries are in conflict over the application of a fixed remuneration to the French nuclear companies and are taking advantage of the informal meeting of Environment and Energy ministers organized by Spain to defend their interests with parallel meetings to the official agenda.
The objective is none other than pressure to make in favor of the energy sources that most interest them individually. The French country convened the so-called Nuclear Alliance, while the Germany-Austria binomial cited the self-styled Friends of Renewables. Ribera has urged the Member States to “cede positions” to agree on the reform of the electricity market before the end of the current year. His idea was that before the end of the summer an agreement of the council would be reached and that the new ones would be approved “before Christmas”.
Spain presses with a new draft
In order to speed up the process, the department directed by Ribera has sent its partners a new draft. According to the acting third vice president herself, it is based on the different opinions of her European counterparts and on the principles of the proper functioning of the market and a level playing field to guarantee the decarbonisation process. The month of September will thus be key for the current Executive both in Brussels and in Spain. While since Ferraz they have changed their strategy and now choose to leave the way clear for the PP to “stumble” with the investiture, Ribera will resume talks with the European energy ministers.
