Country Report for Spain April, 2013

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Country Report for Spain April, 2013 GROWING INEQUALITIES AND ITS IMPACTS IN SPAIN Ada Ferrer-i-Carbonell Xavier Ramos Mónica Oviedo (UAB) Country Report for Spain April, 2013 GINI Country Report Spain GINI Country Report Spain Table of Contents Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................. 1 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 6 2. The nature of inequality and its development over time ..................................................................13 2.1 Has inequality grown? ..................................................................................................................13 2.1.1 Household income inequality ..................................................................................... 13 2.1.2. Wealth and debt inequality ....................................................................................... 20 2.1.3 Labour market inequality ........................................................................................... 21 2.1.4 Educational inequality ................................................................................................ 35 2.2 Whom has it affected? .................................................................................................................40 2.3 Interdependence between various inequalities ..........................................................................45 2.4 Why has inequality decreased? (though it is bound to increase in these next years) .................46 2.5 Conclusions: The ‘national story’ of evolving inequality drivers ..................................................49 3. The social impacts of inequality .........................................................................................................52 3.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................52 3.2 Material deprivation .....................................................................................................................53 3.3 Cumulative disadvantage and multidimensional measures of poverty and social exclusion ......59 3.4 Indicators of social Cohesion ........................................................................................................61 3.5 Family formation and breakdown, lone parenthood, fertility .....................................................63 3.6 Health inequalities ........................................................................................................................68 3.7 Housing tenure .............................................................................................................................77 3.8 Crime and punishment .................................................................................................................79 3.9 Subjective measures of well-being, satisfaction, “happiness” .....................................................82 3.10 Intergenerational mobility for education and occupation .........................................................82 3.11 Conclusions: Appraisal of the interdependence and the ‘national story’ of inequality drivers and their social impacts......................................................................................................................85 4. Political and Cultural Impacts .............................................................................................................88 4.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................88 4.2 Political and Civic Participation ....................................................................................................89 4.3 Trust in others and in institutions ................................................................................................95 4.4 Political values and legitimacy ......................................................................................................99 4.5 Values about social policy and welfare state .............................................................................106 4.6 Conclusions .................................................................................................................................110 5. Effectiveess of policies in combating inequality ..............................................................................112 5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................112 GINI Country Report Spain 5.2 Labour income ............................................................................................................................112 5.3 Taxation ......................................................................................................................................121 5.4 Social expenditures ....................................................................................................................125 5.5 Education ....................................................................................................................................133 5.6 Conclusions: Appraisal of the `national story´of policies affecting inequality, intended or unintended .......................................................................................................................................141 References ............................................................................................................................................143 GINI Country Report Spain List of Tables Spanish Long Table: Changes on the GINI and other relevant variables ................................................ 3 Table 4.1. Trade Union Membership by Income Level - Share of employees - .................................... 93 Table 4.2. Membership of civic organisations, political parties and trade unions by gender .............. 94 Table 4.3. Evolution of Ideological self-positioning Percentage of respondents aged 18 and over ... 100 Table 4.4. Mean of self-position in political scale by income level ..................................................... 102 Table 4.5. Attitudes toward immigration by Income level Don't like immigrants/foreign workers as neighbours ...................................................................................................................... 105 Table 4.6. Government versus individual responsibility for meeting people’s needs. Share of respondents by income level .......................................................................................... 108 Table 4.7. Why do people live in need: laziness or lack of willpower ................................................. 109 GINI Country Report Spain List of Figures Figure 1.1 GDP annual growth .............................................................................................................. 11 Figure 2.1. After-tax after-transfers income inequality trends. Effect of equivalence scale. ............... 15 Figure 2.2. Before and after-tax after-transfers income inequality trends. Effect of taxes .................. 16 Figure 2.3. After-tax after-transfers income inequality trends. Effect of imputed rents...................... 16 Figure 2.4. Top and bottom after-tax after-transfers income. Effect of equivalence scale. ................. 17 Figure 2.5. Quantile ratios for after-tax after-transfers. Effect of equivalence scale. .......................... 18 Figure 2.6. Consumption in non-durables inequality trends. Effect of equivalence scale. ................... 19 Figure 2.8. Earnings and income inequality .......................................................................................... 23 Figure 2.9. Temporary employment ..................................................................................................... 24 Figure 2.10. Share of temporary employees ......................................................................................... 25 Figure 2.11 Share of temporary employees by age groups .................................................................. 25 Figure 2.12 Activity and employment rate ............................................................................................ 27 Figure 2.13 Activity and employment rate by education level ............................................................. 28 Figure 2.14 Unemployment rate ........................................................................................................... 31 Figure 2.15 Unemployment rate by education level ............................................................................. 32 Figure 2.16 Unemployment rate by country of birth ............................................................................ 33 Figure 2.17. Unemployment rates by age ............................................................................................. 34 Figure 2.18. Jobless Households ........................................................................................................... 35 Figure 2.19. Average years of education over birth cohorts ................................................................. 37 Figure 2.20. Educational attainment over birth cohort ........................................................................ 38 Figure 2.21. Inequality
Recommended publications
  • Introducing a Basic Income System in Spain. Feasibility and Cost
    Introducing a Basic Income system in Spain. Feasibility and cost. Paper prepared for the Basic Income European Network 10th Congress Barcelona, 19-20 September 2004 Rafael Pinilla-Pallejà* and Luis Sanzo-González** Correspondence: Rafael Pinilla-Pallejà. Área de Sanidad de la Delegación del Gobierno en Valencia. Sanidad Exterior. Muelle de la Aduana, s/n. Puerto de Valencia. 46024 Valencia (Spain). [email protected] Acknowledgements: We are grateful for financial support from “Fundación Alternativas”. The findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed in this paper are of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Ministry of Public Affairs, or the Basque Government. This document includes results from Espasim Difusión V.!. Un modelo de micro-simulación para evaluar reformas del sistema de impuestos y subsidios en España" © Levy, Mercader y Planas, 2002. A description of EspaSim can be found at http://selene.uab.es/espasim. The authors of the software do not accept any responsibility derived from the analysis presented in this document. * Ministry of Public Affairs, Valencia. ** Justice, Labour and Social Security Department. Basque Government, Vitoria. Abstract: We present the major lines of a basic income proposal for Spain has published by ‘Fundación Alternativas’ early in 2004. The main aim of our work is to promote economical and political debate about basic income in our country showing several options supported by data and arguments. The proposal includes a deep reform of fiscal and social protection systems. The reform would be implemented by an income flat-tax reform and includes a simple refundable tax credit for all. We have used the micro-simulator EspaSim to analyse the feasibility and potential cost of such reform.
    [Show full text]
  • Transgenic Crops in Spain
    TRANSGENIC CROPS IN SPAIN FRANCISCO GARCÍA-OLMEDO Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Agrónomos, Madrid, Spain 9.1 Introduction The rate of introduction of transgenic crops in Spanish agriculture has been limited by a number of adverse factors, some of which are linked to specific local circumstances, while others are common to most European Union (EU) member countries. Because of its dry climate, Spain is the main European importer of feed grains, mainly soybeans and corn. The public was introduced to transgenic crops through the appearance of press headlines reporting dem- onstrations by nongovernmental organizations protesting transgenic grains at ports of entry. The main purpose of this chapter is to examine the present status and fiíture prospects of some key transgenic crops, such as corn and cortón. How- ever, in order to understand the current impact and fiíture potential of such crops in Spanish agriculture, some background facts and a brief description of the general scenario are pertinent. We will begin by briefly considering some relevant characteristics of Spanish agriculture, the R&D potential of the coun- try, and the legal backdrop. 9.2 Some Facts About Spanish Agriculture Spain has over 19 million ha under cultivation. Approximately 3.6 million ha are irrigated, which represents a sizable fraction of the 11.6 million irrígated ha in the 15 EU countries. Average rainfall over the last 15 years has been about 630 mm, but there is considerable variation, both from year to year (553 mm to 893 mm) and among the different river basins (from 1250 mm in the North to less than 300 mm in the South East).
    [Show full text]
  • Ageing in Spain Ageing in Spain
    SECOND WORLD ASSEMBLY ON AGEING • APRIL 2002 Ageing in Spain SECOND WORLD ASSEMBLY ON AGEING • APRIL 2002 SECOND WORLD ASSEMBLY Ageing in Spain ISBN 84-8446-046-0 SECRETARÍA GENERAL SECRETARÍA GENERAL DE ASUNTOS SOCIALES DE ASUNTOS SOCIALES INSTITUTO DE INSTITUTO DE MIGRACIONES Y MIGRACIONES Y Observatorio SERVICIOS SOCIALES SERVICIOS SOCIALES 9 788484 460466 8 de personas Mayores PRICE: 10 € AGEING IN SPAIN SECOND WORLD ASSEMBLY ON AGEING APRIL 2002 AGEING IN SPAIN SECOND WORLD ASSEMBLY ON AGEING APRIL 2002 DEPUTY ADMINISTRATION FOR THE GERONTOLOGY PLAN AND PROGRAMS FOR THE ELDERLY COORDINATED BY: MAYTE SANCHO CASTIELLO HEAD OF THE OBSERVATORY OF ELDERLY PERSONS MAIN CONTRIBUTORS: ANTONIO ABELLÁN SPANISH COUNCIL FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH (CSIC) LOURDES PÉREZ ORTIZ AUTONOMOUS UNIVERSITY OF MADRID JOSE ANTONIO MIGUEL POLO WOMEN’S INSTITUTE TECHNICAL SUPPORT: Mª del Carmen Martín Loras IMSERSO Guillermo Spottorno Giner Spanish Council for Scientific Research Translated by Michel Angstadt (COMPUEDICION, S.L.) 1st Edition, 2002 © Institute of Migrations and Social Services (IMSERSO) 2002 Published by: Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs General Secretary of Social Affairs Institute of Migrations and Social Services (IMSERSO) Avda. de la Ilustración, s/n. C/v. A Ginzo de Limia,58 Tel: +34 91 363 89 35 NIPO: 209-02-024-0 ISBN: 84-8446-046-0 Depósito Legal: M-15.718-2002 Imprime: ARTEGRAF, S.A. Sebastián Gómez, 5 - 28026 Madrid Tel. 91 475 42 12 Contents Presentation ................................................. 13 4.2.2. The Evolution of the Calendar for Leaving the Labour Force ................. 54 Highlights ...................................................... 15 4.2.3. Population Ageing and the Size of La- bour Force: Projections ....................
    [Show full text]
  • No. 34 the Transition to Adulthood Is Spain
    Social Studies Collection No. 34 The Transition 34to Adulthood in Spain Economic Crisis and Late Emancipation Almudena Moreno Mínguez (coordinator) Antonio López Peláez Sagrario Segado Sánchez-Cabezudo WELFARE PROJECTS. THE SPirit of ”la Caixa”. Social Studies Collection No. 34 The Transition to Adulthood in Spain Economic Crisis and Late Emancipation Almudena Moreno Mínguez (coordinator) Antonio López Peláez Sagrario Segado Sánchez-Cabezudo With the collaboration of Alberto Juliá Cano Enrique Crespo Ballesteros Published by ”la Caixa” Welfare Projects Governing Bodies of ”la Caixa” Welfare Projects WELFARE PROJECTS COMMITTEE Chairman Isidro Fainé Casas Deputy Chairman Salvador Gabarró Serra, Javier Godó Muntañola Members Montserrat Cabra Martorell, Francesc Homs Ferret, Xavier Ibarz Alegria, Juan-José López Burniol, Mario López Martínez, Justo Bienvenido Novella Martínez Secretary (non trustee) Alejandro García-Bragado Dalmau Deputy Secretary (non trustee) Óscar Calderón de Oya Managing Director Juan María Nin Génova Executive Director of ”la Caixa” Welfare Projects Jaime Lanaspa Gatnau BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE ”la Caixa” FOUNDATION Chairman Isidro Fainé Casas Honorary Chairman José Vilarasau Salat 1st Deputy Chairman Ricardo Fornesa Ribó Deputy Chairman Salvador Gabarró Serra, Javier Godó Muntañola, Juan Maria Nin Génova Trustees Eva Aurín Pardo, Victoria Barber Williams, Maria Teresa Bassons Boncompte, Montserrat Cabra Martorell, José Francisco de Conrado i Villalonga, Josep-Delfí Guàrdia Canela, Monika Habsburg Lothringen, Francesc
    [Show full text]
  • Educational Attainment, Gender and Health Inequalities Among Older Adults in Catalonia (Spain) Aïda Solé-Auró1* and Manuela Alcañiz2
    Solé-Auró and Alcañiz International Journal for Equity in Health (2016) 15:126 DOI 10.1186/s12939-016-0414-9 RESEARCH Open Access Educational attainment, gender and health inequalities among older adults in Catalonia (Spain) Aïda Solé-Auró1* and Manuela Alcañiz2 Abstract Background: Health expectancies vary worldwide according to socioeconomic status (SES), with health disadvantages being evident among lower SES groups. Using educational attainment as a proxy of SES, we seek to identify trends in SES differentials in health by gender, with a particular focus on individuals with low educational attainment in the adult Catalan population (Spain) aged 55 or older. Methods: Using cross-sectional data for 1994 and 2010-2014 drawn from the Catalan Health Survey, we examined three health indicators to document social health inequalities: self-perceived health, functional limitations, and restrictions on activities of daily living (ADL). We applied logistic models for each indicator, controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, health coverage and health behaviours. Results: Among the less-educated, females presented a greater improvement in their self-perceived health over time than did their male counterparts, there being no significant variations among the medium/high educated. Regardless of education, males showed an increase in the prevalence of functional problems (as did the women, but the increase was not statistically significant). Both genders presented a higher prevalence of limitations when performing ADL in the second time period. The gender health gap was reduced slightly both for the low and the medium/high educated, expect in the case of ADL restrictions. Health and functioning differences by education level persisted, but showed significant signs of reduction.
    [Show full text]
  • The Evolution of Population Distribution on the Iberian Peninsula: a Transnational Approach (1877–2001)
    VHIM #804787, VOL 46, ISS 3 The Evolution of Population Distribution on the Iberian Peninsula: A Transnational Approach (1877–2001) LUIS´ ESPINHA DA SILVEIRA, DANIEL ALVES, MARCO PAINHO, ANA CRISTINA COSTA AND ANA ALCANTARAˆ QUERY SHEET This page lists questions we have about your paper. The numbers displayed at left can be found in the text of the paper for reference. In addition, please review your paper as a whole for correctness. Q1. Au: Please spell out EEC. Q2. Au: Ok to add “(c)” before the last part of this sentence? Q3. Au: Please spell out DTM. Q4. Au: Ok to add “See Figure 1” here? Q5. Au: In Perez´ Moreda 2004 reference, please provide editor(s). TABLE OF CONTENTS LISTING The table of contents for the journal will list your paper exactly as it appears below: The Evolution of Population Distribution on the Iberian Peninsula: A Transnational Approach (1877–2001) Lu´ıs Espinha Da Silveira, Daniel Alves, Marco Painho, Ana Cristina Costa and Ana Alcantaraˆ HISTORICAL METHODS, July–September 2013, Volume 46, Number 3 Copyright C Taylor & Francis Group, LLC The Evolution of Population Distribution on the Iberian Peninsula: A Transnational Approach (1877–2001) LUIS´ ESPINHA DA SILVEIRA DANIEL ALVES Instituto de Historia´ Contemporanea,ˆ Universidade Nova de Lisboa MARCO PAINHO ANA CRISTINA COSTA Instituto Superior de Estat´ıstica e Gestao˜ da Informac¸ao,˜ Universidade Nova de Lisboa ANA ALCANTARAˆ Instituto de Historia´ Contemporanea,ˆ Universidade Nova de Lisboa Abstract. Surpassing the national perspective usually adopted, the of geographic factors in their explanation. At the same time, this authors confirmed the existence of a pattern of population distri- verification opens up new issues related to the effect of national bution common to the whole Iberian Peninsula in the long run.
    [Show full text]
  • Report03.Pdf
    2003 Economic Report on Andalusia © 2004, by Consejería de Economía y Hacienda 2003, Junta de Andalucía Written by Secretaría General de Economía Translated by Jayne Cotgreave and Pedro Satué Published by Servicio de Asesoría Técnica y Publicaciones Designed and printed by: ISBN: 00-0000-000-0 Legal deposit: SE-0000/2004 Printed in Seville, Spain Table of Contents 1. World Economy 9 2. Spanish Economy 33 3. Overview of the Andalusian Ecnomy 47 4. Population 69 5. Productive Sectors 83 Primary Sector 85 Industrial Sector 97 Construction Sector 111 Service Sector 123 6. Aggregate Demand 135 7. Foreign Trade and Investment in Andalusia 147 8. Structure of the Business Sector 171 9. Labour Market 183 10. Prices, Labour Costs and Income 205 11. Banking System 223 12. Andalusia in the Context of the Spanish Regions 239 13. Convergence Between Andalusia and the European Union 259 14. New Economy and Knowledge Society in Andalusia 271 List of Tables 309 List of Charts 315 List of Boxes 323 ECONOMIC REPORT ON ANDALUSIA 2003 Presentation The Regional Ministry of Economy and Finance presents its sixteenth annual Economic Report on Andalusia for 2003. The incipient world economic recovery of 2002 fi rmed in 2003, after a poor growth performance in 2001, the weakest since the early nineties. Spurred by highly expansive macroeconomic policies, economic growth rates were faster than the previous year, surpassing initial forecasts, and infl ation remained relatively tame. The economic recovery gained momentum in 2003 and was signifi cant in its geographical extent, with most of the economic regions around the world benefi ting from the upturn.
    [Show full text]
  • Corporal Punishment by Parents and Child-To-Parent Aggression in Spanish Adolescents
    anales de psicología, 2018, vol. 34, nº 1 (january), 108-116 © Copyright 2018: Editum. Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Murcia. Murcia (Spain) http://dx.doi.org/10.6018/analesps.34.1.259601 ISSN print edition: 0212-9728. ISSN web edition (http://revistas.um.es/analesps): 1695-2294 Corporal punishment by parents and child-to-parent aggression in Spanish adolescents Joana Del Hoyo-Bilbao1*, Manuel Gámez-Guadix2, and Esther Calvete1 1 University of Deusto (Spain). 2 Autonomous University of Madrid (Spain). Título: Castigo físico de padres y madres a hijos e hijas y Violencia filio- Abstract: Child-to-parent aggression (CPA) is a social problem that is re- parental entre adolescentes españoles ceiving much attention because of the increasing frequency and the conse- Resumen: La Violencia Filio-parental (VFP) es un problema social que es- quences for its victims. The primary aim of this study was to assess the tá recibiendo gran atención, debido al aumento de su frecuencia y a las longitudinal relationship between receiving corporal punishment (CP) and consecuencias para sus víctimas. El principal objetivo del estudio fue eva- perpetrating physical and psychological CPA in adolescents. The second luar las relaciones longitudinales entre recibir castigo físico (CF) y perpetrar aim was to investigate whether receiving CP in a positive parenting con- VFP física y psicológica en adolescentes. Un segundo objetivo fue estudiar text, age and sex of the adolescent, moderated the relationship between si la relación entre el CF y la VFP es moderada por el contexto parental en CP and CPA. A total of 896 adolescents (527 girls) between the ages of 13 el que el CF es usado, la edad o el género del adolescente.
    [Show full text]
  • The Regional Dimension of Innovation and the Globalization of Science
    INGENIO WORKING PAPER SERIES Research & Innovation in Spain 2016 Ana Fernández-Zubieta, Irene Ramos-Vielba Working Paper Nº 2017-02 INGENIO [CSIC-UPV] Ciudad Politécnica de la Innovación | Edif 8E 4º | Camino de Vera s/n | 46022 Valencia tel +34 963 877 048 | fax +34 963 877 991 | [email protected] INGENIO (CSIC-UPV) Working Paper Series 2017-02 Research & Innovation in Spain 2016 Ana Fernández-Zubieta1, Irene Ramos-Vielba2 1 Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain) [email protected] 2 INGENIO, CSIC-Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain) [email protected] This document has been prepared as a background report of the Research and Innovation Observatory (RIO) Country Report 2016 of the European Commission (Fernández-Zubieta et al., 2017). The views expressed herein are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission. The authors are grateful to all comments received during the ellaboration of this document. 2 INGENIO (CSIC-UPV) Working Paper Series 2017-02 Table of Contents Executive summary ......................................................................................................... 5 1. Innovation ecosystem ................................................................................................... 8 1.1. Structure of the economy ............................................................................. 8 1.1.1. Sectoral structure ......................................................................................... 8 1.1.2. Firm organization
    [Show full text]
  • Redalyc.A First Approach to a Pay-As-You-Go Model for a Social
    Cuadernos de Gestión ISSN: 1131-6837 [email protected] Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea España Peña-Miguel, Noemí; De la Peña Esteban, J. Iñaki A first approach to a pay-as-you-go model for a social benefit in Spain Cuadernos de Gestión, vol. 17, núm. 2, 2017, pp. 175-191 Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea Vizcaya, España Available in: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=274351241008 How to cite Complete issue Scientific Information System More information about this article Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal Journal's homepage in redalyc.org Non-profit academic project, developed under the open access initiative A rst approach to a pay-as-you-go model for a social benet in Spain Una primera aproximación a un modelo de reparto para una prestación social en España Noemí P eña -miguel 1 J. iñaki D e la P eña esteba N1 Universidad del País Vasco UPV/EHU (España) Recibido el 7 de noviembre de 2014, aceptado el 17 de octubre de 2015 Publicado online el 4 de mayo de 2016 Nº de clasicación JEL: H83, M48 DOI: 10.5295/cdg.140506id Abstract: In recent years various domestic and international organisations have proposed nancial coverage for the population as a whole. This does not mean that there is currently no coverage: aid in different countries extends to different levels. In this context a universal basic social benet could be one way of responding to those in - ternational proposals. However, such a scheme might be too expensive to be viable, which might lead instead to partial benets payable to non-workers being considered, as the group in most need of coverage.
    [Show full text]
  • The Transition to Adulthood in Spain 34Economic Crisis and Late Emancipation
    Social Studies Collection No. 34 The Transition to Adulthood in Spain 34Economic Crisis and Late Emancipation Almudena Moreno Mínguez (coordinator) Antonio López Peláez Sagrario Segado Sánchez-Cabezudo 1 WelfArE Projects. ThE spiriT of ”la CAixA”. Social Studies Collection No. 34 The Transition to Adulthood in Spain Economic Crisis and Late Emancipation Almudena Moreno Mínguez (coordinator) Antonio López Peláez Sagrario Segado Sánchez-Cabezudo With the collaboration of Alberto Juliá Cano Enrique Crespo Ballesteros Publication: ”la Caixa” Welfare Projects Author: Almudena Moreno Mínguez (coord.), Antonio López Peláez, Sagrario Segado Sánchez-Cabezudo Translated by: Jed Rosenstein Design and layout: CEgE Coordination of publication: Fellowship Programs and Social Studies © Almudena Moreno Mínguez, Antonio López Peláez, Sagrario Segado Sánchez-Cabezudo © ”la Caixa” Welfare Projects, 2012 Av. Diagonal, 621 - 08028 Barcelona ALMuDENA MoRENo MíNguEz is Professor of Sociology at the visiting scholar at the School of Social Welfare (University of university of Valladolid, Spain. She has a PhD in sociology from California, Berkeley, USA), the University at potsdam (Germany) the Autonomous university of Barcelona and is the author of and Americana University in nicaragua. He is the director of many publications on young people, family change, welfare Comunitania. International Journal of Social Work and Social states and the situation of women. She has been a visiting scholar Sciences. He recently served as editor of the monograph «Juventud at oxford
    [Show full text]
  • 2014–2020 National Energy Efficiency Action Plan
    MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY, ENERGY AND STATE SECRETARIAT FOR ENERGY TOURISM 2014–2020 NATIONAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY ACTION PLAN 30 April 2014 1 MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY, ENERGY AND STATE SECRETARIAT FOR ENERGY TOURISM 2 MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY, ENERGY AND STATE SECRETARIAT FOR ENERGY TOURISM PREFACE On 25 October 2012, Directive 2012/27/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on Energy Efficiency (EED) was approved in order to create a new common framework to promote energy efficiency within the Union, establishing specific measures to ensure achievement of the target indicated in the 2020 Climate and Energy Package from 2007 to reduce Member States' energy consumption by 20%. In recent years, Spain has made great efforts to implement energy efficiency policies aimed at eliminating the distance that has historically separated us from the average energy intensity of the European Union. Approval of the 2004–2012 Energy Saving and Efficiency Strategy in November 2003 represented a turning point in regard to energy saving policies and the pursued standards of programmes and measures already in place, something which has been reflected in energy intensity rates ever since. Through the combined efforts of public administrations and manufacturing industries, by 2010 the energy consumption reduction set out in the 2006 Directive for 2016 was achieved. Furthermore, such efforts have also brought the current energy consumption level in Spain to 17.6 Mtoe below the target level provided by the European Commission, representing a 23.1% saving with respect to the consumption envisaged in the Climate and Energy Package, placing us in a highly favourable position to help reach the ultimate goal of a 20% saving across the EU by 2020.
    [Show full text]