The soap opera of the revaluation of pensions could close the chapter. The Government and the social partners will carry out, within the framework of social dialogue, a periodic evaluation every five years of the effects of the new formula for the revaluation of pensions with the CPI, to which the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations finally agreed. , José Luis Escrivá , for the maintenance of purchasing power.

This is reflected in the draft agreement on pensions sent yesterday to unions and employers to which Europa Press has had access . The aforementioned evaluation of the effects of the annual revaluation will be transferred to the Toledo Pact and “will contain a proposal for action if it is necessary to correct any deviation to preserve the maintenance of the purchasing power of pensions,” according to the text.

This additional rule, included in the reform of the new revaluation formula, has the reinforced objective of preserving the maintenance of the purchasing power of pensions and guaranteeing the economic sufficiency of pensioners.

The new revaluation system will guarantee the maintenance of purchasing power through the increase in pensions on January 1 of each year in accordance with the average inflation registered in the previous year. In addition, it is collected that in the case of negative inflation, pensions “will not suffer any reduction, leaving that year unchanged.”

On the other hand, on the reducing coefficients that apply to early retirement , the text says that the reducing coefficients corresponding to retirement for reasons not attributable to the worker will be applied in those cases in which the person who retires early voluntarily is receiving unemployment benefit for at least three months before.

The draft states that, in order to reinforce the equity of this type of pension, the reducing coefficients will be applied to the amount of the pension, respecting the maximum limitation. In addition, the elimination of the regulation so far applicable in the cases in which the theoretical pension was above this limit will be done progressively over a period of 12 years .

“This forecast, together with future increases in the maximum pension during the transitional period, will serve to absorb the effect of the measure for those workers who contribute above the maximum pension,” says the text, which specifies that its application is conditioned to the subsequent determination of that path of raising the maximum pension.

Reductions for early retirement
For those with contributions for less than 38 years and 6 months, advancing their retirement by 24 months will mean a reduction of between 21% and 3.26% (1 month before); For those with more than 38 years of contributions and 6 months, but less than 41 years and 6 months, the maximum reduction will be 19% (24 months) and the minimum of 3.11% (1 month).

For its part, the reducing coefficient will become 17% if those with contributions over 41 years and 6 months, but less than 44 years and 6 months, retire two years earlier. If they do it a year before, the reduction will be 2.96%.

Finally, those who are more than 44 and a half years old will have a reduction of 13% for retiring two years earlier, but this will be modulated as they approach their age of access to retirement and will stand at 2.81% a year before.

On the other hand, regarding involuntary early retirement , modifications are introduced to the causes of contractual termination that give the right to access this modality, the applicable coefficient on the pension will be determined per month in advance of retirement and not per quarter.

In addition, in relation to the two years immediately prior to the ordinary retirement age, the same coefficients are applied in the determination of the involuntary early retirement pension as in the voluntary modality in those cases in which the new coefficient is more favorable than the one currently in force.

Additionally, the reducing coefficient corresponding to each of the six months prior to the ordinary retirement age is lowered with respect to those proposed for voluntary retirement.

Indicators of dangerousness or distress
On the other hand, it indicates that the modification of the application procedure for early retirement is agreed due to the activity and the indicators of danger or hardship that determine access to this type of early retirement are specified in greater detail.

In addition, it establishes that the requests to initiate the procedure must be formulated jointly by the most representative trade union and business organizations; or by trade union organizations and the corresponding administration when the procedure affects public administration personnel.

With regard to applications already submitted, the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration will establish a calendar for the resolution of the files.

Delayed retirement and active retirement
In the case of delayed retirement, the draft provides that contributions will not be made for common contingencies, except for temporary disability, as of the ordinary retirement age that corresponds in each case.

It also offers three types of incentives for delayed retirement, to be chosen by the worker, for each year of delay: an additional percentage of 4% (which will be added to the corresponding percentage according to the number of years contributed and will be applied to the respective regulatory base for the purpose of determining the amount of the pension); a lump sum (single payment) depending on the amount of the pension and rewarding the longest contribution careers, or a combination of these two measures. The single payment will range from a minimum of 4,786.27 euros to a maximum of 12,060.12 euros.

On the other hand, a condition for accessing active retirement will be required for at least one year after reaching the ordinary retirement age.

Within a maximum period of twelve months, the Government will review, within the framework of social dialogue with trade union and business organizations, this type of retirement in order to correct the differences existing between special regimes and systems and favor the maintenance of the activity of older workers, while preserving the sustainability of the system.

Forced retirement clauses are prohibited
Regarding forced retirement, the draft contemplates the prohibition of the conventional clauses of collective agreements that determine the forced retirement of the worker due to the fulfillment of an age lower than 68 years, but those that would have been included in collective agreements may be applied to the protection of the legislation until now in force as long as they remain in force.

With the aim of favoring the permanence of older workers in the labor market, the pension reform contemplates establishing a 75% reduction in employer contributions to Social Security for common contingencies during the temporary disability situation of those workers who they would have turned 62 years old.

Among the measures to improve the quality of the protective action, the draft states that, in six months, a review of the regulatory framework for access to the widowhood pension of common-law couples will be addressed within the framework of social dialogue in order to to approximate the conditions of access of this group to that of couples constituted in marriage.

The safeguard clause will remain in its current regulation indefinitely, so that it extends its effects beyond January 1, 2022, guaranteeing coverage of all the people that it was originally intended to protect with the aforementioned clause. With this extension, all workers who left the labor market in the previous crisis will be allowed to apply the pre-existing retirement regime before the 2011 pension reform.

Spain expects 45 million foreign tourists this year. Minister Maroto considers it “prudent” and “realistic” to estimate that half of the prepandemic visitors will come.

Optimism regarding tourism . Spain expects to receive 45 million foreign visitors this year , as anticipated by the Minister of Industry, Reyes Maroto , during the presentation of a campaign to promote the country of car this summer.

Last season, the sector registered a collapse of 80%, from 83.5 million tourists in 2019 as a result of restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic . Previously, the Executive had already estimated that it expected to reach half of the pre-pandemic levels this same year.

“It is a prudent forecast , it is realistic to recover half of the international tourists we receive in 2019,” Maroto said at a press conference. Before covid-19, Spain was the second world tourist destination.

The ministry has precisely launched a promotional campaign to which it allocates about 8 million euros, to return to being an attractive destination, despite the obstacles caused by the pandemic. The Government trusts that the acceleration of the vaccination process will forge the image of a safe destination.

The campaign has the slogan ‘You deserve Spain’ and is aimed at the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Holland, Poland and Sweden. The minister has stressed the importance of British tourism and has asked the authorities of that country to allow visits to State territories with low incidences.

The United Kingdom has not included Spain among the 12 countries that have the ‘green traffic light’ to travel with practically no restrictions on the return. Maroto has said that he hopes that in its next review, Lonsres will take into account the epidemiological differences between the territories and allow travel to areas with low accumulated incidences of covid , such as the Valencian Community.

A recognition of the sustainable innovation of SMEs and the self-employed. The Fundació Antigues Caixes Catalanes and BBVA announce the second edition of an award that distinguishes companies with good environmental practices.

The Predictive Company, Cargobici, Oimo and Shotl are the firms that are up for the award.

The preponderance of SMEs in the Catalan and Spanish business fabric is well known. Up to 99.8% of the country’s companies are included in this category , although companies considered small – from 10 to 49 workers – and medium – from 50 to 249 workers – are also a minority, and only represent a little more. 6% of the companies, while the rest are micro-businesses and self-employed.

In response to this reality and with the aim of promoting business innovation in the field of sustainability, the BBVA Award for Environmental Innovation for SMEs and Self-Employed was launched in 2019 .

This year the second edition of the award is celebrated, the winners of which are chosen taking as a reference the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, established by the United Nations General Assembly, and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) , with special attention to the that focus on the environment.

The award is convened and co-organized by the Fundació Antigues Caixes Catalanes and BBVA, and also has the collaboration of the Fundació Pimec, CECOT, the Col·legi d’Economistes and EL PERIÓDICO .

4 FINALIST COMPANIES
In the second edition of the awards, 36 projects were presented, from which 4 finalists were selected.

This is The Predictive Company (TPC) , a spin-off of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia that has developed energy efficiency software for buildings; Cargobici , a start-up that offers last-mile logistics solutions in the urban environment; Oimo , an emerging new materials and ecodesign company specializing in the development of sustainable biodegradable marine packaging; and Shotl, a firm that helps transportation operators and cities make better use of their bus system by replacing low-occupancy routes with on-demand transportation systems.

The winner of the award will be announced during a closed-door event at the Recent Modernista in San Pau on Wednesday, May 19 at 5:00 p.m. , and can be followed live through this link .

During the award ceremony, the presentation SMEs and the SDGs: a business opportunity, too , will be given by Mireia Cammany , vice president of PIMEC and deputy general director of EPI industries family of companies. The conference will focus on the economic environment derived from the 2030 Agenda and how this context can represent a business opportunity for SMEs.

Spain will receive over the next five years a total of 142,000 million euros from NextGeneration EU funds for post-covid reconstruction and (a part of) citizens want to know who takes them, why they and not others and what they use them for.

This Wednesday the Open Generation EU platform was presented in society , formed by a group of researchers and activists who demand more transparency from the Government in the management of these funds and to guarantee an “auditable process for citizens” so that they do not remain only in large companies and “reach SMEs, the self-employed and the social economy.”

“We want to be able to know for whom these funds are going, for what, and to be able to control whether the objectives set in the [Recovery and Resilience] Plan are being met,” said Sandra Vicente , one of the platform’s spokespersons.

From Open Generation EU they denounce the lack of resources in control bodies, such as the Independent Office for the Regulation and Supervision of Procurement ( OIReScon ); that it only has 12 workers to supervise all the public contracting derived from the arrival of those 142,000 million.

In this sense, the speakers recalled that the Council of State published a report in which it assured that there were clear deficiencies in the guarantees of control and transparency in the law that will regulate the management and allocation of funds.

For this reason, they have urged the Government to provide more resources to the transparency portal and the administrative litigation courts , in the event of possible complaints of violation of the criteria for the allocation of said funds.

“It is a lot of money, they are going to ask us for a lot of reforms in return and it is the last opportunity to undertake the social, ecological and economic transformation,” added Emma Avilés , another of the spokespersons.

The Open Generation EU spokespersons have warned of the risk that part of the management of European funds ends up falling on private consulting firms, thus deriving a significant part of public resources to pay for these services.

An example of this, as they have stated, is the 1.5 million euro tender that the Ayuso Administration announced on May 5 so that, in just two days, the consultants will apply to advise the Community of Madrid on the management of EU funds. “If these funds are to modernize the public administration, why do we outsource it to private consultancies,” Avilés asked himself.

Congress has a vote pending
Open Generation EU has been presented in society this Wednesday, although it has been working with different political groups in Congress in recent months to introduce amendments and modify the royal decree approved by the Executive that will govern the governance of the funds.

As a result, Más País and CUP have already registered their amendments; while ERC, Bildu and C’s have transferred to them that they will do the same with theirs shortly.

However, the spokespersons have criticized that the Bureau of Congress has not yet set a date for voting on these amendments to modify the current rules for the management and governance of European funds.

And they warn that, if said vote is postponed for a longer time, the allocation and implementation of said funds will be carried out with a royal decree approved by the Government, but without the supervision of the parliamentary groups.

Open Generation EU is a platform that has the support of 27 civil society organizations , such as Intermón Oxfam, Ecologistas en Acción, Xnet, Political Watch and the Public Debt Audit Platform (PACD); among others.