The Government activates aid for the fires and sends its anti-corruption law to Congress while Sánchez denounces a "political cause" against his family

The Government has closed this Tuesday its last Council of Ministers before the summer with fires and the fight against corruption as main issues. The meeting has declared 211 zones seriously affected by civil protection emergencies, has approved an extraordinary benefit for workers affected by fire and has sent to Congress the Organic Law Project on Public Integrity.

Pedro Sánchez has appeared later in La Moncloa to review the political year, although the emergency caused by the large fires has marked a good part of his intervention. The president has warned that the coming days will be especially difficult due to the increase in temperatures and has guaranteed that the Executive will continue to mobilize resources "as long as necessary, until the last flame is extinguished".

The approved declaration includes episodes that occurred from March 31 to July 27 in fourteen autonomous communities. Most are forest fires, although it also includes storms, intense rains, industrial accidents and other emergencies that have forced the activation of civil protection plans. The fires in Madrid, Ávila, Toledo and Castellón are among the most serious incidents.

Aid for 211 emergencies and more labor protection

The declaration allows starting to process aid for deaths, damage to homes and belongings, losses suffered by establishments and expenses assumed by city councils. It also opens the door to tax benefits, exemptions from Social Security contributions and subsidies to repair municipal infrastructures.

The ministries will be able to apply reductions or exemptions in the IBI and the Economic Activities Tax, while Territorial Policy will finance up to 50% of some reconstruction projects promoted by local corporations. Exemptions from fees for duplicating destroyed documents or deregistering damaged vehicles are also contemplated.

The Council of Ministers has also approved the new Extraordinary Benefit for Extreme Emergency. Those who have to temporarily suspend their activity because they cannot reach their home, must recover their belongings, carry out procedures related to the emergency, or attend to affected family members may apply for it. The aid will be equivalent to 70% of the regulatory base and can be collected for a maximum of four months.

The benefit will be managed by the SEPE, will not require a minimum contribution period, and will not consume the accumulated right to future unemployment benefits. The decree also extends permits for deaths related to the fires and allows for adapting or reducing working hours to attend to care responsibilities. These measures will take effect from last July 23.

Sánchez has demanded that the immediate response be accompanied by a stable agreement to improve prevention and reconstruction. Spain has already exceeded 170,000 hectares burned since the beginning of the year and has registered more than a dozen fatalities. "Climate denialism is the worst fuel in the face of the climate emergency," the president warned.

His proposal involves incorporating communities, provincial councils, and city councils into a state pact. The Executive also approved this Tuesday the creation of a Scientific Panel for Action against Climate Change, made up of specialists who will prepare reports and scenarios to guide public decisions. Sánchez has positioned this body as one of the first pieces of that national agreement.

An independent agency against corruption

The second major agreement of the Council has been the Organic Law Project on Public Integrity, which now goes to Congress. The norm is part of the anti-corruption plan presented by the Government a year ago and toughens the sanctions applicable to companies for crimes against the Administration.

Its main novelty will be the creation of an Independent Public Integrity Agency. The body will bring together powers previously distributed among the Office of Conflicts of Interest, the Whistleblower Protection Authority, and the service responsible for coordinating the fight against fraud. The agency will assume tasks of prevention, supervision, investigation, and protection of those who report irregularities.

The law will also raise controls over public procurement and party financing. Parties that receive more than 50,000 euros in public funds must submit their accounts to an external audit, and the traceability of their expenses will be strengthened. Payments equal to or greater than 1,000 euros will have to come from the parties' own bank accounts.

The text also incorporates citizen audits and new transparency obligations. The person chosen to lead the agency must appear before Congress and be ratified by a three-fifths majority. "I hope that all groups have the vision and willingness to dialogue that the moment demands," Sánchez requested.

The Council has left other relevant agreements. The Government authorizes an additional 17.9 billion euros to expand and modernize electricity grids until 2030, with investments aimed at new homes, industrial projects, electrified transport, cybersecurity, and adaptation to extreme climatic phenomena. The total outlay on grids could exceed 35 billion by the end of the decade.

It has also chosen Zaragoza as the headquarters of the State Public Health Agency, called to coordinate the response to future health emergencies, and has streamlined renewable projects linked to territories affected by the closure of power plants. The meeting has also approved a new stable financing model for sports federations.

Sánchez defends Begoña Gómez, David Sánchez, and Zapatero

The judicial procedures affecting the president's inner circle have appeared during journalists' questions. Sánchez has defended his wife, Begoña Gómez, and his brother, David Sánchez, and has denounced that both are subject to a "political cause" driven by the popular accusations of PP and Vox.

Regarding his wife, prosecuted for influence peddling and embezzlement, the president recalled that she already had a professional career before meeting him and that she left her company when he arrived at La Moncloa to avoid conflicts of interest. "She is not my wife, she is Begoña Gómez. She was a professional before I met her," he stated.

Sánchez used a similar argument to respond to his brother's conviction to nine years of disqualification for prevarication. He reviewed his academic and musical background, defended his career, and recalled that the sentence can be appealed. "He has every right to appeal this sentence which he considers unjust and we hope that other instances will prove him right," he said.

The president has also maintained his support for José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero in the face of the investigation into the jewels found in his office and the doubts surrounding the rescue of Plus Ultra. Sánchez appealed to the presumption of innocence of the former president and assured that the airline's file "is of an absolutely unimpeachable legality".

His assessment has been marked by that double image. Sánchez has claimed the approval of 26 norms with the rank of law during this session period and an economy that once again places unemployment below 10%, while the opposition concentrates its offensive on the judicial procedures opened around the PSOE and La Moncloa.

The head of the Executive has once again ruled out an immediate early election and has reiterated that he intends to present new General State Budgets after the summer. "There is one year left to complete this legislature, to complete reforms and continue advancing," he stated.