He President of the Government, Pedro Sánchezhas been the visible face of the Executive after the last meeting of the Council of Ministers scheduled for this year 2024. On a day in which the good progress of the Spanish economy has been made official by the INE, with GDP growth in the third quarter of 0.8%, the socialist leader has announced important measures, many of them highly anticipated by the Spanish.
between the package of measures announced by Sánchez There are some such as the extension of the transport bonus for six months, the extension of the tax on energy companies, which was pending in the tax reform or the extension of the so-called ‘anti-takeover shield’ and the increase in Social Security pensions. Furthermore, it is still pending to know the criteria for the General State Budgets (PGE) one of the great pending issues of this Government, can be extended in 2025.
The intention is that the measures, especially the so-called ‘social shield’, continue next year, just as happened in 2023. Among these, the prohibition of evicting vulnerable families or expanding transport aid stands out, once an agreement has been reached. with Podemos.
Spain is the country that grows the most of the main economies in the world.
We triple the growth rate of the EU and systematically exceed the expectations of international and national organizations.
We grow and, unlike other times, we do so in a very… pic.twitter.com/uXZHzkNQGN
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) December 23, 2024
“400,000 jobs have been created in one year”
Regarding the labor market, Sánchez has highlighted that there are 21,300,000 people affiliated with Social Security today, being the largest number of people working that “there has never been in the history of Spain.”
Specifically, 400,000 new jobs have been added in one year. “We are adding more employment than Germany and Italy combined,” said Sánchez, who pointed out that this especially benefits women and those under 25 years of age.
Even so, he highlights that it is essential to continue working to do not fall into complacencybecause “there are many pending tasks” such as access to housing, the high unemployment rate or labor productivity that must be improved.
Public transport bonus
The president has confirmed the extension for 6 months, until June 2025, of the public transport bonus, advancing that when this deadline is reached, there will continue to be discounts.
All this has occurred thanks to the fact that it has been confirmed that public transport is used more “due to the improvement of the service, which is the Government’s determined commitment to discounts and free transportation on certain routes and segments of the population.”
Aid for housing rehabilitation
The Council of Ministers has also given its approval to the new policies linked to housing rehabilitation, which is a pending issue for Spain “which has an old housing stock when compared to other countries.”
The Spanish economy is “outstanding”
The Spanish economy is performing well this year, and it is expected to continue like this in 2025. “Expectations are being exceeded.”
The latest GDP data “are positive and serve to demonstrate the good progress of our economy, placing the Spanish economy as one of the most promising in the West.”
“As you all know, the weekly The Economist has placed Spain as the best performing economy in 2024, in an uncertain context, in a world with great challenges”.
Pension increase in 2025
The increase in Social Security pensions It is already a reality for next year, supported by the CPI data from last November. For this reason, a Royal Decree has been approved by the Council of Ministers that contemplates the revaluation of Social Security pensions, Passive Classes and public benefits by 2024, with a 2.8% increase in contributory pensions.
The average retirement pension in Spain, according to the latest data, is 1,441 euros. In this way, in 2025, with the increase already approved, a retiree who earns this average will receive 1,481 euros per month (564.87 euros or 40.3 euros in 14 payments).
Average pensions will increase by around 500 euros per year in 2025. This will benefit 9.3 million people who collect 10.3 million contributory pensions, in addition to the 720,148 pensions of the State Passive Classes Regime.