Calviño insists on an income pact and calls for a "responsible and moderate" attitude on wages and benefits

He assures that the forecast is that interest rates continue to rise and criticizes the PP for being "disconnected" from its European counterparts

MADRID, 1 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The First Vice President and Minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, Nadia Calviño, has once again insisted on an income pact that helps control inflation and has advocated a "responsible and moderate" attitude from the point of view of wages, of business margins and, in general, of the functioning of the economy as a whole.

"The social agents have behaved responsibly and I am sure they will continue to do so", said the vice president during an interview on the program 'Julia en la onda', collected by Europa Press, where she highlighted the great relationship she has with employers and unions.

In terms of salary, the Government's economic minister considers that salaries have to evolve and rise "according to the characteristics of each of the sectors or companies", although she has highlighted the Government's willingness to raise the minimum interprofessional salary . "In a context like the one we are in, it is correct and appropriate and logical to raise the minimum wage" she has defended.

Thus, despite acknowledging concern about the complex situation and the uncertain environment currently being experienced at the international level, the Government's economic minister has lamented that there is a "catastrophist" environment that does not correspond to the situation.

"The Spanish economy is holding up very well even in this very difficult international context", assured the vice president, after also highlighting that the country has overcome such extraordinary challenges as the pandemic, which ultimately has not had a structural impact on the economy like others crises of the past.

Faced with a "runaway" rise in energy prices in international markets, the vice president defended the government's decision to now lower VAT on gas from 21% to 5%. "Now that we see that the price of gas may continue to increase in the fall, we believe that it is the right time to take measures to lower gas taxes," the minister remarked.

In addition, the vice president has highlighted that thanks to the Iberian gas cap mechanism, Spain is registering prices that, despite being high, stand at 200 euros per megawatt, while in other European countries they reach 600 or 800 euros.

In this sense, he regretted the words of the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who this Thursday assured that the Iberian exception "has caused the rise in energy prices".

"It is false, it has been a protection network" and proof of this, according to Calviño, is that it is considering adopting it for the entire European Union.

"The measures of the Government of Spain are totally aligned with those that the countries around us are adopting and the one that is totally disconnected is the Popular Party, which is not comparable with the rest of the European conservative parties," criticized the vice president.

In addition, given the popular tax proposals --such as deflating personal income tax--, Calviño stressed that "all the recommendations are in the direction of not making a general horizontal lowering of income taxes."

Regarding inflation, Calviño has assured that "it has already begun to moderate" and has recalled that the forecast of the Bank of Spain and the European Central Bank is that it will continue this downward path until reaching "more normal rates" next year.

In this context, and when asked about monetary policy, the vice president appreciated that the ECB is advocating progressivity and pointed out that the forecast is for interest rates to continue rising.