Spanish Populists Fight Govt Energy Rationing Decree in Constitutional Court

Leader of the far-right party Vox, Santiago Abascal gives a speech during a campaign meeti
OSCAR DEL POZO/AFP via Getty Images

Spanish populist party VOX has vowed to challenge the newly passed energy decree in Spain’s constitutional court, claiming the decree violates the rights of Spaniards.

The intent of the party to launch an appeal against the energy decree was confirmed by VOX leader Santiago Abascal, after it was initially announced by the secretary-general of the party, Javier Ortega Smith, during an interview.

According to Abascal, the Spanish left-wing government is “bent on ruining” Spain. He also said the government was continuing “waste and insecurity,” newspaper El Debate reports.

Mr Ortega Smith had previously spoken to the newspaper in March regarding the energy decree, stating that it was not legitimate and that it was “restrictive of fundamental rights and freedoms.”

The new energy decree will demand that in the summer air conditioning can go no lower than 27 degrees celsius  (80 degrees Fahrenheit) and that in the winter heating can be set no more than  19 degrees Celcius (66 degrees Fahrenheit) as the country looks to save on energy.

The confirmation of the appeal to the Constitutional Court comes just weeks after VOX in the region of Castile and León, where they are part of the regional coalition government, wrote a letter threatening to take the matter to court, arguing that the decree violated the rights of Spain’s regional governments.

The letter urged the Council of Ministers to “immediately adopt policies that reduce our now growing energy dependence” while Castile and León Minister for Culture Gonzalo Santonja urged the government to allow for more energy exploration and extraction in Spain itself.

Energy prices across Europe are forecast to increase dramatically in the coming months, with natural gas prices approaching record highs this week due to fears of a lack of supply through Russian pipelines.

“Gas is on a seemingly unstoppable march upwards again, a dramatic move which will intensify the energy crisis,” analyst Susannah Streeter said this week.

“Already plans are being brought in to save energy which will darken streets across Germany and make public buildings colder, but much tougher measures may have to be enforced given dwindling gas reserves,” Streeter added.

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com.

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