Junta reduces top-echelon vehicle fleet to 58

SEVILLA At the beginning of March, the Junta de Andalucía had managed to reduce the number of cars used by its top people to 58, and is keeping another 73 for 'incidents and administrative services'. This compares to some 200 official vehicles it had at the end of last July. The figures came out in a written reply by a PP deputy in the Junta, from the head of the Treasury and Public Administration Department of the Junta, Carmen Martínez Aguayo (PSOE). A package of measures aimed at cutting Junta costs was approved last July, in which the target for official vehicles was between 30 and 40 - a figure not yet achieved.

Will pensioners have to pay for medication in hospital?

Seriously ill patients will have to pay up to €4.13 at hospital pharmacies · Some will be 'totally exempt', says Minister · Mammograms will continue to be considered 'basic services'

MADRID Many of the medication used for treatment in hospital are very expensive. In some cases they can reach €2,400 but even these will be subject to price reductions, according to a recent parliamentary statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services, Ana Mato. Patients will not have to pay more than €4,13, she said in response to a question from a member. The reasoning behind the measure, she said, is to equalise the matter among her ministries to avoid possible legal interpretations of recently passed laws aimed at reducing costs and guaranteeing Social Security services in the future. (A more detailed article on this subject will soon be available on SpainInformer.com)

"It's the only thing we can do," says Government

Mariano Rajoy

MADRID Those are the words Mariano Rajoy, President of the Spanish Government, repeated several times in is speech on the new measures he is taking against the "very delicate situation" (his words) the country is in. Below we offer a listing of some of the measures, cutbacks and tax reforms he is proposing, but perhaps the main one is a raise of three percentage points in VAT, which goes up from 18% to 21% in the general rate and two points for the reduced rate (which includes tourism related items but not food, which remains the same at 4%) from 8% to 10% and will cost the 'average' (have you ever met one?) €450 per year extra. The plan he announced yesterday morning in a two hour speech to a plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies and is expected to be largely  approved by the Council of Ministers on Friday, is one of the hardest ever applied in this country. The plan is designed to raise income and lower costs, which, together with past and future measures, to represent a total of €65 billion, or 6.5% of GDP, in the space of two and a half years. These new measures, the fourth such package in as many years but more severe thahn any before, were announced at the same time as miners from Asturias, many of whom walked to Madrid over more than 400 kilometers, were protesting loudly outside. The measures include:>>>

Do you know how much your medications are going to cost from Sunday?

SPAIN / ANDALUCÍA The new cost cutting measures are beginning to bite. As from July I most of us will be paying considerably more for our medicines. Media reports say that Andalucía is ready for the change over (details below) to a Social Security-card led system. We asked staff and farmacéuticos at local chemists what they thought. All of them shrugged their shoulders, and most said there is not nearly enough public  information out there, particularly for pensioners. The card system is supposed to tell the counter staff in what income bracket the customer is, but there doesn't seem to be much confidence in the ability of the system to cope - this assertion comes from reading the Spanish media, not based on any scientific survey. In any case, below we offer you a chart that is a guide toward knowing what you are likely to be charged for your medication - before you see it, say goodbye to cheap medicines by prescription.>>>

'There but for the grace of Greece'

SPAIN
We are not economists here, which accounts for us not offering opinions on the economy. We are trying to refrain from offering opinions about the drastic measures being taken by the Zapatero government to cut back €190 billion of the country's deficit by 2013. It's difficult to bite our tongues, so we've left it to Alexander Bewick's Soap Box, where he says, "... at the top of the heap sit the fat cats who made vast, often illegal and fraudulent profits on land speculation throughout the country. Even Zapatero admits it: "Those who have had nothing to do with the recession, who did nothing to create it, are the ones who will have to make the greatest efforts to get out of it." Great. Another good socialist concept." He's also 'borrowed' the cartoon from DominGo, the thief!