Congress supports extending the ‘social shield’ “until permanent mechanisms are arbitrated”

The Plenary of the Congress of Deputies has approved this Thursday the agreement of the PSOE, Unidas Podemos and EH-Bildu to ask the Government of Spain the extension of housing measures and basic supplies of the so-called ‘social shield’ “until other mechanisms of a permanent nature are arbitrated.”

All this from the debate of a proposition not of law defended by EH Bildu in Congress, which called on the Spanish Government to make permanent the measures relating to the ban on eviction and launches without a housing alternative, and power and water supply cuts, and also the possibility of temporarily defer payment of rent.

Last Tuesday the coalition government formations, PSOE and United We Can, reached an agreement in Congress with EH Bildu for the extension of the housing measures and basic supplies of the so-called ‘social shield’ “until other mechanisms of a nature are arbitrated. permanent”.

The initiative has been supported by the PSOE, Unidas Podemos, Esquerra Republicana, EH-Bildu, Junts, the CUP, Más País-Equo, Teruel Existe, Nueva Canarias, Compromís and the BNG. PP, Vox, Ciudadanos, UPN, Foro Asturias and Coalición Canaria have voted against, while the PNV, PDeCAT and PRC have abstained.

Finally, the agreed compromise amendment urges the Government of Spain to extend them “for as long as it is necessary due to the maintenance of the circumstances that motivated their adoption and until other permanent mechanisms are arbitrated.”

Government first approved these measures on March 31, 2020, after the decree of the state of alarm to try to stop the spread of the covid-19 and since then it has approved successive extensions.