COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT The EU Environmental Implementation Review 2019 Country Report - SPAIN Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Environmental Implementation Review 2019: A Europe that protects its citizens and enhances their quality of life
Date: 2019-07-31
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Subjects: EU environmental policy, Spain, application of EU law, climate change policy, environmental law, environmental protection, governance, green economy, public health, quality of the environment

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 31.7.2019  SWD(2019) 132 final/2  CORRIGENDUM This document corrects document SWD(2019) 132 final of 04.04.2019 Footnotes 6 and 37 modified The text shall read as follows: COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT The EU Environmental Implementation Review 2019     Country Report - SPAIN           Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions Environmental Implementation Review 2019:  A Europe that protects its citizens and enhances their quality of life   {COM(2019) 149 final} - {SWD(2019) 111 final} - {SWD(2019) 112 final} - {SWD(2019) 113 final} - {SWD(2019) 114 final} - {SWD(2019) 115 final} - {SWD(2019) 116 final} - {SWD(2019) 117 final} - {SWD(2019) 118 final} - {SWD(2019) 119 final} - {SWD(2019) 120 final} - {SWD(2019) 121 final} - {SWD(2019) 122 final} - {SWD(2019) 123 final} - {SWD(2019) 124 final} - {SWD(2019) 125 final} - {SWD(2019) 126 final} - {SWD(2019) 127 final} - {SWD(2019) 128 final} - {SWD(2019) 129 final} - {SWD(2019) 130 final} - {SWD(2019) 131 final} - {SWD(2019) 133 final} - {SWD(2019) 134 final} - {SWD(2019) 135 final} - {SWD(2019) 136 final} - {SWD(2019) 137 final} - {SWD(2019) 138 final} - {SWD(2019) 139 final}  
 
 
This  report  has  been  written  by  the  staff  of  the  Directorate-General  for  Environment,  European  Commission. 
Comments are welcome, please send them to ENV-EIR@ec.europa.eu 

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©European Union, 2019 

Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. 

1 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table of Contents 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................... 3 

PART I: THEMATIC AREAS .............................................................................................................................. 5 

1. 

TURNING  THE  EU  INTO  A  CIRCULAR,  RESOURCE-EFFICIENT,  GREEN  AND  COMPETITIVE  LOW-
CARBON ECONOMY .............................................................................................................................. 5 

Measures towards a circular economy ................................................................................................. 5 
Waste management .............................................................................................................................. 8 
Climate change .................................................................................................................................... 10 

2. 

PROTECTING, CONSERVING AND ENHANCING NATURAL CAPITAL .................................................. 13 

Nature and Biodiversity ....................................................................................................................... 13 
Maintaining and restoring ecosystems and their services .................................................................. 15 
Estimating Natural Capital ................................................................................................................... 15 
Invasive alien species .......................................................................................................................... 16 
Soil protection ..................................................................................................................................... 17 
Marine protection ............................................................................................................................... 18 

3. 

ENSURING CITIZENS' HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE ........................................................................ 20 

Air quality ............................................................................................................................................ 20 
Industrial emissions ............................................................................................................................. 21 
 ................................................................................................................................................. 22 
Noise 
Water quality and management ......................................................................................................... 23 
Chemicals ............................................................................................................................................ 26 
Making cities more sustainable ........................................................................................................... 27 

PART II: ENABLING FRAMEWORK: IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS ................................................................... 31 

4. 

GREEN  TAXATION,  GREEN  PUBLIC  PROCUREMENT,  ENVIRONMENTAL  FUNDING  AND 
INVESTMENTS ..................................................................................................................................... 31 

Green taxation and environmentally harmful subsidies ..................................................................... 31 
Green Public Procurement .................................................................................................................. 32 
Environmental funding and investments ............................................................................................ 33 

5. 

STRENGTHENING ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE ......................................................................... 38 

Information, public participation and access to justice ...................................................................... 38 
Compliance assurance ......................................................................................................................... 39 
Effectiveness of environmental administrations................................................................................. 40 
International agreements ................................................................................................................... 42 
Sustainable development and the implementation of the UN SDGs .................................................. 43 

2 

 
 
 
 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

Executive summary 

Spain  and  the  Environmental  Implementation  Review 
(EIR) 

In  the  2017  EIR  report,  the  main  challenges  identified 
with  regard  to  implementation  of  EU  environmental 
policy and law in Spain were: 
 

Improving water management, including completing 
urban wastewater treatment; 
Improving  waste  management  and  developing  the 
potential of the circular economy; 
Increasing  environmental  taxation,  as  well  as 
reducing environmentally harmful subsidies. 

 

 

Spain organised an EIR National Dialogue in Madrid on 8 
March  2018  with  a  broad  participation  of  public 
authorities  and  stakeholders.  The  EIR  exercise  and  the 
main  findings  for  Spain  were  discussed  in  a  general 
debate,  with  a  particular  focus  on  two  topics:  circular 
economy and natural capital. 

(EIR-P2P),  a  practical  new 

In 2017 the Commission launched the TAIEX-EIR Peer-to-
Peer 
tool  enabling 
environmental  authorities  to  learn  from  each  other. 
Spain has already benefited from the EIR-P2P in the fields 
of waste, air quality, biodiversity and forests. 

Progress since the 2017 report in meeting challenges 

The 2019 EIR report shows that  for water management 
there has been some progress. Most of the second cycle 
River  Basin  Management  Plans  (RBMPs)  drawn  up 
pursuant to the Water Framework Directive (WFD), were 
adopted  on  time  (with  the  notable  exception  of  the 
seven  RBMPs  of  the  Canary  Islands),  improving  many 
aspects  from  the  first  RBMPs.  The  Spanish  Government 
also launched a process in 2017 to adopt a "National Pact 
on Water" which is still open. However, many challenges 
remain,  including  water  governance  and  the  need  to 
close  gaps  in  water  investment,  especially  as  regards 
wastewater. Following a ruling of the Court of Justice of 
the  European  Union  of  25  July  2018,  Spain  has  received 
for the first time pecuniary sanctions by the EU for failing 
to  comply  with  the  Urban  Wastewater  Treatment 
Directive (UWWTD). 

Substantial  progress  has  been  made  on  the  circular 
economy.  As  suggested  in  the  2017  EIR  country  report, 
Spain has now drawn up a National Strategy on  Circular 
is  still  undergoing  adoption.  Many 
Economy  which 
Autonomous  Communities  have  also  adopted  or  are 
drawing up regional strategies on the circular economy. A 
Pact  for  the  Circular  Economy  was  signed  in  Madrid  on 
18 September  2017  by  a  wide  range  of  authorities, 
companies 
stakeholders.  However, 
according  to  the  Commission’s  ‘Early  Warning  Report’ 
(2018),  Spain  is  still  far  from  achieving  the  EU  target  of 

relevant 

and 

recycling  50%  of  its  municipal  waste  by  2020.  Further 
efforts  to  improve  waste  management  are  therefore 
needed. 

to  adopt  new  measures 

For  environmental  taxation,  the  Spanish  Government  is 
increase 
working 
environmental  taxation  and  reduce  environmentally 
harmful  subsidies.  However,  Spain  remains  one  of  the 
Member  States  in  the  EU  with  the  lowest  rate  of 
environmental taxes. 

to 

Personal  transport  exacerbates  seasonal  problems  with 
air  quality  and 
the  major 
traffic  congestion 
metropolitan  areas  in  Spain, 
leading  to  health  and 
economic  costs.  In  the  last  two  years  the  Spanish 
authorities have taken additional measures to tackle this 
issue, which have to be rigorously implemented. 

in 

Spain is an outstanding reference within the EU in terms 
of  natural  capital,  which  provides  opportunities  but 
implies  a  special  responsibility  too.  Spain  boasts  a  very 
rich  biodiversity  and  contributes  the  largest  terrestrial 
surface to the EU Natura 2000 network, covering around 
27  %  of  its  territory.  Once  the  designation  of  sites  is 
completed,  the  main  challenge  is  to  put  in  place  the 
necessary  measures  to  protect  and  manage  the  Natura 
2000 network, providing sufficient resources. Also, Spain 
could  further  capitalise  on  its  very  valuable  natural 
capital to promote green growth and job creation. 

Spain  is  currently  showing  great  interest  in  the  2030 
Agenda  and  the  achievement  of  the  Sustainable 
Development  Goals 
is  taking 
administrative  and  political  action, 
for  example, 
appointing a High Commissioner for the 2030 Agenda. 

(SDGs).  For  this, 

it 

is 

to 

room 

improve  and  strengthen 

the 
There 
coordination  and  cooperation  among  the  different 
competent  authorities  in  the  field  of  the  environment. 
Moreover,  sustainable  development  could  be  further 
mainstreamed into other policy areas. 

Examples of good practice 

In addition to the points of excellence mentioned in the 
2017  EIR  report,  other  good  practices  on  environmental 
implementation  can  be  highlighted  in  the  case  of  Spain, 
for instance: 

 

recognising 

In  the  field  of  environmental  compliance  assurance, 
and 
for  professional 
the  need 
specialisation  to  effectively  tackle  environmental 
crime,  Spain  has  created  a  police  unit  (SEPRONA  – 
Guardia Civil) to combat environmental crime and a 
specialised  Environmental  Prosecution  Authority. 
The two have already been succesful in investigating 
and prosecuting organised environmental crime. 

3 

 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

 

 

The  use  of  the  LIFE  Programme  (LIFE  project 
INDEMARES and LIFE integrated project INTEMARES) 
to designate a consolidate network of marine Natura 
2000  sites  managed  in  a  demonstrative,  effective 
and  integrated  way,  with  the  active  participation  of 
the sectors involved and with research as a basic tool 
for decision-making. 

The  recent  creation  by  the  Ministry 
for  the 
Environment of a solid data-gathering system, which 
is very similar to the WISE-Water reporting tool and 
additionally  integrates  information  related  to  the 
UWWTD.  With  this  new  system,  it  will  be  easier  to 
send data from the regional to the national level and 
incorporate the data in the WISE system at EU level. 

4 

 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

Part I: Thematic Areas 

1. Turning the EU into a circular, resource-efficient, green and 

competitive low-carbon economy 

Measures towards a circular economy 

The  Circular  Economy  Action  Plan  emphasises  the  need 
to  move  towards  a  life-cycle-driven  ‘circular’  economy, 
reusing  resources  as  much  as  possible  and  bringing 
residual  waste  close  to  zero.  This  can  be  facilitated  by 
developing  and  providing  access  to  innovative  financial 
instruments and funding for eco-innovation. 

Following  the  adoption  of  the  Circular  Economy  Action 
Plan in 2015 and the setting up of a related stakeholder 
platform  in  2017,  the  European  Commission  adopted  a 
new  package  of  deliverables  in  January  20181.  This 
included  additional  initiatives  such  as:  (i)  an  EU  strategy 
for plastics; (ii) a Communication on how to address the 
interplay  between  chemical,  product  and  waste 
legislation; (iii) a report on critical raw materials; and (iv) 
a  framework  to  monitor  progress  towards  a  circular 
economy2. 

The  circular  economy  monitoring  framework  tracks  key 
trends  and  patterns  to  understand  how  the  various 
elements  of  the  circular  economy  are  developing  and 
whether  enough  action  has  been  taken.  The  framework 
comprises  10  key  indicators  which  cover  each  phase  – 
production,  consumption,  waste  management  and 
secondary  raw  materials  –  and  economic  aspects 
(investments, jobs, gross value added and innovation.) 

Among other key indicators, the circular (secondary) use 
of  material  in  Spain  was  8.2 %  in  2016  (EU-28  average 
11.7 %),  down  from  10.4 %  in  2010.  By  contrast,  Spain 
performs above the EU-28 average in terms of number of 
persons  employed  in  the  circular  economy  (2.02 %  of 
total employment in 2016 compared to EU-28 average of 
1.73 %). 

In  the  2017  Special  Eurobarometer  468  on  attitudes  of 
EU  citizens  towards  the  Environment,  88 %  of  Spanish 
people  said  they  were  concerned  about  the  effects  of 
plastic  products  on  the  environment  (EU-28  average 
87 %).  93 % said they  were  worried about  the impact of 
chemicals  (EU-28  average  90 %)3.  There  appears  to  be 
very  strong  support  for  circular  economy  initiatives  and 
environmental protection actions in Spanish society. 

Figure  1  shows  that  in  terms  of  resource  productivity 
(how efficiently the economy uses material resources to 
produce wealth), Spain is performing better than average 
in  the  EU,  with  EUR  2.80  per  kg  (EU  average  2.04)  in 
20174. It has the 6th best  resource productivity indicator 
in  the  EU,  and  its  resource  efficiency  has  significantly 
increased since 2009. 

Figure 1: Resource productivity 2010-20175 

It is important to highlight that the transition to a green, 
circular  and  low-carbon  economy  holds  the  potential  of 
opening  up  significant  new  sources  of  employment  in 
Spain6. 

The  main  policy  outcome  and  long-term  vision  on  the 
circular  economy  in  Spain  is  the  Spanish  Strategy  on 
Circular Economy. The first of its kind at national level in 
Spain.  The  preparation  of  the  strategy  was  started  in 
2017 by the former Ministry for Agriculture and Fisheries, 
Food and Environment (MAPAMA) and is now continuing 
by  the  current  Ministry  for  the  Ecological  Transition 
(MITECO). This was suggested in the EIR 2017 report. This 
national strategy is still in the process of being adopted. 

The  strategy  includes  an  action  plan  for  2018-2020  and 
an  investment  of  around  EUR 632  million.  Water  reuse 
will  be  a  major  component,  with  57 %  of  the  budget 
earmarked  for  such  actions.  The  strategy  also  aims  at 
dealing  with  tax  harmonisation  among  regions  as  an 
essential tool to encourage actions in line with the waste 
hierarchy.  The  plan  will  also  update  the  rules  on 
construction  and  demolition  waste.  Food  waste  is  also 

1 European Commission, 2018 Circular Economy Package. 
2 COM(2018) 029. 
3 European Commission, 2017, Special 486 Eurobarometer, ‘Attitudes of 
European citizens towards the environment’. 

4 Resource productivity is defined as the ratio between gross domestic 
product (GDP) and domestic material consumption (DMC). 
5 Eurostat, Resource productivity. 
6  European  Commission,  European  Semester  2018,  Country  Report  for 
Spain. SWD(2018) 207, of 7.3.2018. 

5 

 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

being  tackled  in  a  specific  strategy  “More  food,  less 
waste” and the relevant norms to increase livestock have 
been  amended  to  consider  residues  from  agri-food 
industry as by-products. 

Spanish regions have been very active in moving forward 
circular economy policies in Spain. Regional strategies on 
the circular economy are common in Spain and play a key 
role in supporting the circular transition on the ground7. 
For  instance,  the  Basque  Country,  Catalonia,  Andalusia 
and  Extremadura  have  regional  strategies.  Many  other 
regions are also preparing such regional strategies8. 

Civil  society  and  the  business  community  have  a  crucial 
role to play in helping shaping the transition in Spain. On 
18 September  2017,  55  Spanish  stakeholders  signed  the 
‘Pact for a Circular Economy’ in Madrid in the presence of 
the  European  Commissioner  for  the  Environment.  They 
committed  to  10  points  of  action  to  promote  the 
transition  towards  a  circular  economy.  One  of  the 
commitments is ‘to prioritise the effective application of 
the  hierarchy  of  waste  principles,  promoting  the 
reuse, 
prevention  of 
strengthening  recycling  and  promoting  traceability’. 
Currently,  more  than  300  stakeholder  have  signed  the 
Pact for a Circular Economy. 

its  generation,  encouraging 

The number of EU Ecolabel products and EMAS-licensed 
organisations  (EMAS  is  the  European  Commission’s  Eco-
Management  and  Audit  Scheme  –  a  programme  to 
in  a  more 
encourage  organisations 
environmentally sustainable way) in a country can give a 
rough  measurement  of  the  circular  economy  transition. 
These two indicators show to what extent this transition 
is  engaging  the  private  sector  and  other  national 
stakeholders.  They  also  show  the  commitment  of  public 
authorities to policies that support the circular economy. 

to  behave 

In  September  2018,  Spain  had  30  488  products  and  232 
licences registered in the EU Ecolabel scheme. Spain is by 
far  the  country  with  the  most  EU  Ecolabel  products,  i.e. 
43.6 %  of  all  EU  Ecolabel  products  in  Europe.  Also,  821 
organisations from Spain are registered in EMAS, making 
largest  number  of 
it  the  country  with  the  third 
organisations  registered  in  Europe,  after  Germany  and 
Italy. This was highlighted as a point of excellence in the 
2017 EIR. 

SMEs and resource efficiency 

The  ‘resource  efficiency’  of  Spanish  SMEs  continues  to 
pose  challenges.  Spain  continues  to  score  clearly  below 
the  EU  average  in  the  environmental  dimension  of  the 

Small Business Act, as shown in Figure 2. The percentage 
of  Spanish  SMEs  that  took  resource  efficiency  measures 
is  above  the  EU  average,  and  fewer  companies  benefit 
from public support for resource efficiency or to produce 
green products. 
Figure 2: Environmental performance of SMEs9 

By contrast, the latest Eurobarometer on ‘SMEs, resource 
efficiency and green markets’10 asked companies in 2017 
about  both  resource-efficiency  actions  they  had  taken 
and  additional  resource-efficiency  actions  they  planned 
to  take.  In  7  of  the  8  dimensions  of  resource  efficiency, 
more Spanish companies are making efforts than the EU 
average  —  the  exception  being  the  predominant  use  of 
renewable energy — and the number who are doing so is 
strongly increasing in many domains. 

For  the  next  2  years,  Spanish  SMEs  have  even  higher 
ambitions,  with  80 % 
(+16 %  compared  to  2015) 
intending  to  invest  in  energy  saving  and  64-69 %  (+11-
15 %) in water, minerals and waste reduction. This makes 
Spanish  companies  the  most  ambitious  in  the  EU  at  the 
moment. 

Some  28 %  of  Spanish  companies  (compared  to  the  EU 
average  of  22 %,  in  a  range  of  3 %-38 %)  relied  on 
external  support  in  their  efforts  to  be  more  resource-

7 The 37th Seminar of the Spanish Network of Environmental 
Authorities, held in Bilbao in November 2016, was devoted to the 
Circular Economy. 
8 This was one of the topics discussed in the EIR dialogue with Spain on 
8 March 2018, in Madrid. 

9 2017-SBA factsheet: Spain. 
10 Flash Eurobarometer 456 ‘SME, resource efficiency and green 
markets’ January 2018. The 8 dimension were Save energy; Minimise 
waste; Save materials; Save Water; Recycle by reusing material 
internally; Design products easier to maintain, repair or reuse; Use 
renewable energy; Sell scrap materials to another company. 

6 

                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

Figure 3: 2017 Eco-Innovation Index (EU=100)12 

efficient.  Private  sector  consultancy  is  by  far  the  most 
significant  area  of  external  cooperation  (mentioned  by 
61 %  and  increasing  compared  to  only  9 %  for  public 
consultancy  which  is  decreasing).  Only  9 %  benefited 
from public financial support in the form of grants, loans 
or guarantees. 

The  companies  surveyed  in  the  EU  regard  grants  and 
subsidies  as  the  most  important  form  of  help  for  a 
company  to  become  resource-efficient  (36 %).  Of  the 
companies  surveyed,  20-23 %  mention  technical  or 
financial  consultancy,  technology  demonstration  or 
better 
companies  as  useful 
assistance. 

cooperation  among 

Among  Spanish  companies,  42 %  mention  grants  and 
subsidies  as  useful  help;  for  these  companies,  the 
different types of financial and technical consultancy are 
considered more valuable (21-30 %) than the EU average 
(20-23 %). 
and 
documentation of case studies, in particular, are assigned 
significantly more importance than in the past. 

demonstration 

Technology 

Spain  has  developed  a  consultancy  market  that 
is 
performing  well,  and  companies  are  eager  to  invest  in 
resource  efficiency  and  the  development  of  ‘green 
products’.  This  is  a  good  basis  for  becoming  a  leader  in 
innovative  green  solutions  and  at  the  same  time 
encouraging investment across the economy. 

Designing  financial  instruments  specifically  for  green 
purposes  could  attract  even  more  private  finance.  The 
consultancy  sector  could  be  used  more  to  address  the 
major barrier of accessing funding that companies face. 

Eco-innovation 
Spain  ranked  16th  in  the  2018  European  Innovation 
Scoreboard, up 7.5 % since 201011. 
However,  Spain  ranked  9th  in  the  2017  Eco-Innovation 
Scoreboard 
its 
performance  high,  Spain  has  lost  three  positions  since 
the 2013 Eco-Innovation Scoreboard. 

(see  Figure  3).  Despite  keeping 

Spain  remains  an  eco-innovation  follower.  However,  as 
highlighted  in  the  2017  EIR,  the  economic  crisis  posed 
additional eco-innovation needs and challenges in Spain, 
and the effects of the crisis are still present. 

The  strong  level  of  decentralisation  and  high  margin  of 
manoeuver  of  the  Autonomous  Communities  in  Spain 
heavily influence the country's performance. 

Like  in  all  previous  scoreboards,  the  country's  overall 
performance remains above average with a total score of 
112 (see Figure 4). 

Figure 4: Spain’s eco-innovation performance  

The main barriers for eco-innovation can be divided into 
four groups. 

 

 

 

First  of  all,  there  are  the  political  and  regulatory 
barriers,  such  as  lack  of  support  and  stimulus  from 
governments  and  a  need  to  harmonise  standards 
and definitions for all types of industries. 
Secondly, there is a lack of environmental awareness 
among providers and clients and a lack of knowledge 
among small and medium-sized enterprises. 
Thirdly,  there  are  barriers  to  accessing  finance:  one 
of the main barriers preventing SMEs from adopting 
sustainable  practices  is  the  cost  of  new  innovation 
and green business models. Given the current lack of 
public  funding,  alternative  financing  models  are 

11 European Commission, European innovation Scoreboard 2018. 

12 Eco-innovation Observatory: Eco-Innovation scoreboard 2017. 

7 

                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

needed  that  take  into  account  the  companies  most 
committed  to  transparency  and  corporate  social 
responsibility. 
Lastly,  there  are  technological  and  infrastructure 
barriers like a lack of more specialised technical skills 
that are not currently present in the workforce.  

 

But  there  are  also  some  drivers  to  eco-innovation,  like 
the  first  Spanish  strategy  on  the  circular  economy 
mentioned earlier. Spain also continues to be very active 
on eco-design at EU level. 

Spain  sent  the  European  Commission  its  2017-2020 
national  action  plan  on  energy  efficiency,  which  gives 
continuity  to  the  2014-2020  plan.  In  this  new  version, 
Spain sets an energy efficiency target of 24.7 % for 2020 
(112.6 Mtep), above the EU target of 20 %. 

2019 priority action 

 

Spain  should  complete,  adopt  and  implement  the 
Spanish national Strategy on Circular Economy. 

Waste management 

Turning waste into a resource is supported by: 
(i)  fully 
legislation,  which 
implementing  EU  waste 
includes  the  waste  hierarchy,  the  need  to  ensure 
separate  collection  of  waste,  the 
landfill  diversion 
targets, etc.; 
 (ii) reducing waste generation and waste generation per 
capita in absolute terms; and  
(iii)  limiting  energy  recovery  to  non-recyclable  materials 
and  phasing  out  landfilling  of  recyclable  or  recoverable 
waste. 

This  section  focuses  on  management  of  municipal 
waste13  for  which  EU  law  sets  mandatory  recycling 
targets14. 
The  amount  of  municipal  waste15  generated  has  gone 
down these past few years. The average amount in Spain 
in  2017  (462 kg/y/inhabitant)  is  below  the  EU  average 
(487 kg/y/inhabitant). 

Figure 5 provides a breakdown of how municipal waste is 
treated  in  Spain  in  kg  and  per  capita.  Treatment  of 
municipal waste has not improved significantly these past 
few years. 

in 

recent  years 

Over  half  of  this  waste  is  still  being  landfilled  (54 %), 
more than double the EU average (24 %). There has been 
marginal  progress 
in  decreasing 
landfilling. Incineration slightly increased since 2014 and 
remained at  13 % in  2017  (still below the EU average of 
around  28 %).  Material  recycling  has  improved  only 
slightly  to  18 %  (compared  to  the  EU  average  of  29 %) 
while  15 %  of  the  waste  was  composted  (compared  to 
the EU average of 17 %). 

The  country 
is  not  taking  full  advantage  of  the 
opportunities  to  prevent  and  recycle  waste.  Figure  6 
shows  that  Spain  has  increased  its  recycling  rate  only 
slightly  since  2010.  It  must  strongly  invest  in  recycling 
and  reduce  landfilling  in  the  next  2  years  to  reach  the 
2020 recycling target. 

Based  on  its  current  overall  recycling  rate  of  34 %  (i.e. 
including recycling and composting), Spain needs to make 
a  significantly  bigger  effort  to  reach  the  EU  target  of 
recycling  50 %  of  municipal  waste  by  202016.  There  are 
big differences between regions. 

In its ‘Early Warning Report’17, the Commission identified 
Spain as one of the countries at risk of missing this target. 
The report  sets out  a  set  of  detailed key priority actions 
that Spain needs to take. Also, for the post-2020 period, 
it  will  need  to  do  even  more  to  comply  with  the  new 
recycling targets18. 

13 Municipal waste consists of mixed waste and separately collected 
waste from households and from other sources, where such waste is 
similar in nature and composition to waste from households. This is 
without prejudice to the allocation of responsibilities for waste 
management between public and private sectors. 
14 See Article 11.2 of Directive 2008/98/EC. This Directive was amended 
in  2018  by  Directive  (EU)  2018/851,  and  more  ambitious  recycling 
targets were introduced for the period up to 2035. 
15 Municipal waste consists of waste collected by or on behalf of 
municipal authorities, or directly by the private sector (business or 
private non-profit institutions) not on behalf of municipalities. 

16 Member States may choose a different method than the one used by 
ESTAT (and referred to in this report) to calculate their recycling rates 
and track compliance with the 2020 target of 50% recycling of municipal 
waste. 
17 European Commission, Report on the implementation of waste 
legislation, including the early warning report for Member States at risk 
of missing the 2020 preparation for re-use/recycling target on municipal 
waste, SWD(2018)425 accompanying COM(2018)656. 
18 Directive (EU) 2018/851, Directive (EU) 2018/852, Directive (EU) 
2018/850 and Directive (EU) 2018/849 amend the previous waste 
legislation and set more ambitious recycling targets for the period up to 

8 

                                                                 
 
                                                                 
 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

Figure 6: Recycling rate of municipal waste 2010-201722 

Illegal  or  sub-standard  landfilling  is  still  widespread  in 
Spain. The European Commission is closely following the 
matter 
infringement 
procedures. 

several  horizontal 

through 

Spain has a  valid national Waste Prevention Programme 
2014-2020 and a national Waste Management Plan 2016-
2022. Nevertheless, for the whole country to be covered, 
some  regional  waste  management  plans  still  have  to  be 
updated (the Canary Islands, the Baleares, Madrid, Ceuta 
and Aragon)19. 

Figure  5:  Municipal  waste  by  treatment  in  Spain  2010-
201720 

There is no national obligation to collect food and garden 
waste  separately.  However,  there  is  a  proposal,  in  the 
process of being adopted to modify Spanish regulation, in 
order  to  make  bio-waste  separate  collection  mandatory 
before  2021,  for  municipalities  with  more  than  5,000 
inhabitants,  and  before  2024 
rest  of 
the 
in  the  revised  Waste 
it 
municipalities,  as 
Framework Directive23. 

is  set 

for 

The  2016-2022  National  Framework  Plan  for  Waste 
Management (PEMAR)21, sets out the strategic guidelines 
for  waste  management  and  the  measures  needed  to 
meet  EU  targets.  The  final  objective  is  to  replace  linear 
models of production by circular models that bring waste 
materials back into the production line. 

The national plan applies the waste hierarchy in EU waste 
legislation.  This  means  that  the  regions  should  at  least 
reach the same recycling targets set at national level and 
that  these  targets  should  be  included  in  the  regional 
waste management plans. However, the lack of national 
limited  the  national 
enforcement 
authorities' capacity to enforce this requirement. There is 
a  gap  between  the  regional  and  local  level,  since  it  has 
not  been  defined  what  specific  contribution  the  local 
implement  the  Waste 
authorities  are  to  make  to 
Framework Directive. 

instruments  has 

2035. These targets will be taken into consideration to assess progress 
in future Environmental Implementation Reports. 
19 The Commission has brought this case to the EU Court of Justice. 
20 Eurostat, Municipal waste by waste operations. 
21 Plan Estatal Marco de Gestión de Residuos (PEMAR) 2016-2022. 

9 

The  economic  incentives  to  shift  waste  away  from 
landfilling and incineration to recycling are not sufficient. 
Several  regions  have  put  in  place  landfill  taxes  on 
municipal  waste 
(i.e.  Catalonia,  Castile  &  Leon, 
Extremadura and Navarra), although tax rates are low as 
compared to other EU Member States. 

In  addition,  local  waste  charges  are  generally  not  linked 
to the amount of waste generated, the result being that 
the  charges  are  not  an  incentive  for  enhanced  separate 
collection and recycling. ‘Bring’ schemes where residents 
bring  their  waste  to  communal  bins  remains  the  most 
common  system  of  collection  in  Spain.  This  includes  the 
separate  collection  of  light  packaging,  glass  packaging 
and paper and cardboard, whereas residual waste is still 
collected  with  biowaste.  A  system  of  separate  door-to-
door collection has been applied only in a relatively small 
number of municipalities. 

There  is  insufficient  policy  coordination  between  the 
national,  regional  and  local  levels  (e.g.  different  landfill 
tax rates are applied, waste treatment capacities are not 
shared  or  jointly  planned  between  regions,  residual 
waste  treatment  centres  are  built  in  contradiction  of 
national and regional targets). 

However,  some  actions  are  being  undertaken  at  the 
level.  For  example,  to  ensure 
national  or  regional 

22 Eurostat, Recycling rate of municipal waste. 
23The Ministry of Environment, the draft of new law on waste  

 
                                                                                                        
 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

coherent  planning  at  regional  level,  Spain  has  recently 
introduced  specific  plans  for  biowaste  management 
within  the  regional  waste  management  plans  (and  their 
coordinated  updates).  Also,  the  country  has  improved 
extended producer responsibility schemes (e.g. WEEE). In 
addition,  some  regions  are  considering  deposit  refund 
systems 
for  beverage  packaging  while  Navarra, 
Comunidad  Valenciana  and  the  Balearic  Islands  are 
discussing limitations on the single-use plastic items. 

The  ‘Early  warning  report  for  Spain’  identified  some  key 
actions for Spain to take to improve performance. These 
include  better  use  of  the  economic 
instruments, 
improvements  and  extension  of  the  separate  collection, 
and 
Extended  Producer 
Responsibility (EPR) schemes. The report also highlighted 
the  need  to  intensify  co-operation  between  the  regions 
to  use  waste  treatment  capacity  more  efficiently  and  to 
achieve the national recycling targets.  

improvements 

the 

to 

2019 priority actions 

 

 

 

 

 

 

including  biowaste. 

for  separate  collection 

landfill  tax  or  harmonise 
Introduce  a  national 
regional taxes to phase out  landfilling for recyclable 
and  recoverable  waste.  Channel  those  revenues 
towards measures to improve waste management in 
line with the waste hierarchy. 
Improve  and  expand  the  separate  collection  of 
Introduce  minimum 
waste, 
service  standards 
(e.g. 
frequency  of  collection,  types  of  containers,  etc.)  in 
municipalities  to  ensure  high  capture  rates  of 
recyclable waste. 
Introduce  mandatory  municipal  waste  charges  for 
inhabitants at an appropriate level to cover the costs 
of  collection  and  treatment,  e.g.  via  as  pay-as-you-
throw. 
Improve  the  functioning  of  Extended  Producer 
Responsibility  Systems,  in  line  with  the  general 
minimum requirements on EPR24. 
Complete missing regional Waste Management Plans 
in order to cover the whole territory. 
Close and rehabilitate the non-compliant  landfills as 
a matter of priority. 

Climate change 

The EU has committed to undertaking ambitious climate 
action internationally as well as in the EU, having ratified 
the Paris Climate Agreement on 5 October 2016. The EU 
targets are to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 
20 % by 2020 and by at least 40 % by 2030, compared to 
1990.  As  a  long-term  target,  the  EU  aims  to  reduce  its 
emissions  by  80-95 %  by  2050,  as  part  of  the  efforts 
required by developed countries as a group. Adapting to 
the adverse effects of climate change is vital to alleviate 
its  already  visible  effects  and  improve  preparedness  for 
and resilience to future impacts. 

The EU emissions trading system (EU ETS) covers all large 
greenhouse  gas  emitters  in  the  industry,  power  and 
aviation  sectors  in  the  EU.  The  EU  ETS  applies  in  all 
Member States and has a very high compliance rate. Each 
year,  installations  cover  around  99  %  of  their  emissions 
with the required number of allowances. 

For emissions not covered by the EU ETS, Member States 
have  binding  national  targets  under  the  Effort  Sharing 
legislation. 

Spain had lower emissions than its annual targets in each 
of the years 2013-2017. For 2020, Spain's national target 
under  the  EU  Effort  Sharing  Decision 
is  to  reduce 
emissions  by  10  %  compared  to  2005.  For  2030,  Spain's 
national  target  under  the  Effort  Sharing  Regulation  is  to 
reduce  emissions  by  26  %  compared  to  2005.  With 
existing  measures,  Spain  is  set  to  overachieve  its  2020 
reduction  target,  but  foresees  a  gap  of  10  percentage 
points to be bridged to reach its 2030 targets. Additional 
efforts are therefore needed in all sectors, in particular in 
view of the current strong economic growth. 

The  current  Spanish  Strategy  for  Climate  Change  and 
Clean  Energy,  2007-2012-2020 25  defines  the  objectives 
for designing policies and measures  for the reduction of 
GHG emissions, according to the objectives set out in the 
European policies. The “Non-ETS sectors Roadmap 2020” 
assessed  the  emissions  mitigation  potential  up  to  2020; 
while  it  identifies  the  cost  efficient  path  to  achieve  the 
objective, it is outside its scope to determine and design 
the  mechanisms  to  implement  the  measures.  Several 
sectoral plans and measures are also being implemented, 
such  as  the  Infrastructure,  Transport  and  Housing  Plan 
(PITVI, 2014-2020) or the plans to promote the purchase 
of  electric  vehicles,  the  most  recent  plan  dating  from 
2018. 

Spain 
is  currently  working  on  the  strategies  and 
objectives  for  2030  and  2050,  including  updating  the 

24 Set out in Directive (EU) 2018/851 amending Directive 2008/98/EC. 

25 The Ministry of Environment, Spanish Strategy for Climate Change 
and Clean Energy  

10 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

Non-ETS sectors Roadmap to cover the period until 2030. 
This  roadmap  includes  sinks  as  well  as  sources  of  GHG 
and  will  consider  the  2030  target  of  26%  emissions 
reductions  compared  to  2005  as  set  out  in  the  Effort 
Sharing Regulation. 

Figure  7:  Change  in  total  greenhouse  gas  emissions 
1990-2016 (1990=100%)26.  

Under  the  Kyoto  Protocol,  reported  quantities  for  Spain 
show  net  removals  of,  on  average,  -40.5  Mt  CO2-eq  for 
the period 2013 to 2016. In this regard Spain contributes 
with 10.5% to the annual average sink of -384.4 Mt CO2-
eq  of  the  EU-28.  Preliminary  accounting  for  the  same 
period  depicts  net  credits  of,  on  average,  -16.6  Mt  CO2-
eq, which corresponds to 14.3% of the  EU-28 accounted 
sink of -115.7 Mt CO2-eq. Reported net removals show an 
increase which levels off and slightly decreases for 2016.  

Figure  8:  Targets  and  emissions  for  Spain  under  the 
Effort Sharing Decision and Effort Sharing Regulation27. 

The  Spanish  Government  intends  to  present  in  this 
legislature  a  Law  of  Climate  Change  and  Energy 
Transition.  This  law  will  define  the  guiding  principles  for 
future  environmental  and  energy  policies  and  the 
necessary  mechanisms 
comply  with  national 
to 
commitments. 

Transport  represents  almost  a  quarter  of  Europe's 
greenhouse  gas  emissions  and  is  the  main  cause  of  air 
pollution in cities. The transport sector has not seen the 
same steady decrease in GHG emissions as other sectors 
since 1990. Transport emissions in Spain increased by 8 % 
from 2013 to 2016. 

Under  the  F-gas  Regulation  Member  States  must 
implement  training  and  certification  programmes  and 
rules  for  penalties  and  notify  these  measures  to  the 
Commission by 2017. Spain has notified both measures.  

The  EU  Strategy  on  adaptation  to  climate  change, 
adopted  in  2013,  aims  to  make  Europe  more  climate-
resilient, by promoting action by Member States, better-
informed  decision  making,  and  promoting  adaptation  in 
key vulnerable sectors. By adopting a coherent approach 
and  providing  for  improved  coordination,  it  seeks  to 
enhance the preparedness and capacity of all governance 
levels to respond to the impacts of climate change.  

A National Adaptation Strategy, the PNACC, was adopted 
in 2006. Three working programmes have been adopted 
so far, in 2006 (WP1),  2009 (WP2) and 2013 (WP3). The 
following sectors were considered by the PNACC-WP3 to 
address adaptation actions during the period 2014-2020: 
biodiversity, forestry, water, soils, agriculture, fishing and 
aquaculture, tourism, health, finances/insurance, energy, 
industry,  transport,  urbanism  and  building,  and  finally 
hunting and inland fishing. 

The  accounting  of  GHG  emissions  and  removals  from 
forests and agriculture is governed by the Kyoto Protocol. 

The Spanish authorities, at different level, are working on 
Adaptation to Climate Change28. Apart from Asturias and 

26 Annual European Union greenhouse gas inventory 1990–2016 (EEA 
greenhouse gas data viewer). Proxy GHG emission estimates for 
2017Approximated EU greenhouse gas inventory 2017 (European 
Environment Agency). Member States national projections, reviewed by 
the European Environment Agency. 

27 Proxy GHG emission estimates for 2017Approximated EU greenhouse 
gas inventory 2017 (European Environment Agency). Member States 
national projections, reviewed by the European Environment Agency. 
28 The 40th Seminar of the Spanish Network of Environmental 
Authorities, held in Sevilla in April 2018, was devoted to the challenges 
on adaptation to climate change. 

11 

 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

La Rioja, all Spanish regions have adopted regional action 
plans, or adaptation strategies. On a local level, 284 cities 
have declared their intention to develop local adaptation 
strategies  through  the  Covenant  of  Mayors  for  Climate 
and  Energy.  A  report  on  the  assessment  of  the 
implementation  of  the  PNACC  is  published  every  three 
years,  the  latest  dating  from  2014.  Monitoring  reports 
are  structured  according  to  the  architecture  of  the 
PNACC  and  form  the  basis  to  follow  up  the  progress  in 
the implementation of the Strategy. 

Figure 9: Greenhouse gas emissions by sector (Mt. CO2-
eq.). Historical data 1990-2016. Projections 2017-203029.  

The  total  revenues  from  the  auctioning  of  emission 
allowances  under  the  EU  ETS  over  the  years  2013-2017 
were EUR 2 024 million. 93 % of the auctioning revenues 
have  been,  or  will  be,  spent  on  climate  and  energy 
purposes. 

2019 priority action 

In this report, no priority actions have been included on 
climate action, as the Commission will first need to assess 
the  draft  national  energy  and  climate  plans  which  the 
Member  States  needed  to  send  by  end  of  2018.  These 
plans  should  increase  the  consistency  between  energy 
and climate policies and could therefore become a good 
example  of  how  to  link  sector  specific  policies  on  other 
interlinked themes  such as agriculture-nature-water and 
transport  air  health.  The  ‘State  of  the  Energy  Union’ 
reports will give the main assessment of Member States’ 
national  plans  and  their  progress  towards  the  climate 
targets. 

29 Annual European Union greenhouse gas inventory 1990–2016 (EEA 
greenhouse gas data viewer). Proxy GHG emission estimates for 
2017Approximated EU greenhouse gas inventory 2017 (European 
Environment Agency). Member States national projections, reviewed by 
the European Environment Agency. 

12 

 
 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

2. Protecting, conserving and enhancing natural capital 

Nature and Biodiversity 

in  the  EU  by  2020. 

The  EU  biodiversity  strategy  aims  to  halt  the  loss  of 
biodiversity 
full 
implementation  of  the  Birds  and  Habitats  Directives  to 
achieve  good  conservation  status  of  protected  species 
and  habitats.  It  also  requires  that  the  agricultural  and 
forest sectors help to maintain and improve biodiversity. 

It  requires 

Biodiversity Strategy 

The  Spanish  Strategic  Plan  for  Biodiversity  and  Natural 
Heritage,  for  the  period  2011-2017,  sets  the  overall 
objectives,  targets  and  actions  for  the  conservation  and 
sustainable  use  of  biodiversity  and  natural  heritage  in 
Spain. 
In  the  future,  this  plan  might  need  to  be 
completed, adapted or updated, taking into account the 
results  of 
the  updated 
implementation  and 
international and EU frameworks. 

its 

for 

regions  defined 

Spain boasts a very rich biodiversity. It covers four of the 
nine  bio-geographical 
the 
the  Habitats  Directive:  Alpine, 
implementation  of 
Atlantic, Mediterranean and Macaronesian, and three of 
the  five  marine  regions:  Atlantic,  Mediterranean  and 
Macaronesian.  It  has  117  natural  habitats  and  430 
species  of  wild  fauna  and  flora  of  Community  interest 
protected under the Habitats Directive. Spain is also the 
Member  State  with  the  highest  number  of  breeding 
birds,  with  a  total  of  379  bird  species  reported  in  its 
territory. 

Setting up a coherent network of Natura 2000 sites 

Importance 

(SCIs)  under 

Spain has 1 863 Natura 2000 sites, 647 Special Protection 
Areas (SPAs) under the Birds Directive and 1 467 Sites of 
Community 
the  Habitats 
Directive.  These  cover  27.3 %  of  its  land  territory  (EU 
average  of  18.2 %),  this  makes  Spain  the  Member  State 
contributing the largest  surface area to the Natura 2000 
Network  (more  than  222 000 Km²  in  total,  of  which 
138 330 Km²  of  terrestrial  and  84 322 Km²  of  marine 
surface). 

However,  several  terrestrial  and  marine  habitats  and 
species are still insufficiently covered by the Spanish SCIs 
network30. 

30 For each Member State, the Commission assesses whether the 
species and habitat types on Annexes I and II of the Habitats Directive, 
are sufficiently represented by the sites designated to date. This is 
expressed as a percentage of species and habitats for which further 
areas need to be designated in order to complete the network in that 
country. The current data, which were assessed in 2014-2015, reflect 
the situation up until December 2013. 

13 

Designating Natura 2000 sites and setting conservation 
objectives and measures 

The 6-year deadline required by the Habitats Directive to 
designate  Special  Areas  of  Conservation  (SAC)  and  to 
establish  appropriate  conservation  objectives  and 
measures has expired for more than 1 450 sites in Spain. 
However, Spain has not fulfilled this obligation for all the 
sites concerned. 

Over the last  few years, Spain has made progress in the 
designation  SACs  and  the  establishment  of  conservation 
measures  for  these  sites.  By  April  2018,  nearly  77 %  of 
the  sites  designated  under  the  Habitats  Directive  had 
been designated as SACs31. However, this task still needs 
to  be  urgently  fulfilled  for  a  significant  number  of  sites, 
especially  in  certain  regions  where  the  percentage  of 
designated  SACs  is  particularly  low,  such  as  Aragon, 
Murcia,  the  Valencian  Community,  the  Balearic  Islands 
and  Cantabria,  and  for  marine  sites  under  national 
full  development  and 
competence.  Moreover,  the 
implementation of the existing Natura 2000 management 
plans need to be ensured. 

Natura  2000  management  and  nature  protection 
is 
mainly  the  responsibility  of  the  regions  in  Spain,  except 
for the marine sites, which are under the competence of 
the national Administration if they do not have ecological 
continuity with adjacent terrestrial sites. 

Overall, Spain's basic legislation transposing the Habitats 
Directive is appropriate. It requires management plans to 
be drawn up before sites can be designated as SACs. This 
ensures that the SAC designation triggers the adoption of 
conservation measures, as required under Article 6(1) of 
the Habitats Directive. 

31 Source: information provided by Spanish authorities in the framework 
of the ongoing infringement case 2015/2003, information in the Natura 
2000 database provided by Spain and other official public information. 

 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

The  Commission  receives  a  high  number  of  complaints 
about  the  implementation  of  the  Nature  Directives  in 
Spain.  These  mainly  concern 
the  degradation  of 
designated  sites,  inadequate  management  and  the  poor 
quality  of  appropriate  assessments  under  Article 6(3)  of 
the  Habitats  Directive.  The  degradation  of  protected 
water-dependent  habitats  within  Natura  2000  is  also  a 
frequent concern. 

There are also concerns about the implementation of the 
Birds Directive in Spain, particularly in relation to certain 
hunting  models,  e.g.  the  extensive  use  of  trapping 
derogations for finches in several regions32. 

The  most  relevant  factors  limiting  achievement  of  the 
objectives  of  the  Nature  Directives  are  the  lack  of 
sufficient financial resources and scientific knowledge for 
some  species  and  habitat  types  to  support  appropriate 
low  use  of  the  European 
management.  There 
Agricultural  Fund  for  Rural  Development  to  finance 
nature  conservation  measures  and  Natura  2000 
priorities33.  This 
insufficient 
is  especially  due 
competent 
the 
coordination 
administrative authorities34. 

to 
relevant 

between 

is 

Further  efforts  should  be  taken  to  promote  a  coherent 
integration  of  Natura  2000  in  other  policies  and  in  the 
use  of  EU  funds  in  Spain,  including  in  the  framework  of 
the “Working Group on EU funding and biodiveristy and 
nature  conservation”  under  the  Spanish  Network  of 
Environmental  Authorities,  the  “Working  Group  on 
Spanish  Rural  Development  programmes  and  Natura 
2000 in Spain” launched by the Spanish Rural Network, as 
well  as  through  the  preparation  of  an  updated  Priority 
Action  Framework  (PAF)  for  the  financing  of  the  Natura 
2000 Network, for the next financing period 2021-2027 

The  possibilities  of  developing  sustainable  or  nature 
tourism  should  be  further  explored,  including  through 
implementation of the  Spanish 2014-2020 strategic plan 
on  nature  and  biodiversity  tourism.  In  line  with  this 
strategic  plan,  Spain  has  developed  good  practice 
guidelines  on  wild  watching  certain  protected  species35 
and set  up a  system  for recognition of the  sustainability 
of nature tourism in Natura 2000 sites36. 

The  Ministry  for  the  Ecological  Transition  of  Spain  and 
ISPRA  (Italy)  lead  a  Eionet  project  on  Tourism  and 
Environment (2018 – 2020). To fill the lack of information 

32  The  Commission  has  launched  an  infringement  procedure  against 
Spain on this matter. 
33 The Government of Spain, Evaluación del grado de inclusión de las 
prioridades del MAP para la Red Natura 2000 en los programas de 
desarrollo rural 2014-2020 de España. 
34 Source: Spanish Natura 2000 Priority Action Framework (PAF). 
35 The Government of Spain, Good Practices For The Observation Of 
Bear, Wolf And Lynx  
36 The Government of Spain, System for recognition of the sustainability 
of nature tourism in Natura 2000 sites  

14 

about  data  and  indicators  regarding  sustainable  tourism 
is the main goal of this project. One of the challenges is 
to provide information about protected areas in order to 
prevent pressures and impacts by tourism activities 

In  conclusion,  special  attention  should  be  paid  to  the 
potential for Spain to take advantage of its very valuable 
natural  capital  to  create  jobs.  Spain  makes  the  largest 
contribution to the EU Natura 2000 network.  Therefore, 
the  protection  of  biodiversity, 
related 
jobs 
reforestation,  green 
infrastructure  and  ecosystem 
services have an enormous potential in Spain that should 
not  be  ignored.  This  matter  was  already  stressed  in  the 
2017  EIR  report  and  was  part  of  the  EIR  dialogue  with 
Spain. 

to 

Progress 
restoring 
in  maintaining  or 
conservation status of species and habitats 

favourable 

Considering that Member States report every 6 years on 
the  progress  made  under  both  Directives,  no  new 
information  is  available  on  the  state  of  natural  habitats 
the 
and  species,  nor  on  progress 
conservation status of species and habitats in Spain, since 
the 2017 EIR. 

improving 

in 

As explained in the previous EIR report, only 12 % of the 
habitats’  biogeographic  assessments  and  22 %  of  the 
species  assessments  in  Spain  were  favourable  in  2013. 
Less  than  10 %  of  the  habitat  types  and  20 %  of  the 
species assessed in unfavourable conservation status are 
improving.  Spain  had  the  highest  share  of  unknown 
assessments  (around  25 %)  among  the  EU  Member 
States,  even 
improvements  have  been 
achieved  since  the  previous  reporting  period,  which 
indicates 
the 
implementation of the Nature Directives. 

knowledge 

important 

important 

gaps 

for 

if 

In  2017,  the  first  phase  of  a  project  to  draw  up 
for  monitoring  the 
methodologies  and  procedures 
conservation  status  of  the  habitat  types  in  Spain  at 
national level and by biogeographic regions, promoted by 
the  Ministry  for  the  Environment,  has  concluded.  Its 
results  will  feed  the  tasks  of  a  Working  Group  on 
Monitoring  of  habitat  types  whose  creation  was  agreed 
by the Protected Natural Areas Committee. 

2019 priority actions 

sufficient 

  Urgently  complete  the  designation  process  and  put 
in  place  clearly  defined  conservation  objectives  and 
the  necessary  conservation  measures  for  the  sites, 
their 
providing 
implementation in order to maintain/restore species 
and  habitats  of  community  interest  to  a  favourable 
conservation status across their natural range. 
Strengthen  the  integration  of  biodiversity  concerns 
into  other  policies  (in  particular  in  agriculture,  but 
also  in  fisheries,  urban  and  infrastructure  planning 

resources 

for 

 

                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

and  sustainable  tourism)  and  the  promotion  of 
communication between actors. 
Ensure the appropriate enforcement of hunting bans 
for protected bird species. 

 

Maintaining  and  restoring  ecosystems  and 
their services 

The EU biodiversity strategy aims to maintain and restore 
ecosystems  and  their  services  by 
including  green 
infrastructure  in  spatial  planning  and  restoring  at  least 
15 %  of  degraded  ecosystems  by  2020.  The  EU  green 
infrastructure  strategy  promotes  the  incorporation  of 
green infrastructure into related plans and programmes. 

The EU has provided guidance on the further deployment 
of green and blue infrastructure in Spain37 and a country 
page  on  the  Biodiversity  Information  System  for  Europe 
(BISE)38. This information will also contribute to the final 
evaluation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020. 
Spain’s  Natural  Heritage  and  Biodiversity  Law  (2007)39 
was  updated  in  2015  and  requires  that  the  country 
develops a National Green Infrastructure (GI) Strategy by 
2018,  and  then  the  Autonomous  Communities  develop 
their own regional strategies within three years. Work on 
the  National 
Infrastructure, 
Strategy  on  Green 
Connectivity  and  Ecological  Restoration  has  advanced 
over  the  last  years  but  is  still  ongoing  –it  is  expected  to 
be  approved  in  early  2019.  Several  other  strategies  and 
various  regional 
laws  address  connectivity  and  the 
restoration of natural areas40. 

The  National  Strategy  approach  is  the  integration  of 
ecosystems and their services in territorial planning,  and 
is  based  on  eight  main  goals  that  must  be  replicated  in 
the  regional  strategies.  These  goals  are  related  to 
connectivity,  ecological  restoration,  ecosystem  services, 
nature-based  solutions,  climate  change,  governance  and 
coordination 
levels, 
implementation  in  sectorial  policies  (water  and  marine 
management,  urban  planning,  infrastructures,  forestry, 
etc.)  and  also  communication,  education  and  the 
involvement of the civil society. 

administrative 

different 

at 

Implementation 
in  several  regions  and 
municipalities. As highlighted in the 2017 EIR report, one 
of  the  outstanding  examples  of  green  infrastructure 

is  ongoing 

37 European Commission, The recommendations of the green 
infrastructure strategy review report and the EU Guidance on a 
strategic framework for further supporting the deployment of EU-level 
green and blue infrastructure. 
38 Biodiversity Information System for Europe. 
39 Ecosystems for human well-being  
40 The 38th Seminar of the Spanish Network of Environmental 
Authorities, held in Barcelona in May 2017, was devoted to Green 
Infrastructure. 

development in the EU can be seen in the Basque capital 
of Vitoria-Gasteiz. There are also other good examples. 

In 2016, the city of Burgos, with its green belt, celebrated 
‘more  than  80  years  of  renaturalisation’  in  the  city.  This 
successful  urban  initiative  represents  a  long  history  of 
supporting  policies  and  legislation,  using  appropriate 
management  measures  and  initiatives  to  ensure  the 
continued territorial space and good ecological status of 
the green belt. 

The municipality of Benaguasil won the 2016 Sustainable 
City  Award  in  the  category  of  the  water  cycle  for  its 
management of rainwater based on green infrastructure. 
The  city  has  promoted  a  more  sustainable  management 
of  rainwater  by  using  sustainable  drainage  systems 
(SuDS),  which  are  green  infrastructure  that  encourages 
the retention, detention and infiltration of runoff. 
The  LIFE  SEGURA  RIVERLINK41  demonstration  project 
tested  approaches  to  green  infrastructure  that  remain 
relatively  uncommon  in  the  Mediterranean.  The  project 
includes monitoring activities and plans to validate three 
management  measures 
for  developing  a  green 
infrastructure approach to river basin management in an 
urban  setting.  The  project  should  be  an  early  step 
towards  restoring  permeability  of  the  whole  river  and 
serve as a good example in the region. 

to  ensure 

infrastructure 

Efforts 
is  a 
that  green 
mainstream  part  of  development  are  continuing.  The 
working group on transport infrastructure has developed 
several  guidelines,  with  examples  of  good  practice,  laws 
and regulations that help to reduce the fragmentation of 
habitats.  Green  infrastructure  measures  are  considered 
to reach the goal of recovering the good state of Spanish 
waters and preventing flooding. 

A  major  challenge  implementing  green  infrastructure  in 
Spain  is  the  polarised  approach  to  territorial  planning, 
which  has  often  resulted  in  social  conflicts  between 
conservation  authorities  and  resource  users.  This  has 
often  had  large  negative  consequences  for  biodiversity 
and  ecosystem  services.  For  example,  natural  areas 
strict  conservation  programmes  are  often 
under 
embedded in a broader matrix of intensely managed land 
uses (mostly for food production). 

In  conclusion,  Spain  is  encouraged  to  complete,  adopt 
implement  the  Spanish  national 
and  subsequently 
Strategy  on  Green 
Infrastructure,  Connectivity  and 
Ecological Restoration. 

41 EU project, The LIFE SEGURA RIVERLINK  

15 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

Estimating Natural Capital 

The  EU  biodiversity  strategy  calls  on  Member  States  to 
map  and  assess  the  state  of  ecosystems  and  their 
services42 in their national territories by 2014, assess the 
economic  value  of  such  services  and  integrate  these 
values  into  accounting  and  reporting  systems  at  EU  and 
national level by 2020. 

Spain  already 
(mapping  and 
implemented  MAES 
assessment  of  ecosystems)  before  2016  through  the 
national  ecosystem  assessments  and  since  then  has 
progressed on economic valuation and accounting. It has 
conducted:  (1)  a  systematic  review  and  meta-analysis 
studies  of  existing  economic  valuation  studies  in  Spain; 
(2)  a  valuation  of  five  ecosystem  services  using  market-
based  methods  and  mapping  those  values  captured  by 
the  market;  and  (3)  a  socio-economic  valuation  taking 
into  account  the  use  and  non-use  values  of  biodiversity 
and the plurality of valuation methods. 

These  results  are  contributing  to  the  work  on  the 
National  Strategy  on  Green  Infrastructure,  Connectivity 
and  Ecological  Restoration,  in  particular  for  maintaining 
and improving the provision of ecosystem services of the 
the  development  of  green 
elements 
infrastructure. 

linked 

to 

At  the  MAES  working  group  meeting  in  Brussels  in 
September  2018,  it  was  noted  that  Spain  had  not 
provided  updated  information.  Therefore,  no  progress 
has  been  recorded  since  January  2016  on  the  level  of 
implementation of MAES (Figure 10), but mostly because 
the country already had a good level of implementation. 
This assessment was made by the ESMERALDA project43. 
It  is  based  on  27  questions  about  implementation  and 
updated every 6 months. 

Figure 10: Implementation of MAES (September 2018) 

their services on the MAES webpage on BISE since 2015, 
different tasks have been ongoing. 

is  currently  ongoing. 

Within  the  framework  of  the  LIFE  Integrated  Project 
INTEMARES44, an assessment  of the  state of ecosystems 
and  their  services  within  the  Natura  2000  marine 
network 
In  this  context,  an 
economic  valuation  of  four  different  services  is  being 
conducted. This valuation will contribute to improve the 
perception  of  services  from  marine  ecosystems  and 
advance  in  their  integration  in  the  policy  on  the  marine 
strategy,  the  management  of  maritime  space  and 
compliance with Action 5 of the EU Biodiversity Strategy. 

With  regard  to  natural  accounting,  the  Ministry  for 
Ecological  Transition  in  Spain  and  the  Spanish  National 
Statistical Office have supported the ‘MAIA project: from 
Mapping  and  Assessment  to 
Integrated  ecosystem 
Accounting’. The project aims to develop and implement 
natural  capital  accounts  following  the  methodology  of 
the  System  of  Environmental  Economic  Accounting 
(SEEA)  –  Experimental  Ecosystem  Accounting.  The  2012 
SEEA  EEA  framework  and  the  forthcoming  SEEA  EEA 
Technical  Recommendations  will  be  used  as  a  starting 
point  to  test  ecosystem  accounting.  In  addition,  the 
project will test how experiences in the EU with mapping 
and modelling ecosystem services can be used in support 
of ecosystem accounting in the EU.  

Business  and  biodiversity  platforms,  networks  and 
communities of practice are key tools for promoting and 
facilitating  natural  capital  assessments  (NCA)  among 
business  and  financial  service  providers,  for  instance  via 
the  Natural  Capital  Coalition’s  protocol45. 
The 
assessments contribute to the EU Biodiversity Strategy by 
helping  private  businesses  to  better  understand  and 
value  both  their  impact  and  dependence  on  nature. 
Biodiversity platforms have been set up at EU level46 and 
in a number of Member States. 
The Spanish Business and Biodiversity Initiative47 is led by 
the  Biodiversity  Foundation48  (Fundación  Biodiversidad), 
which  depends  on  the  Ministry  for  the  Ecological 
Transition. It aims to involve the business sector more, to 
integrate  natural  capital  protection  into  business  and 
management  policies,  to  achieve  the  international  Aichi 
biodiversity targets. 

Although Spain has not provided any new information on 
its work on mapping and assessment  of ecosystems and 

42  Ecosystem  services  are  benefits  provided  by  nature  such  as  food, 
clean water and pollination on which human society depends. 
43 EU project Esmeralda  

44 LIFE15 IPE/ES/000012 LIFE-IP INTEMARES. 
45 Natural Capital Coalition, Natural Capital Protocol 
46 Business and Biodiversity, The European Business and Biodiversity 
Campaign aims to promote the business case for biodiversity in the EU 
Member States through workshops, seminars and a cross media 
communication strategy. 
47 Spanish Business and Biodiversity Initiative 
48 Fundación Biodiversidad. 

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Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

Invasive alien species 

Under  the  EU  biodiversity  strategy,  the  following  are  to 
be achieved by 2020:  
(i) invasive alien species identified;  
(ii) priority species controlled or eradicated; and  
(iii)  pathways  managed  to  prevent  new  invasive  species 
from disrupting European biodiversity.  
This  is  supported  by  the  Invasive  Alien  Species  (IAS) 
Regulation, which entered into force on 1 January 2015. 

Spain has been very active in developing the Union list of 
invasive alien species (IAS), proposing species for the first 
and second update of the list. 

Spain  has  submitted  7 
congratulated 
development of the Union list. 

for 

risk  assessments  and 

its  active  contribution 

to 

is 
the 

Figure  11:  Number  of  IAS  of  EU  concern,  based  on 
available georeferenced information for Spain49 

For  the  first  update,  it  proposed  pumpkinseed  (Lepomis 
gibbosus),  raccoon  dog 
(Nyctereutes  procyonoides), 
muskrat  (Ondatra  zibethicus),  crimson  fountaingrass 
(Pennisetum  setaceum)  and  black  bullhead  (Ameiurus 
melas).  The  risk  assessments  of  raccoon  dog,  muskrat 
and  crimson  fountaingrass  received  a  positive  opinion 
species  were 
from 
subsequently  considered  compliant  with  the  criteria  for 
listing  by  the  Committee  and  finally  included  in  the  first 
list  update.  The  risk  assessments  on  pumpkinseed  and 
black bullhead did not obtain a positive opinion from the 
Scientific  Forum.  They  were  resubmitted  for  the  second 

the  Scientific  Forum.  These 

49 Tsiamis K; Gervasini E; Deriu I; D`amico F; Nunes A; Addamo A; De 
Jesus Cardoso A. Baseline Distribution of Invasive Alien Species of Union 
concern. Ispra (Italy): Publications Office of the European Union; 2017, 
EUR 28596 EN, doi:10.2760/772692. 

list  update,  together  with  Ameiurus  nebulosus  and 
Channa argus. These risk assessments are currently under 
review by the Scientific Forum. 

The  report  on  the  baseline  distribution  (Figure  11),  for 
which  Spain  reviewed  its  country  and  grid-level  data, 
shows  that  of  the  37  species  on  the  first  Union  list,  20 
have already been observed in the environment in Spain. 
Of  these,  18  are  established,  with  red  swamp  crayfish 
(Procambarus  clarkii)  and  signal  crayfish  (Pacifastacus 
leniosculus) being the most widespread. 

Between  the  entry  into  force  of  the  Union  list  and 
18 May 2018, Spain did not  notify any new appearances 
of IAS of EU concern, in accordance with Article 16(2) of 
the IAS Regulation. 

the  Commission  of 

As  required  by  Article 24(2)  of  the  IAS  Regulation,  Spain 
has  notified 
the  competent 
authorities  in  Spain  responsible  for  implementing  the 
Regulation. It has communicated to the Commission the 
to 
national  provisions  on  penalties 
infringements  as  required  by  Article 30(4)  of  the  IAS 
Regulation  and  has  therefore  fulfilled  its  notification 
obligations in this regard. 

applicable 

Spain  has  not  notified  the  Commission  of  its  list  of 
invasive alien species of concern to the Canary Islands, as 
required under Article 6(4) of the IAS Regulation. 

2019 priority action 

 

Spain is urged to notify the Commission of its list of 
invasive  alien  species  of  concern  to  the  Canary 
Islands. 

Soil protection 

The  EU  soil  thematic  strategy  underlines  the  need  to 
ensure a  sustainable use of soils.  This  entails preventing 
further  soil  degradation  and  preserving  its  functions,  as 
well as restoring degraded soils. The 2011 Roadmap to a 
Resource Efficient Europe states that by 2020, EU policies 
must  take  into  account  their  direct  and  indirect  impact 
on land use. 

Soil  is  a  finite  and  extremely  fragile  resource  and  is 
becoming 
the  EU.  The 
percentage  of  artificial  land  cover50  (Figure  12)  can  be 
seen as a measure of the relative pressure on nature and 

increasingly  degraded 

in 

50 Artificial land cover is defined as the total of roofed built-up areas 
(including buildings and greenhouses), artificial non built-up areas 
(including sealed area features, such as yards, farmyards, cemeteries, 
car parking areas etc. and linear features, such as streets, roads, 
railways, runways, bridges) and other artificial areas (including bridges 
and viaducts, mobile homes, solar panels, power plants, electrical 
substations, pipelines, water sewage plants, and open dump sites). 

17 

 
                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

biodiversity  and  a  measure  of  the  environmental 
pressure  on  people  living  in  urbanised  areas.  A  similar 
measure is population density. 

Figure 12: Proportion of artificial land cover, 2015 51 

Spain  ranks  below  the  EU  average  for  artificial  land 
coverage  with  3.3 %  of  artificial  land  (EU-28  average  is 
4.1 %). The population density is 92.5/km2, which is also 
below the EU average of 11852. 

the  OECD  highlights,  significant  environmental 
As 
pressures  remain  in  Spain.  These  are  driven  by  land 
conversion  that  occurred  during  the  construction  boom 
of the early 2000s and the population increase which has 
been significant in some coastal areas53. 

Contamination  can  severely  reduce  soil  quality  and 
threaten  human  health  or  the  environment.  A  recent 
report  of  the  European  Commission54  estimated  that 
potentially  polluting  activities  have  taken  or  are  still 
taking place on approximately 2.8 million sites in the EU. 
At  EU level,  650 000 of these sites have been registered 

51 Eurostat, Land covered by artificial surfaces by NUTS 2 regions. 
52 Eurostat, Population density by NUTS 3 region. 
53 OECD Environmental Performance Review: Spain 2015 
54 Ana Paya Perez, Natalia Rodriguez Eugenio (2018), Status of local soil 
contamination in 
Europe:  Revision  of  the 
Contaminated Sites in Europe” 

in  the  management 

indicator  “Progress 

in national or regional inventories. 65 500  contaminated 
sites already have been remediated. Spain has registered 
43 092  sites  where  potentially  polluting  activities  have 
taken or are taking place, and already has remediated or 
applied aftercare measures on 157 sites. 

Soil  erosion  by  water  is  a  natural  process,  which  can  be 
aggravated by climate change and human activities, such 
as  inappropriate  agricultural  practices,  deforestation, 
forest  fires  or  construction  works.  High  levels  of  soil 
erosion  can  reduce  productivity  in  agriculture  and  have 
negative and transboundary impacts on biodiversity and 
ecosystem  service  and  on  rivers  and  lakes  (increased 
volume  of  sediments,  transport  of  contaminants). 
According  to  the  RUSLE2015  model55,  Spain  has  an 
average soil loss rate by water of 3.94 tonnes per hectare 
per  year  (t ha−a yr−y)  compared  to  a  European  mean 
average of 2.46 t ha−a yr−y, which indicates soil erosion is 
medium  on  average.  It  is  important  to  note  that  these 
figures  are  the  output  of  a  model  run  at  EU  level  and 
therefore  should  not  be  considered  as  values  measured 
in-situ. The actual soil loss rate can vary widely within the 
Member State depending on local conditions. 

Soil organic matter plays an important role in the carbon 
cycle and in climate change. Soils are the second largest 
carbon sink in the world after the oceans. 

Marine protection 

EU coastal and marine policy and legislation require that 
by  2020  the  impact  of  pressures  on  marine  waters  be 
reduced  to  achieve  or  maintain  good  environmental 
status (GES) and ensure that coastal zones are managed 
sustainably. 

The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD)56 aims 
to achieve good environmental status of the EU’s marine 
waters  by  2020.  To  that  end,  Member  States  must 
develop  a  marine  strategy  for  their  marine  waters,  and 
cooperate  with  the  EU  countries  that  share  the  same 
marine (sub)region. 

the  Convention 

For  Spain,  the  Convention  for  the  protection  of  the 
marine  environment  of  the  North-East  Atlantic  (the 
OSPAR  Convention)  and 
the 
Protection  of  the  Marine  Environment  and  the  Coastal 
Region of the Mediterranean (the Barcelona Convention) 
play an important role in achieving the Directive’s goals. 
These  conventions  provide  marine  strategies  with 
different  steps  to  be  developed  and  implemented  over 
six-year  cycles.  The  latest  step  required  Member  States 
to set  up their Programme of Measures and report  it to 

for 

55 Panagos, P., Borrelli, P., Poesen, J., Ballabio, C., Lugato, E., 
Meusburger, K., Montanarella, L., Alewell, C., The new assessment of 
soil loss by water erosion in Europe, (2015) Environmental Science and 
Policy, 54, pp. 438-447. 
56 European Union, Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC 

18 

 
                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

the Commission by 31 March 2016. The Commission has 
assessed whether Spanish measures were appropriate to 
reach good environmental status57. 

Spain’s Programme of Measures includes a large number 
of measures based on legal acts and regulations already 
in place. After a thorough analysis, Spain has also defined 
many new measures for aspects not  sufficiently covered 
by  the  existing  measures.  These  new  measures  are 
specifically designed to comply with the Marine Strategy 
Framework Directive. 

assessment  procedures.  Marine  seismic  acquisition 
projects in Mediterranean sea have been submitted to a 
thorough  impact  evaluation  procedures,  whose  primary 
focus  have  been  to  guarantee  cetacean,  turtle  and  bird 
conservation. 

Overall,  the  Spanish  Programme  of  Measures  partially 
addresses  the  requirements  of  the  Marine  Strategy 
Framework Directive. 

2019 priority actions 

  Determine 

the 

timelines 

for  achieving  good 
environmental  status  when  these  have  not  been 
reported. 
Provide  more 
information  about  the  measures, 
establish  more  measures  that  have  a  direct  impact 
on the pressures and quantify  the expected level of 
reduced pressure as a result of the measures. 
Ensure  regional  cooperation  with  Member  States 
sharing  the  same  marine  (sub)region  to  address 
predominant pressures. 
Ensure reporting of the different elements under the 
Marine  Strategy  Framework  Directive  by  the  set 
deadline. 

A large number of Spanish measures will directly address 
pressures.  Several  measures  also  refer  to  scientific 
research, which will help to fill gaps in knowledge on the 
marine  environment  and  achieve  good  environmental 
status. For example, for biodiversity, Spain has adopted a 
measure (i.e. a common roadmap) to improve and secure 
coordination  between  Spain  and  Portugal  for  the 
implementation  of  the  Marine  Strategy  Framework 
Directive  in  the  North-East  Atlantic  and  Macaronesian 
subregions.  For  marine  litter,  some  measures  directly 
address  the  pressure.  For  example,  there  are  measures 
dealing with port  activities that promote the installation 
of  specialised  equipment  and  fishing  docks  for  the 
selective  gathering  of  marine  debris  collected  at  sea. 
Other measures aim to increase knowledge and regional 
coherence in approaches to tackle marine litter58. 

Although the measures address almost all pressures and 
targets,  they  do  not  cover  every  activity  and  associated 
impact.  For  example,  there  are 
for 
underwater  noise,  as  the  measures  do  not  appear  to 
from  port  operations,  marine 
cover  noise 
hydrocarbon extraction and solid waste disposal sources. 
Nevertheless,  these  recent  years  it  has  been  establish  a 
level  of  marine  protection  from  hydrocarbons 
high 
impact 
exploration  projects  through  environmental 

limited  gaps 

input 

57 European Commission, Commission Report assessing Member States’ 
programme of measures under the MSFD – SWD(2018) 393 final, of 
31.07.2018. 
58 The 39th Seminar of the Spanish Network of Environmental 
Authorities, held in Santiago de Compostela in November 2017, was 
devoted to ‘Marine litter and EU funds’. 

 

 

 

19 

 
                                                                 
 
 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

3. Ensuring citizens' health and quality of life 

See also Figure 13 on the total PM2.5 and NOx emissions 
per sector. 
Figure 13: PM2.5 and NOx emissions by sector in Spain62 

Air quality 

EU clean air  policy and legislation require the significant 
improvement  of  air  quality  in  the  EU,  moving  the  EU 
closer to the quality recommended by the World Health 
Organisation.  Air  pollution  and  its  impacts  on  human 
health,  ecosystems  and  biodiversity  should  be  further 
reduced with the long-term aim of not exceeding critical 
loads  and  levels.  This  requires  strengthening  efforts  to 
reach  full  compliance  with  EU  air  quality  legislation  and 
defining strategic targets and actions beyond 2020. 

The  EU  has  developed  a  comprehensive  body  of  air 
legislation59,  which  establishes  health-based 
quality 
standards and objectives for a number of air pollutants. 

to  attain 

Despite  these  reductions  in  emissions,  additional  efforts 
reduction 
are  needed 
commitments  (compared  to  2005  emission  levels)  laid 
down in the new National Emissions Ceilings Directive  63 
for 2020-2029 and for any year from 2030. 

the  emission 

in 

significantly 

Most  of  the  emissions  of  several  air  pollutants  have 
in  Spain60.  The  emission 
decreased 
reductions  between  1990-2014  mentioned 
the 
previous  EIR  continued  between  2014-2016  with 
emissions  of  sulphur  oxides  (SOx)  falling  by  12.68 %, 
emissions  of  nitrogen  oxides  (NOx)  by  4.47 %,  and 
emissions  of  fine  particulate  matter  PM2.5  by  1.01 %. 
Meanwhile,  emissions  of  volatile  organic  compounds 
(NMVOCs)  have  increased  by  4.63 %  and  emissions  of 
ammonia (NH3) by 6.13 % between 2014 and 2016. Most 
of  the  emissions  of  these  pollutants  are  within  the 
national  emission  ceilings.  However,  emissions  of 
ammonia  are  currently  exceeding  applicable  ceilings61 

to 

fine 

attributable 

At  the  same  time,  air  quality  in  Spain  continues  to  give 
cause  for  concern.  For  2015,  the European Environment 
Agency  estimated  that  about  27 900  premature  deaths 
were 
particulate  matter 
concentrations,  1 800  to  ozone  concentration  and  over 
8 900 to nitrogen dioxide concentrations64. 
For 201765, exceedances related to the annual limit value 
for  nitrogen  dioxide  (NO2)  were  registered  in  7  (out  of 
127)  air  quality  zones  (including  Madrid,  Barcelona  and 
Granada). Exceedances have also been registered related 
to  particulate  matter  (PM10)  in  5  (out  of  131)  air  quality 
zones (including Aviles and Granada)66. Furthermore, the 
target  values  for  ozone  were  exceeded.  See  also  Figure 
14 on the number of air quality zones in exceedance for 
NO2, PM2.5, and PM10. 

59 European Commission, 2016. Air Quality Standards 
60 See EIONET Central Data Repository and Air pollutant emissions data 
viewer (NEC Directive) 
61The current national emission ceilings have been mandatory since 
2010 (Directive 2001/81/EC); revised ceilings for 2020 and 2030 have 
been set by Directive (EU) 2016/2284 on the reduction of national 
emissions of certain atmospheric pollutants, amending Directive 
2003/35/EC and repealing Directive 2001/81/EC. 

62 2016 NECD data submitted by Member State to the EEA. 
63 Directive 2016/2284/EU 
64 EEA, Air Quality in Europe – 2018 Report, p. 64.Please see details in 
this report as regards the underpinning methodology). 
65 EEA, EIONET Central Data Repository. 
66 EEA, EIONET Central Data Repository. 

20 

 
 
 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

Figure  14:  Air  quality  zones  exceeding  EU  air  quality 
standards in 201767  

According  to  a  special  report  by  the  European  Court  of 
Auditors68,  EU  action  to  protect  human  health  from  air 
pollution has not had its expected impact. There is a risk 
that  air  pollution  is  being  underestimated  in  some 
instances because it may not always be monitored in the 
right  places.  Member  States  are  now  required  to  report 
both  real-time  and  validated  air  quality  data  to  the 
Commission69. 

The  persistent  breaches  of  air  quality  requirements  (for 
PM10  and  NO2),  which  have  severe  negative  effects  on 
people’s health and the environment, are being followed 
up  by  the  European  Commission  through  infringement 
procedures  covering  all  the  Member  States  concerned, 
including Spain. 

On the exceedance of NO2, the measures Spain is putting 
in  place  or  planning  appear  capable  of  appropriately 
tackling the identified gaps, if correctly implemented. For 
this  reason,  the  European  Commission  will  continue  to 
closely  monitor  implementation  of  these  measures  and 
their effectiveness in redressing the situation as soon as 
possible. The aim is to put in place appropriate measures 
to bring all zones into compliance. 

2019 priority actions 

 

In  the  context  of  the  forthcoming  national  air 
pollution  control  programme  (NAPCP),  reduce  the 
main  emission  sources  through  targeted  actions, 
including the priority actions stated below. 

67 EEA, EIONET Central Data Repository. Data reflects the reporting 
situation as of 26 November 2018. 
68 European Court of Auditors, Special report no 23/2018, Air pollution: 
Our health still insufficiently protected, p.41. 
69 Article 5 of Commission Implementing Decision 2011/850/EU of 12 
December 2011 laying down rules for Directives 2004/107/EC and 
2008/50/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards 
the reciprocal exchange of information and reporting on ambient air 
quality (OJ L 335, 17.12.2011, p. 86) requires Member States to provide 
Up-To-Date data. 

  Accelerate  reductions 

and 

dioxide 

in  nitrogen  oxide 

(NOx) 
emissions 
(NO2) 
nitrogen 
concentrations; this will require, for example, further 
reducing  transport  emissions  —  in  particular  in 
urban  areas  (and  may  require  proportionate  and 
targeted  restrictions  on  the  access  of  vehicles  to 
these areas). 

  Reduce  ammonia  (NH3)  emissions  to  comply  with 
currently  applicable  national  emission  ceilings,  for 
example by introducing or expanding the use of low-
emission agricultural techniques. 

  Accelerate  reductions  in  particulate  matter  (PM2.5 
and  PM10)  emissions  and  concentrations;  this  will 
require,  for  example,  further  reducing  emissions 
from  energy  production  and  heat  generation  using 
solid  fuels,  or  promoting  efficient  and  clean  district 
heating. 

Industrial emissions 

The  main objectives of EU policy on industrial emissions 
are to: 
(i) protect air, water and soil; 
(ii) prevent and manage waste; 
(iii) improve energy and resource efficiency; and  
(iv) clean up contaminated sites.  
To  achieve  this,  the  EU  takes  an  integrated  approach  to 
the  prevention  and  control  of  routine  and  accidental 
industrial emissions. The cornerstone of the policy is the 
Industrial Emissions Directive70 (IED). 

The  overview  of  industrial  activities  regulated  by  IED 
is  based  on  the  country  profile  on  Spain's 
below 
Industrial Emissions policy71. 

industrial 

In  Spain,  around  5 770 
installations  are 
required  to  have  a  permit  based  on  the  IED.  The 
industrial sectors in Spain with the most IED installations 
in  2015  were  intensive  poultry  and  pig  farming  (50 %), 
followed  by  minerals  (10 %),  waste  (9 %)  and  the 
chemicals sector (7 %). 

The sectors identified as contributing the largest burden 
to the environment for emissions to air were:  

 

the  energy-power  sector  for  sulphur  oxides  (SOx), 
nitrogen  oxides  (NOx),  cadmium  (Cd),  arsenic  (As), 
chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), lead (Pb),  mercury (Hg) 
polychlorinated 
nickel 

(Zn) 

zinc 

and 

(Ni) 

70 Directive 2010/75/EU covers industrial activities carried out above 
certain thresholds. It covers energy industry, metal production, mineral 
and chemical industry and waste management, as well as a wide range 
of industrial and agricultural sectors (e.g. intensive rearing of pig and 
poultry, pulp and paper production, painting and cleaning). 
71 European Commission, Industrial emissions policy country profile – 
Spain  

21 

 
                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

of  individual  plants  —  reduce  emissions  of  sulphur 
dioxide  by  25 %  to  81 %,  nitrogen  oxide  by  8 %  to  56 %, 
dust by 31 % to 78 % and mercury by 19 % to 71 %. 

Figure 16: Emissions to air from IED sectors and all other 
national total air emissions, Spain (2015) 

dibenzodioxins  and  polychlorinated  dibenzofurans 
(PCDD/F),  
‘other activities’ (mostly intensive rearing of poultry 
or  pigs  and  surface  treatment)  for  non-methane 
volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) and ammonia 
(NH3),  
the iron and steel sector for Cd, Hg, and PCDD/F, and  
the  hazardous  waste  management  sector 
for 
PCDD/F.  

 

 
 

The breakdown is shown in the bar chart on Figure 16. 

Figure  15:  Number  of  IED  industrial  installations  by 
sector, Spain (2015) 

The  challenges  identified  were  certain  air  and  water 
pollutant  emissions  and  the  odour  from  plants  engaged 
in  the  ‘intensive  rearing  of  poultry  or  pigs’,  air  pollution 
from  coal-fired  power  generation  plants  and  the  co-
incineration of waste in cement plants. 

2019 priority actions 

  Review  permits  to  ensure  compliance  with  newly 

 

adopted BAT conclusions. 
Introduce  stricter  monitoring  and  enforcement  to 
ensure compliance with BAT conclusions. 

  Address  air  and  water  pollutant  emissions  and  the 
odour  from  plants  engaged  in  the  intensive  rearing 
of poultry or pigs and tackle air pollution from coal-
fired  power  generation  plants  and  from  the  co-
incineration of waste in cement plants. 

Noise 

The  Environmental  Noise  Directive72  provides  for  a 
common  approach  to  avoiding,  preventing  and  reducing 
the harmful effects of exposure to environmental noise. 

Excessive noise from aircraft, railways and roads is one of 
the  main  causes  of  environmental  health-related  issues 
in the EU73. 

72 Directive 2002/49/EC. 
73 WHO/JRC, 2011, Burden of disease from environmental noise, 
Fritschi, L., Brown, A.L., Kim, R., Schwela, D., Kephalopoulos, S. (eds), 

The  sectors  of  metal  production,  energy-power,  energy-
refining and ‘other activities’  were identified as having a 
significant environmental burden on emissions to water. 
Metal  production,  chemicals  and  waste  management 
mainly contribute to the generation of hazardous waste. 
Waste  management,  energy-power,  metal  production 
and ‘other activities’ mostly contribute to the generation 
of non-hazardous waste. 

The  EU  approach  to  enforcement  under  the  IED  gives 
citizens  strong  rights  to  have  access  to  relevant 
information  and  participate  in  the  permitting  process. 
This empowers citizens and NGOs to ensure that permits 
are appropriately granted and their conditions fulfilled. 

Best  available  techniques  (BAT)  reference  documents 
(BREFs)  and  BAT  conclusions  are  developed  through  the 
exchange  of 
information  between  Member  States, 
industrial  associations,  NGOs  and  the  Commission.  This 
ensures  good  collaboration  with  stakeholders  and 
enables a better implementation of the IED. 

The  Commission  relies  on  and  welcomes  the  efforts  by 
national  competent  authorities  to  implement  the  legally 
binding  BAT  conclusions  and  associated  BAT  emission 
levels 
in  a 
in  environmental  permits.  This  results 
considerable and steady reduction of pollution. 

By  way  of  example,  implementing  the  recently  adopted 
BAT  associated  emission  levels  for  large  combustion 
plants will  —on average  and depending on the situation 

22 

 
 
                                                                 
 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

Based  on  a  limited  set  of  data74,  environmental  noise 
least  1 100  premature  deaths  and  4 100 
causes  at 
hospital  admissions  per  year 
in  Spain.  Also,  some 
2 300 000 people have trouble sleeping. 

Implementation of the Environmental Noise Directive has 
been  significantly  delayed  in  Spain.  Based  on  the  most 
recent full set of information that could be analysed (i.e. 
2012 for noise maps and 2013 for action plans), the noise 
mapping  for  urban  agglomerations,  roads  and  railways 
has  not  been  completed  yet.  Also,  the  action  plans  for 
almost  all  the  agglomerations,  airports  and  most  major 
roads  and  major  railways  are  still  missing.  These 
instruments,  adopted  after  a  public  consultation  had 
been  carried  out,  should  include  the  measures  to  keep 
noise low or reduce it. 

2019 priority actions 

Complete missing noise mapping  

 
  Complete action plans for noise management. 

Water quality and management 

EU  legislation  and  policy  requires  that  the  impact  of 
pressures  on  transitional,  coastal  and  fresh  waters 
(including  surface  and  ground  waters)  be  significantly 
reduced.  Achieving,  maintaining  or  enhancing  a  good 
status  of  water  bodies  as  defined  by  the  Water 
Framework Directive  will  ensure that EU citizens benefit 
from good quality and safe drinking and bathing water. It 
will  further  ensure  that  the  nutrient  cycle  (nitrogen  and 
phosphorus)  is  managed  in  a  more  sustainable  and 
resource-efficient way. 

The  existing  EU  water  legislation75  puts  in  place  a 
protective  framework  to  ensure  high  standards  for  all 
water  bodies  in  the  EU  and  addresses  specific  pollution 
sources  (for  example,  from  agriculture,  urban  areas  and 
industrial  activities).  It  also  requires  that  the  projected 
impacts  of  climate  change  are 
into  the 
flood  risk 
corresponding  planning 
management  plans  and  river  basin  management  plans, 
including  programme  of  measures  which  include  the 
actions  that  Member  States  plan  to  take  in  order  to 
achieve the environmental objectives. 

instruments  e.g. 

integrated 

Water Framework Directive 

Spain  has  25  River  Basin  Management  Plans  (RBMPs)  in 
accordance  to  the  Water  Framework  Directive  (WFD), 
related to the correspondent River Basin Districts. 
Spain has adopted its second cycle RBMPs76, although the 
seven  RBMPs  of  the  Canary  Islands  have  been  adopted 
with a great delay77. Moreover, in the case of the Canary 
Islands  RBMPs  the  deadline  for  public  consultation 
provided by the WFD has been shortened. 

The  European  Commission  has  assessed  the  status  and 
the  development  since  the  adoption  of  the  first  cycle 
RBMPs,  taking  also  into  consideration  the  suggested 
actions included in the 2017 EIR. 

The most significant pressures on surface water bodies in 
Spain was point urban waste water (37% of surface water 
(34%), 
followed  by  diffuse  agriculture 
bodies), 
abstraction  or  flow  diversion  for  agriculture  (22%).  16% 
of  surface  water  bodies  were  affected  by  abstraction  or 
flow  diversion  for  public  water  supply  and  20%  by 
introduced  species  and  diseases  and  15%  by  dams, 
barriers and locks for irrigation. 

The most significant pressures on groundwater bodies in 
terms  of  proportion  of  groundwater  bodies  affected  at 
the national level was diffuse agricultural pollution (56% 
of groundwater bodies), abstraction or flow diversion for 
agriculture  (32%),  and  abstraction  or  low  diversion  for 
public water supply (27%). 

The  most  significant  impact  on  surface  water  bodies  in 
Spain  in  terms  of  the  proportion  of  water  bodies  was 
altered  habitats  due  to  morphological  changes  (36%  of 
water  bodies)  followed  by  nutrient  pollution  (33%)  and 
organic pollution (24%). 

The  most  significant  impact  on  groundwater  bodies  was 
nutrient pollution (affecting 39% of groundwater bodies) 
followed  by  chemical  pollution  (27%)  and  abstraction 
exceeding available groundwater resources (22%). 

in  all  water  categories. 

In  general  in  Spain,  ecological  monitoring  is  undertaken 
at more sites and in more water bodies than for chemical 
monitoring 
terms  of 
surveillance  monitoring of ecological status, there  was a 
decrease in the numbers of sites in most  districts  for all 
relevant water categories (39% reduction in the number 
of surveillance sites and 18% reduction in the numbers of 
operational sites). 

In 

World Health Organisation, Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, 
Denmark. 
74 European Environment Agency, Noise Fact Sheets 2017. 
75 This includes the Bathing Waters Directive (2006/7/EC), the Urban 
Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) (on discharges of 
municipal and some industrial wastewaters), the Drinking Water 
Directive (98/83/EC) (on potable water quality), the Water Framework 
Directive (2000/60/EC) (on water resources management), the Nitrates 
Directive (91/676/EEC) and the Floods Directive (2007/60/EC). 

Ecological status or potential of surface water bodies are 
illustrated  below  in  Figure  17.  The  proportion  of  water 
bodies  with  unknown  ecological  status  has  decreased 
from  20%  to  2%  for  rivers  and  lakes  and  from  around 
15% to 5% for coastal and transitional waters. 

76 According to the WFD, the deadline was December 2015. 
77 The first in September 2018 and the last one in January 2019. 

23 

                                                                                                        
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

Figure 17: Ecological status or potential of surface water 
bodies in Spain78 

Between  the  first  and  second  RBMPs  there  was  a  large 
increase  in  the  proportion  of  surface  water  bodies  with 
good  chemical  status  from  58%  to  87%  and  a  small 
increase 
in  the  proportion  failing  to  achieve  good 
chemical  status.  Furthermore,  the  proportion  with 
unknown  status  has  reduced  from  37%  to  6%.  54%  of 
water  bodies  were  classified  by  monitoring,  45%  by 
expert judgement and less than 1% by grouping. 

The chemical status situation in ground water bodies has 
not  improved  and  31  %  of  the  total  groundwater  body 
area  is  still  failing  good  chemical  status.  The  number  of 
groundwater  bodies  failing  good  quantitative  status  has 
declined  slightly  and  75%  are  now  in  good  quantitative 
status and 25% are failing good status. 

Significant  progress  seems  to  have  been  achieved 
regarding  the  development  of  RBMPs  included  focus  on 
significant  pressures  for  each  River  Basin  District, 
mapping  of  national  measures  as  well  as  Key  Type  of 
Measures  to  tackle  pressures.  In  addition,  gap  analyses 
for  2015,  2021  and  2027  have  been  reported  for  most 
significant pressures in 18 River Basin Districts.  

Spain  has  reported  that  some  measures  from  the  first 
Programme  of  Measures  has  been  completed  but  there 
are  still  obstacles  regarding  implementation  related  to 
lack  of 
lack  of 
delays,  governance, 
mechanisms. 

finance  and 

78 EEA, WISE dashboard. 

Nitrates Directive 

Regarding  the  implementation  of  the  Nitrates  Directive, 
2012-2015  data  on  the  regional  action  programmes  and 
the current designation of nitrate vulnerable zones have 
shown  possible  shortcomings,  with  intensive  livestock 
production  still  putting  relevant  pressure  on  the  quality 
of water resources79. 

Drinking Water Directive 

On  the  Drinking  Water  Directive,  no  new  data  are 
available since the previous 2017 EIR report80. 

Figure 18: Bathing water quality 2014 – 2017 81 

Bathing Water Directive 

On the Bathing Water Directive,  Figure 18 shows that  in 
2017,  out  of  the  2 219  Spanish  bathing  waters,  85.5 % 
were  of  excellent  quality,  8 %  of  good  quality  and  2.7 % 

79 The Commission has launched in 2018 a new horizontal infringement 
procedure against Spain on the Nitrates Directive. 
80 Compliance with the Drinking Water Directive microbiological and 
chemical parameters as last reported was very high. 
81 European Environment Agency, 2018. European bathing water quality 
in 2017, p. 21. 

24 

 
                                                                 
 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

of sufficient quality (84.6 %, 8.8 % and 3.2 % respectively 
in 2015). In 2017, 38 bathing waters were of poor quality 
in  Spain82.  Detailed  information  on  Spanish  bathing 
waters  is  available  on  a  national  portal83  and  via  an 
interactive  map  viewer  of  the  European  Environment 
Agency84. 

Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive  

Spain  has  encountered  difficulties  implementing  the 
Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (UWWTD). 

five  different 

The  Commission  has 
infringement 
procedures  currently  open  against  Spain.  For  the  most 
advanced  case  (normal  areas),  the  EU  Court  of  Justice 
issued a  second ruling on 25 July 2018, imposing for the 
first 
the  environmental  sector  pecuniary 
sanctions to Spain85. 

time 

in 

On collection and treatment rates in Spain overall, 96.9 % 
of  the  wastewater  is  collected,  and  84.1 %  of  the  load 
collected undergoes secondary treatment. Finally, 66.8 % 
of the wastewater load collected receives more stringent 
treatment. 

and 

treatment 

The estimated investment needed to ensure appropriate 
collection 
remaining 
agglomerations  is  EUR 10  billion86.  According  to  this  last 
report,  the  final  projects  are  expected  to  be  completed 
by  2027-2030,  far  beyond  the  final  deadline  of  2005  set 
up by Directive 91/271/EEC. 

the 

of 

The  Spanish  Government  has  recently  announced  the 
new  Plan  DSEAR87,  which  include  water  investments  in 
the  entire  Spanish 
i) 
territory, 
wastewater, ii) water efficiency and iii) water reuse. 

three  pillars: 

in 

For  the agglomerations in breach of the Directive,  Spain 
must finalise those projects as soon as possible. It should 
be  noted  that  above  700  Spanish  agglomerations  are 
covered  by  the  five  infringement  procedures  mentioned 
above. 

Floods Directive 

The  Floods  Directive  established  a  framework  for  the 
assessment and management of flood risks, aiming at the 

82 European Environment Agency, 2017. European bathing water 
quality in 2016 , p. 17. 
83 Information system NAYADE.  
84 EEA, State of bathing waters. 
85 A lump sum of EUR 12 million and a penalty payment of almost EUR 
11 million per six-month period of delay. 
86 European Commission, Ninth Report on the Implementation Status 
and the Programmes for Implementation of the Urban Waste Water 
Treatment Directive (COM(2017)749) and Commission Staff Working 
Document accompanying the report (SWD(2017)445). 
87 It has been submitted to public  consultation during 3 months, from 
October 2018 to January 2019. 

25 

reduction  of  the  adverse  consequences  associated  with 
significant floods. 

Spain  has  adopted  and  reported  its  first  Flood  Risk 
Management Plans (except for the Canary Islands) under 
the  Directive.  The  Commission’s  assessment  found  that 
good  efforts  were  made  with  positive  results  in  setting 
objectives and devising measures focusing on prevention, 
protection  and  preparedness.  The  assessment  also 
showed  that,  as  was  the  case  for  other  Member  States, 
Spain’s Flood Risk Management Plans do not yet include 
a  baseline 
in 
implementing measures (by extension the objectives too) 
and better integration with the National Climate Change 
Adaptation  Strategy.  In  addition,  there  is  scope  for 
clarifying  the  method  for  selecting  and  prioritising 
measures, including the use of cost/benefit analysis. 

the  progress  achieved 

to  assess 

Certain areas of Spain are water-stressed88, meaning that 
water  demand  exceeds  the  available  water  resources 
under sustainable conditions. Spanish RBMPs include, by 
legal  requirement,  water  balances  at  the  scale  of  water 
exploitation  systems.  In  water-stressed  areas,  water 
reuse  and  desalination  are  part  of  the  mix  of  available 
resources. 

Decoupling  economic  growth  from  water  use  remains  a 
challenge in Spain89. Sectors like agriculture, tourism and 
energy  are  heavily  dependent  on  the  water  supply.  An 
adequate  water-pricing  policy  to  recover  the  cost  of 
water  services,  together  with  greater  transparency  of 
prices  and  subsides,  promotion  of  wastewater  reuse, 
modernisation  of  irrigation  systems,  as  well  as  better 
control  of  water  abstraction,  could  all  harness  water 
saving  potential,  especially  in  the  agriculture  sector,  the 
major consumer of water. 

As  the  2017  EIR  country  report  pointed  out,  there  is 
scope 
for  a  more  efficient  use  of  water  supply 
infrastructures.  For  example,  desalinisation  plants  built 
primarily on the Mediterranean coast, some of them with 
EU  funding,  have  been  underused,  although  they 
increased  their  use  during  the  last  drought  period  that 
Spain has suffered until end-2017. Measures to improve 
water governance could also be envisaged. 

Spain  faces  investments  gaps  on  water  supply  and 
infrastructures90.  Further 
infrastructure 
wastewater 
investment  is  needed  to  improve  water  management, 
e.g. to treat wastewater, reduce of leaks in the networks 
supply.  This  would  bring 
and 

improve  water 

88 European Commission, 2016. EU Resource Efficiency Scoreboard 2015 
89 Study ‘Potential for Growth and Job Creation through the Protection 
of Water Resources’. DG ENV 2015. 
90 European Commission, Country Report Spain 2018 in the framework 
of the European Semester (SWD(2018) 78 final, of 7.3.2018. 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

environmental, economic and social benefits to Spain91. 

To  address  the  main  water  management  challenges  in 
Spain,  the  Ministry  for  Agriculture,  Fisheries,  Food  and 
Environment  launched  a  process  in  2017  to  reach  a 
"‘National Pact on Water"’ (Pacto Nacional por el Agua). 
However, this process is still not completed. 

is  a  recurrent  problem 

Finally,  flooding 
in  Spain. 
However,  natural  water  retention  measures  to  prevent 
flooding  are  often  disregarded,  even  though  they  are 
sometimes  more  cost-effective  than  hard  infrastructure. 
Such measures also cost less than what it costs to recover 
from a flood92. 

2019 priority actions 

 

Ensure  that  the  next  RBMPs  are  adopted  on  time, 
the  requirements  concerning  public 
respecting 
consultation. 

  Make  more  use  of  flow  meters,  to  ensure  that  all 
abstractions  are  metered  and  registered,  and  that 
permits  are  adapted  to  available  resources,  and 
ensure  that  users  report  regularly  to  river  basin 
authorities  on  the  volumes  actually  abstracted, 
especially in those river basin districts, which present 
ensuring 
abstraction 
significant 
implementation of environmental e-flows. 
Spain shall ensure appropriate designation of nitrate 
vulnerable  zones  and  reinforce  action  programmes 
in  order  to  address  nutrients  pollution  and  improve 
water  quality  over  time  (groundwater,  fresh  and 
saline surface waters) in these zones. 

pressures, 

 

  Urgently  complete  implementation  of  the  UWWTD 
for  all  agglomerations,  by  building  up  the  necessary 
wastewater infrastructure. 

 

  Adopt urgently the FRMPs for the Canary Islands and 
ensure that the next FRMPs are adopted on time. 
Take  steps  to  clarify  the  method  for  selecting  and 
prioritising  measures, 
the  use  of 
cost/benefit  analysis  in  the  Flood  Risk  Management 
Plans. 

including 

Chemicals 

The  EU  seeks  to  ensure  that  by  2020  chemicals  are 
produced and used in ways that minimise any significant 
adverse  effects  on  human  health  and  the  environment. 
An  EU  strategy  for  a  non-toxic  environment  that  is 
conducive  to  innovation  and  to  developing  sustainable 
substitutes,  including  non-chemical  options,  is  being 
prepared. 

91 European Semester 2018, Commission’s proposal of CSRs for Spain, 
recital 17, COM(2018) 408 final, 23.5.2018. 
92 RPA, 2014. Study on Economic and Social Benefits of Environmental 
Protection and Resource Efficiency Related to the European Semester. 
Study for the European Commission, Annex 1: Country fiches 

26 

legislation93  provides  baseline 
The  EU’s  chemicals 
protection for human health and the environment. It also 
ensures  stability  and  predictability 
for  businesses 
operating within the internal market. 

The  2016  European  Chemicals  Agency  (ECHA)  report  on 
the  operation  of  REACH  and  CLP94  showed  that 
enforcement  activities  are  still  evolving.  The  Forum  for 
Exchange  of  Information  on  Enforcement  has  shown, 
through  its  coordinated  enforcement  projects95,  that 
there  is  room  for  more  effective  enforcement.  This  is 
especially the case for registration obligations and safety 
data  sheets  where  a  relatively  high 
level  of  non-
compliance has been found. 

as 

national 

activities 

enforcement 

Whilst improving, there is room for further improvement 
of 
regards 
harmonisation  throughout  the  Union,  including  controls 
on  imported  goods.  It  is  also  clear  that  enforcement  is 
still  weak  in  some  Member  States,  in  particular  with 
respect 
imports  and  supply  chain 
obligations. The architecture of enforcement capabilities 
continues  to  be  complex  in  most  EU  countries.  The 
enforcement  projects  also  revealed  some  differences 
between  Member 
to 
systematically  report  higher  compliance  than  the  EU 
average and others lower). 

to  control  of 

States 

some 

tend 

(e.g. 

A  2015  Commission  study  already  highlighted  the 
importance  of  harmonised  market  surveillance  and 
enforcement  when  implementing  REACH  in  Member 
States. This was seen as a critical factor in the successful 
operation of a harmonised single market96. 

In March 2018, the Commission published an evaluation 
of  REACH97.  The  evaluation  concludes  that  REACH 
delivers  on  its  objectives,  but  that  progress  made  is 
slower  than  anticipated.  In  addition,  the  registration 
dossiers often are incomplete. The evaluation underlines 
the need to enhance enforcement by all actors, including 
registrants,  downstream  users  and 
in  particular  for 
importers,  to  ensure  a  level  playing  field,  meet  the 
objectives  of  REACH  and  ensure  consistency  with  the 
actions envisaged to improve environmental compliance 
and  governance.  Consistent  reporting  of  Member  State 
enforcement activities  was considered  important  in that 
respect. 

93 Principally  for  chemicals:  REACH  (OJ  L  396,  30.12.2006,  p.1.);  for 
Classification,  Labelling  and  Packaging,  the  CLP  Regulation  (:  OJ  L  252, 
31.12.2006,  p.1.),  together  with  legislation  on  biocidal  products  and 
plant protection products. 
94 European Chemicals Agency, Report on the Operation of REACH and 
CLP 2016. 
95 ECHA, on the basis of the projects REF-1, REF-2 and REF-3.  
96 European Commission. (2015). Monitoring the Impacts of REACH on 
Innovation, Competitiveness and SMEs. Brussels: European 
Commission. 
97 COM(2018) 116. 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

As  defined  in  the  Spanish  Sanctions  Regime  Law,  the 
responsibility for enforcing REACH/CLP  in Spain lies  with 
the  regional  authorities.  Each  Autonomous  Community 
has its own legal arrangements to organise enforcement. 

At the central level, there are two competent authorities 
for  REACH/CLP 
two  aspects  of 
implementing REACH/CLP: protection of the environment 
and  protection  of  human  health.  These  two  authorities 
help coordinate all Spanish enforcement authorities. 

responsible 

for 

The Ministry for the Ecological Transition coordinates the 
work  of  the  environmental  inspection  authorities.  The 
Ministry  runs  a  technical  coordination  group  where  the 
regional  inspection  authorities  can  share  information, 
knowledge and experiences. 

The Ministry of Health, Consumption and Social Welfare 
coordinates  the  work  of  the  regional  public  health 
authorities 
inspectors’ 
through  a  public  health 
coordination group. The Ministry has established a Rapid 
System  on  Information  Exchange  on  Chemicals  (SIRIPQ), 
inspectors  to 
which  allows  regional  public  health 
exchange information on cases of non-compliance98. 

Spain  is  involved  in  the  ‘R4R-European  chemical  regions 
for  resource  efficiency’  project  which  brings  together 
six 
research 
countries99. 

industry  and 

institutes, 

regions 

in 

Financing greener cities 

Spain initially earmarked around EUR 1 362 million of the 
2014-2020 European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 
(6.58 %)  for  sustainable  urban  development105,  more 
than  the  mandatory  5 %  of  allocations  under  the  ERDF 
and the European Social Fund (ESF) in this programming 
period. With the mid-term technical review, this rate has 
been put even higher. 

In  the  previous  programming  periods,  Spain  used  ERDF 
funding for outstanding large-scale initiatives to promote 
sustainable  urban  development  and  urban  regeneration 
across many cities and towns (i.e. URBAN initiatives). 

initiative  for 

In  the  current  EU  funding  period  2014-2020,  Spain  has 
also  designed  a  comprehensive 
local 
administrations  to  promote  Sustainable  and  Integrated 
initiative  called 
Urban  Development.  This  ambitious 
EDUSI106  has  been  launched  by  the  Ministry  for  Finance 
local 
using  the  ERDF  2014-2020 
administrations 
It 
continues  the  tradition  in  Spain  of  using  EU  funding  for 
urban  regeneration  in  many  cities  and  towns,  while 
placing the emphasis on sustainability. The EDUSI can be 
considered  as  a  good  practice,  which  have  involved 
plenty of Spanish local administrations and stakeholders, 
although  they  need  to  be  implemented  properly  and  in 
due time. 

(municipalities  and  provinces). 

in  favour  of  the 

Making cities more sustainable 

EU policy on the urban environment encourages cities to 
put  policies  in  place  for  sustainable  urban  planning  and 
design.  These  should  include  innovative  approaches  to 
urban  public 
sustainable 
buildings,  energy  efficiency  and  urban  biodiversity 
conservation. 

transport  and  mobility, 

Europe  can  be  seen  as  a  union  of  cities  and  towns. 
Around  75 %  of  the  EU  population  live  in  urban  areas100 
and  that  figure  is  projected  to  rise  to  just  over  80%  by 
2050101.  Urban  areas  pose  particular  challenges  for  the 
environment  and  human  health,  but  they  also  provide 
opportunities  for  using  resources  more  efficiently.  The 
EU encourages municipalities to become greener through 
initiatives such as the Green Capital Award102, the Green 
Leaf Award103 and the Green City Tool104. 

At  EU  level,  within  the  Urban  Development  Network 
initiatives,  the  ERDF  is  supporting  Urban  Innovative 
Actions  (UIA)  to  test  new  and  unproven  solutions  to 
urban  challenges.  The  UIA  has  a  total  ERDF  budget  of 
EUR 372  million  for  the  period  2014-2020.  Spain  has 
obtained  funding  in  the  first  two  calls  for  projects  in 
Bilbao, 
and 
Viladecans107. 

Fuenlabrada,  Madrid,  Velez-Malaga 

Participation in EU urban initiatives and networks 

The  EU  stimulates  green  cities  through  awards  and 
funding,  such  as  the  EU  Green  Capital  Award  for  cities 
with  more  than  100 000  inhabitants  and  the  EU  Green 
Leaf  initiative  for  cities  and  towns  of  20 000  to  100 000 
inhabitants. 

In the case of Spain, it should be highlighted that Vitoria-
Gasteiz  (in  the  Basque  Country)  was  one  of  the  first 
winners, receiving the EU Green Capital Award in 2012108. 

98 ECHA, National Inspectorates - Spain  
99 European Commission. Improving resource efficiency in SMEs, 
December 2017, p. 43.  
100 European Commission, Urban Europe, 2016. 
101 European Commission, Eurostat, Urban Europe, 2016, p.9. 
102 European Commission, European Green Capital.  
103 European Commission, European Green Leaf Award.  
104 European Commission, Green City Tool. 

105 Government of Spain, Partnership Agreement 2014-2020, 2014. 
106 Under the national ERDF OP 2014-2020, there have been three calls 
for proposals of the EDUSI (Estrategias de Desarrollo Urbano Sostenible 
e Integrado). 
107 European Commission, Urban Innovative Actions. 
108 European Commission, Green Capital 

27 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

In addition, Mollet del Vallès (in Catalonia) was also one 
of  two  cities  that  won  the  inaugural  EU  Green  Leaf  in 
2015109. 

Another  Spanish  city,  Cornellà  de  Llobregat  (also  in 
Catalonia)  has  won  the  2019  European  Green  Leaf 
the 
Award, 
jointly  with  Horst  aan  de  Maas 
Netherlands110.  Cornellà  was  commended 
its 
commitment  to  transforming  itself  into  a  genuinely 
sustainable high-density metropolitan area that could be 
a role-model for other compact urban areas. The jury was 
particularly impressed by its traffic calming measures and 
the promotion of sustainable transport modes. 

in 
for 

Spanish  municipalities  are  generally 
in  EU 
environmental protection and climate change initiatives. 

involved 

in 

The  country  participates 
the  European  Urban 
Development Network111, which includes more than 500 
implementing 
cities  across  the  EU  responsible  for 
integrated  actions  based  on 
sustainable  urban 
development strategies financed by the ERDF. 

Spanish  municipalities  (23  in  total)  are  also  involved  in 
the  URBACT  initiative  which  supports  sustainable  urban 
development through 19 different thematic networks112. 
Four  of  these  networks  are  currently  led  by  Spanish 
cities:  
 

Igualada  coordinates  4 D  Cities  to  give  a  boost  to 
innovation  and  knowledge  economy  in  the  health 
sector;  

  Baena  manages  AGRI-URBAN,  based  on  a  multi-
dimensional concept of sustainability which includes 
environmental,  social  and  economic  objectives,  and 
INT-HERIT to revitalise local cultural heritage;  

capacity  to  plan,  finance  and  manage  integrated  urban 
regeneration for sustainable energy uptake115. 

Spanish  cities  are  actively  involved  in  initiatives  such  as 
Eurocities and the EU Covenant of Mayors. By June 2018, 
some  1 826  Spanish  cities  had  signed  up  to  the  EU 
Covenant  of  Mayors,  under  the  coordination  of  several 
provincial  and 
regional  authorities.  Catalonia  and 
Andalusia  are  among  the  regions  with  the  highest 
number of commitments signed116. 

These  urban 
initiatives  and  networks  should  be 
welcomed and encouraged, as they contribute to a better 
urban  environment.  In  2017,  10.8 %  of  those  living  in 
Spanish  cities  considered  that  their  residential  area  was 
affected  by  pollution,  grime  or  other  environmental 
problems,  up  from  13.5 %  in  2016.  These  figures  are 
lower than the EU-28 levels (20 % in 2017 and 18.9 % in 
2016.)  and  those  of  neighbouring  countries  in  particular 
(15.4 % for Portugal and 18 % for France in 2017)117. 

Nature and cities 

Around  8 %  of  the  Natura  2000  network  in  Spain  is  in  a 
functional  urban  area118,  below  the  EU  average  of  15 % 
(see Figure 19). 

Figure  19:  Proportion  of  Natura  2000  network  in 
Functional Urban Areas (FUA)119 

  Burgos,  with  Gastronomic  Cities,  works  towards 
sustainable 
to 

promote 

policies 

integrated 
gastronomy; and  
is 

  Bilbao 

the 
In  Focus 
competitiveness and job creation capability of cities. 

improve 

leading 

to 

Several  Horizon  2020  network  projects  have  also 
contributed to the sustainability of Spanish cities. CIVITAS 
in  a 
includes  30  municipalities  representing  Spain 
common effort to achieve cleaner and better transport in 
cities113. Public authorities and research organisations are 
part  of  the  Socialcar  project  to  incorporate  carpooling 
into  existing  mobility  systems114.  Spanish  cities  are  also 
participating in FosterReg to  increase the public sector’s 

The  Natural  Heritage  and  Biodiversity  Law  is  one  of  the 
main instruments for maintaining the Natura 2000 areas 
in Spain. The regional authorities are responsible for this 
network  on  land,  while  the  national  government  is 
responsible for marine sites. Despite cuts in both national 
and regional budgets and resources, significant advances 
have  been  made  recently  in  completing  the  network  in 
Spain. 

Several  nature-cities  projects  are  currently  underway. 
Some  municipalities  have  been  included  in  Natura  2000 

109 European Commission, 2015. Mollet del Vallès wins inaugural 
European Green Leaf 2015 
110 European Commission, Winners of the 2020 European Green Capital 
and 2019 European Green Leaf Award 
111 European Commission, The Urban Development Network. 
112 URBACT, Associated Networks by country. 
113 European Commission, Horizon 2020 Civitas Project. 
114 European Commission, Horizon 2020 Socialcar Project. 

115 European Commission, Horizon 2020 FosterReg Project. 
116 Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, Country signatories. 
117 European Commission, Eurostat, Pollution, grime or other 
environmental problems by degree of urbanisation. 
118 European Commission, Definition of Functional Urban Areas. 
119 European Commission, the 7th Report on Economic, Social and 
Territorial Cohesion, 2017, p. 121. 

28 

                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

sites,  enabling  them  to  benefit  from  national  and 
international green tourism120. 

to 

project 

improve 

awareness-raising 

An 
the 
understanding  of  Natura  2000  in  Spain  won  a  Natura 
2000 Award  in  2018121.  Among  the  project's  actions,  37 
workshops  were  held  to  explain  to  people  living  and 
working in Natura 2000 sites that cover urban areas the 
opportunities that such sites could bring to them122. 

Urban sprawl 

Spain  had  a  relatively  low  weighted  urban  proliferation 
in  2009  compared  to  a 
(WUP)  with  0.75  UPU/m2 
European  average  (EU28+4)  of  1.64  UPU/m2,  a  17 % 
increase from 2006 to 2009123124. 

Traffic congestion and urban mobility 

Traffic  congestion  is  an  important  environmental  issue 
for some urban areas in Spain. Many subjects addressed 
in  this  report  are  to  some  extent  related  to  traffic 
congestion, especially air quality and noise. 

The total number of passenger cars in Spain rose to 22.8 
million  in  2016125,  while  the  rate  of  passenger  cars  per 
1 000  inhabitants  increased  from  474  in  2014  to  492  in 
2016126.  The  total  number  of  vehicles  (including  lorries, 
buses,  motorcycles  and  any  other  type  of  vehicles) 
amounted to 32 million in 2016. This increase has led to 
more hours spent annually in road congestion, from 26.5 
in 2014 to 27 in 2016, ranking Spain as the country with 
the 14th highest figure in the EU127. 

The  traffic  intensity  and  congestion  differs  widely  per 
region  and  road  type.  The  national  average  use  for 
highways is 12 826 vehicles/day/km128. The higher traffic 
intensity is found in the main metropolitan areas such as 
Madrid  and  Barcelona,  mainly  due  to  the  presence  of 
daily  commuters;  and  in  the  main  interregional  and 
international highways, where heavy transport also plays 
a decisive role129. For example, the M-40 (Madrid) has an 
average traffic intensity of 106 000 vehicles/day; and the 
A-3  (Madrid-Valencia)  around  167 000  vehicles/day; 
while  on  the  A-11  (Valladolid-Soria)  only  3 452  vehicles 
transit per day130. 

120 EFE, Las ciudades comienzan a rentabilizar la protección de sus 
recursos naturales, LIFE INFONATUR 2000. 
121 European Commission, Activa Red Natura. 
122 European Commission, 2018 Communication Award. 
123 Urban Permeation Units measure the size of the built-up area as well 
as its degree of dispersion throughout the region. 
124 EEA, Urban Sprawl in Europe, Annex I, 2014, pp.4-5. 
125 Dirección General de Tráfico, Parque de vehículos . 
126 Eurostat, Passenger cars per 1 000 inhabitants, 2018. 
127 European Commission, Hours spent in road congestion annually. 
128 Ministerio de Fomento, Tráfico en 2016 . 
129 Statistics Netherlands (CBS), Traffic Intensity 2017, 21 February 2018. 
130 Ministerio de Fomento, Tráfico en la Red de Carreteras del Estado, 
datos definitivos de 2016. 

Overall,  Spanish  cities  have  medium-low  levels  of  traffic 
congestion.  Barcelona,  Palma  de  Mallorca,  Las  Palmas 
and Granada are the most congested cities in Spain, with 
levels  ranging  from  26  to  31 %;  while  Madrid,  Seville, 
levels 
Valencia,  Zaragoza  and  14  other  cities  have 
between  15  and  25 %131.  In  comparison  with  cities  in 
other  European  countries  (including  non-EU  countries, 
such as Russia), Barcelona is the 44th most congested city 
(out  of  215  cities),  Seville  93rd,  Madrid  104th,  Valencia 
131st  and  Zaragoza  157th.  Vitoria  is  the  least  congested 
city in Spain, ranking 214th in Europe. 

On  urban  mobility,  around  63 %  of  Spanish  employees 
commute  to  work132.  Around  837 000  people  worked  in 
the  public  transport  sector  in  over  62 000  companies  in 
2015133. The use of public transport, especially buses and 
trams, has increased in recent years. In 2016, 12.7 million 
trips  were  made  using  public  transport  everyday  (2.3 % 
more than in 2015)134. These  last  few years have  seen a 
progressive increase in the use of urban public transport, 
with 7.8 million daily users of buses and 3.12 million daily 
users  of  metro  systems.  The  use  of  interurban  public 
transport  has  also  increased,  with  1.6  million  people 
using the train on a daily basis and 1.9 million using the 
bus and 27 000 using maritime transport135. 

In 2016, the modal split of passenger transport136 shows 
that  in  Spain  passenger  cars  accounted  for  81.4 %  of 
inland passenger transport (EU28 83.4 %), with buses and 
trolley buses accounting for  around 11.9 % (EU28  9.1 %) 
and  trains  6.7 %  (EU28  7.6 %)137.  Cars  are  still  the 
favourite mode of transportation for longer distances. 

131 TOMTOM, TOMTOM Traffic Index. 
132 PageGroup, El 40% de los trabajadores en España considera 
estresante el transporte público, 2016. 
133 Ministerio de Fomento, Los transportes y las infraestructuras, 
Informe anual 2015, p. 43. 
134 Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Espana en Cifras 2017, p. 50. 
135 Instituto Nacional de Estadística, España en Cifras 2017, p. 51. 
136 The relation between mode of transport and kilometres travelled 
(excluding bicycles and other alternative methods). 
137 Eurostat, Passenger transport Statistics by modal split. 

29 

                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

Personal  transport  exacerbates  seasonal  problems  with 
air  quality  and 
the  major 
traffic  congestion 
metropolitan  areas  in  Spain, 
leading  to  health  and 
economic costs. A comprehensive approach is needed to 
tackle  this  matter,  bringing  environmental  as  well 
economic and social benefits. 

in 

Among  the  main  challenges  observed  in  this  report,  air 
quality  —  to  an  extent  related  to  traffic  congestion  —
especially  requires  priority  actions  at  the  local  level. 
Innovative  solutions  for  traffic  management  are  being 
developed and tested in a number of Spanish cities138. 

The  EU  also  stimulate  the  adoption  of  measures  in  this 
field,  for  instance,  though  the  European  Mobility  Week 
Awards  for  towns, 
in  two  categories:  one  smaller 
municipalities  under  50,000  inhabitants  and  one  for 
larger  municipalities.  In  the  case  of  Spain,  León  and 
Murcia  have  been  winners  of  the  European  Mobility 
Week  Awards 
the  2006  and  2015  editions, 
respectively, and in all editions, there are Spanish cities in 
the shortlist. 

in 

Permanent  Measures  have  been  a 
requirement 
established  by  the  Spanish  Coordination  of  the  Project 
since  2001,  arriving  in  the  2018  edition  to  33.039 
sustainable  mobility, 
on 
permanent  measures 
the  Spanish  municipalities.  The 
implemented  by 
permanent  measures  have  been 
revealed  as  a 
fundamental tool to involve not only the municipalities in 
the  objectives  of  the  European  Mobility  Week,  but  also 
citizens  and  civil  society,  which  also  bet  on  the 
implementation of good practices of sustainable mobility, 
mobility  actions  within  the  framework  of  this  European 
Project. 

138 In many cities large areas of the historic centre have been 
progressively limited to pedestrian use only, e.g. Pontevedra. 

30 

 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

Part II: Enabling framework: implementation tools 

4. Green taxation, green public procurement, environmental 

funding and investments 

Green  taxation  and  environmentally  harmful 
subsidies 

incentives, 

Financial 
taxation  and  other  economic 
instruments  are  effective  and  efficient  ways  to  meet 
environmental  policy  objectives.  The  circular  economy 
action  plan  encourages  their  use.  Environmentally 
harmful  subsidies  are  monitored  in  the  context  of  the 
European  Semester  and  the  energy  union  governance 
process. 

2016140. Since 2013 (Law 15/2012), Spain has been taxing 
the  production  of  electric  energy141,  the  production  of 
radioactive  fuel  and  the  storage  of  radioactive  waste. 
Moreover,  Spain  approved  in  2015  a  new  tax  regarding 
the  extraction  of  hydrocarbons  (gas  and  oil).  However, 
the  practical  effects  of 
likely 
insignificants. 

this  new 

tax  are 

Figure  20:  Environmental  tax  revenues  as  %  of  Gross 
Domestic Product in 2017 142 

environmental 

Increasing 
reducing 
environmentally  harmful  subsidies  is  one  of  the  three 
main  environmental  challenges  facing  Spain  that  was 
singled out in the 2017 EIR country report. 

taxation 

and 

share 

lowest 

In  Spain,  revenues  from  environmental  taxes  as  a 
proportion  of  GDP  remain  among  the  lowest  in  the  EU. 
According  to  2017  data  (see  Figure  20),  Spain  has  the 
fifth 
from 
environmentally  related  taxes  amounted  to  only  1.83 % 
of GDP against an EU average of 2.40 %. Moreover, Spain 
is  the  sixth  with  the  lowest  share  of  environmental 
taxation in revenues from taxes and social  contributions 
(5.32 % of GDP in 2017, EU average of 5.97 %). 

the  EU.  Revenues 

in 

Shifting  taxation  away  from  labour  towards  taxes  less 
harmful  to  growth  was  proposed  a  country-specific 
recommendation (CSR) to Spain between 2012 and 2014 
as  part  of  the  annual  European  Semester  exercise.  The 
Commission  has  repeatedly  stressed  in  the  European 
Semester  that  there  is  potential  to  increase  certain 
environmental taxes, e.g. taxes on transport, which  only 
yield  half  as  much  revenue  in  Spain  as  the  EU  average 
(0.2 % compared with 0.5 % of GDP)139. 

Environmental  tax  reform  can  play  a  significant  role  in 
sustaining economic growth. Taxing pollution and the use 
of  resources  would  bring  in  additional  revenues  and  at 
the  same  time  help  to  discourage  activities  generating 
additional  cost  in  the  future  for  clean-up,  health  costs, 
etc. This additional revenue  could also make up for cuts 
in spending. 

A few measures have been taken in Spain in recent years, 
mainly 
in  the  energy  sector.  A  tax  on  fluorinated 
greenhouse gases was introduced in 2013 (Law 16/2013) 
and  gradually  phased  in,  becoming  fully  applicable  in 

139 European Commission, European Semester Country Report Spain 
2018, p. 27. 

Therefore, there is clearly room to review environmental 
taxes,  mainly  in  the  transport  and  energy  sectors,  but 
also for pollution and the use of resources. For instance, 
municipal  road 
the 
environmental  performance  of  the  vehicles  being  taxed. 
Also,  new  options  in  the  waste  and  water  sectors  could 
be  explored.  Landfill  taxes  may  be  a  supportive  tool  for 

taxes  do  not  always  reflect 

140 Institute for European Environmental Policy, Case Studies on 
Environmental Fiscal Reform, Tax on Fluorinated Gases in Spain 
141 The Spanish Government has recently suspended the tax on the 
production of electric energy in order to reduce the electricity tariffs. 
142 Eurostat, Environmental tax revenues, 2019. 

31 

 
 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

the  treatment  of  municipal  waste.  A  new  approach  is 
needed  for  Spain's  water  pricing  policy,  which  needs  to 
be revised to improve water management, a key issue in 
the country. 

As indicated in the 2017 EIR report, a 2016 study suggests 
that  there 
is  considerable  potential  for  additional 
revenue from environmental taxes in Spain143. 

to  harmonise  and 

In  the  same  vein,  the  report issued  in  February  2014  by 
the  Committee  of  Experts  on  reforming  Spain's  tax 
system (Lagares report) provided a complete and helpful 
analysis of the matter. The Committee proposed specific 
the 
recommendations 
performance of environmental taxes in Spain, increasing 
revenues 
logical  and  sustainable  way. 
However,  although  this  work  was  commissioned  by  the 
Spanish Government, the measures were not part of the 
national  tax  reform  that  was  approved  in  Spain  at  the 
end of 2014 (Law 26/2014) to address the EU's country-
specific recommendation. 

in  a  more 

improve 

This  report  and  the  study  mentioned  above  also  show 
that  many  environmental  taxes  on  waste  management, 
water  abstraction,  water  pollution,  wastewater,  and  air 
pollution  are  adopted  and  implemented  at  regional  and 
even at local level, with a high normative dispersion and 
different  approaches.  This  uneven  situation  may  lead  to 
market fragmentation and economic inefficiencies. 

In 
its  2017  National  Reform  Programme,  Spain 
announced  that  an  inter-ministerial  working  group  had 
been  created  to  study  how  to  increase  environmental 
taxation.  However,  their  results  are  unknown.  The 
Spanish Government has recently expressed its intention 
to tackle this matter and take effective measures. 

Therefore,  Spain  should  consider  the  full  potential  of 
environmental  taxation  and  consider  implementing  a 
consistent  approach  across  the  country  to  obtain 
environmental, economic and social benefits. 

The reduction of environmentally harmful subsidies (EHS) 
is another key challenge. Spain has no overall strategy to 
eliminate  EHS,  although  moving  away  from  EHS  can 
deliver  economic,  social  and  environmental  benefits, 
allow for  improved competitiveness and support  budget 
consolidation144. It is important to ensure that energy tax 
rates become more consistent across fuels and uses and 
that  the  tax  system  does  not  unduly  favour  fossil-based 
solutions.  Therefore,  developing  a  national  strategy  for 
phasing out environmentally harmful subsidies would be 
a positive approach for Spain. 

143 Eunomia Research and Consulting, IEEP, Aarhus University, ENT, 
2016. Study on Assessing the Environmental Fiscal Reform Potential for 
the EU28. 
144 2020 Milestone on phasing out EHS in the Roadmap to a Resource 
Efficient Europe (COM(2011) 571). 

In any case, it is fair to recognise that fossil fuel subsidies 
showed  a  considerable  decrease  in  the  past  decade, 
mainly  because  of  the  reduction  in  public  programmes 
supporting  coal  production  and  consumption.  Other 
subsidies  to  support  electricity  capacity  have  also  been 
limited,  while  most  of 
the  existing  exemptions, 
reductions  and  refunds  for  fossil  fuels  continue  the 
steady  decline  that  started  in  2007145.  These  exceptions 
added  up  to  EUR 3000  million  in  2016  (over  EUR 2.3 
billion  in  2007),  and  the  budgetary  transfers  for  coal, 
electricity  capacity  and  demand-side  response  (DSR) 
went over EUR 1 billion (around EUR 1.2 billion in 2007). 

The use of alternative fuels in new passenger cars sold in 
Spain  has  been  increasing  over  the  past  few  years.  The 
share  of  new  passenger  cars  using  alternative  fuels  was 
five  times  higher  in  2016  than  in  2011146.  New  fiscal 
measures  were  passed  in  the  Plan  Movalt  in  2017  and 
continued  in  the  Plan  Movea  and  the  future  Plan  Vea. 
The  tax  treatment  of  company  cars  is  not  really  a  cause 
for concern in Spain147. 

Some  progress  has  also  been  made  on  reducing  the 
"diesel  differential"  (difference  in  the  price  of  diesel 
versus  petrol).  In  2013  there  was  still  a  27.7%gap 
between  petrol  and  diesel  tax  rates,  while  in  2018  the 
gap is reduced to 25.1%. From 2018 on, Excise tax rates 
levied  on  petrol  and  are  set  at  EUR  0.506  per  liter  for 
petrol and EUR 0.379 for diesel. 

CO2-based  motor  vehicle  taxes  are  in  place  in  the 
country. The special tax on certain means of transport is 
based  on  CO2  emissions  with  rates  varying  from  4.75  to 
14.75 %,  depending  on  pollution  levels148.  Incentives  to 
encourage the purchase of cars with lower CO2 emissions 
were  extended  in  2017  and  2018.  These  are  incentives 
linked  to  annual  circulation  taxes,  road  tolls  and 
congestion or low emission zone charges but also to the 
acquisition  of  cleaner  vehicles  or  the  use  of  public 
infrastructure149.  New  vehicles  purchased  in  Spain  are 
among the most environmentally friendly in the EU, with 
average  CO2  emissions  of  114.4  grams  per  kilometre, 
below the EU average of 118 grams in 2016150. 

145 OECD, Inventory of Support Measures for Fossil Fuels, 2018. 
146 European Commission, Transport in the European Union Current 
Trends and Issues, 2018, pp.27-28. 
147 European Commission, Taxation of commercial cars in Belgium, 
2017, p.3. 
148 ACEA, CO2 based motor vehicle taxes in Europe . 
149 European Environmental Agency, Appropriate taxes and incentives 
do affect purchases of new cars, 18 May 2018. 
150 European Environment Agency, Average CO2 emissions from new 
passenger cars sold in EU-28 Member States plus Norway, Iceland and 
Switzerland in 2016 . 

32 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

Green Public Procurement 

The  EU  green  public  procurement  policies  encourage 
Member  States  to  take  further  steps  to  apply  green 
procurement  criteria  to  at  least  50 %  of  public  tenders. 
The European Commission is helping to increase the use 
of  public  procurement  as  a  strategic  tool  to  support 
environmental protection. 

The purchasing power of public procurement amounts to 
around  EUR 1.8  trillion  in  the  EU  (approximately  14%  of 
GDP).  A  substantial  proportion  of  this  money  goes  to 
impact  such  as 
sectors  with  a  high  environmental 
construction  or  transport.  Therefore,  green  public 
procurement  (GPP)  can  help  to  significantly  lower  the 
negative  impact  of  public  spending  on  the  environment 
and  can  help  support  sustainable  innovative  businesses. 
The Commission has proposed EU GPP criteria151. 

In  Spain,  a  National  Action  Plan  for  green  public 
procurement  was  adopted  in  2008,  with  targets  of 
between  25 %  and  100 %  of  GPP,  depending  on  the 
product  group  and  phase  of  implementation.  The  GPP 
criteria  are developed at national level  for the following 
product  groups:  construction  and  maintenance,  energy, 
transport,  office  equipment,  paper  and  publications, 
furniture, cleaning products and services, and events. 

Spain  has  adopted  two  reports,  one  in  2011  and  one  in 
2015,  on  the  state  of  green  public  procurement  in  the 
State General Administration. 

The Interministerial Commission for the incorporation of 
ecological  criteria  in  public  procurement  was  created  in 
January 2018 by Royal Decree 6/2018152. 

The second national Plan for green public procurement in 
the  central  public  administration  for  the  period  2018-
2025 has been approved by the Council of Ministers on 7 
December  2018153).  This  new  Plan  includes  20  products, 
works  and  services  groups,  among  which  stand  out  the 
construction  and  management  of  buildings, 
the 
construction  and  maintenance  of  roads,  supply  of 
electricity,  printing  equipment  and  computers,  cleaning 
products  and  services,  air  conditioning  systems  and 
transport. 
series  of  general 
includes  a 
environmental  criteria  for  procurement,  of  a  voluntary 
nature,  which  may  be  incorporated  into  the  tender 
documents as selection criteria, award criteria, technical 

It  also 

151 In the Communication ‘Public procurement for a better 
environment’ (COM (2008) 400) the Commission recommended the 
creation of a process for setting common GPP criteria. The basic 
concept of GPP relies on having clear, verifiable, justifiable and 
ambitious environmental criteria for products and services, based on a 
life-cycle approach and scientific evidence base. 
152 The Government of Spain, The Interministerial Commission for the 
incorporation of ecological criteria in public procurement  
153 It has been published in the State Official Journal of 4 February 2019. 

specifications  and  special  conditions 
performance. 

for  contract 

Some  regions  have  also  implemented  measures  in  this 
respect, e.g. Catalonia and the Basque Country, with GPP 
policies based on the EU GPP criteria. Others regions are 
also working on their action plans. 

Environmental funding and investments 

European  Structural  and  Investment  Fund  (ESIF)  rules 
oblige  Member  States  to  promote  environment  and 
climate  in  their  funding  strategies  and  programmes  for 
economic, 
rural 
development and maritime policy. 

social  and 

territorial 

cohesion, 

Achieving  sustainability  requires  mobilising  public  and 
private  financing  sources154.  The  EU  can  certainly 
contribute  to  this155.  Using  the  European  Structural  and 
Investment  Funds  (ESIF)156  is  essential  to  achieve  the 
environmental goals and integrate these into other policy 
areas. Other instruments such as Horizon 2020, the LIFE 
programme157  and  the  European  Fund  for  Strategic 
Investments  (EFSI)158  may  also  support  implementation 
and spread of best practice. 

According to the 2017 Special Eurobarometer 468 on EU 
citizens'  attitudes  towards  the  environment,  88 %  of 
Spaniards 
in 
greater 
environmental protection (EU-28 average is 85 %). 

investment 

support 

EU 

European  Structural  and  Investment  Funds  2014-
2020 

Since Spain joined the EU in 1986, EU funds have helped 
to  transform  it.  During  the  last  decades,  the  support  of 
the  EU  funding  has  also  significantly  contributed  to 
improve  the  implementation  of  the  EU  environmental 
law and policy in Spain. 

Cohesion Policy 

In  absolute  terms,  Spain  is  traditionally  a  very  major 
beneficiary of the EU Cohesion Policy159. 

154 European Commission, Action Plan on Financing Sustainable Growth. 
155 European Union, Invest EU portal  
156 ESIF comprises five funds – the European Regional Development 
Fund (ERDF), the Cohesion Fund (CF), the European Social Fund (ESF), 
the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), and the 
European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). The ERDF, the CF and 
the ESF together form the EU Cohesion Policy funds. 
157 European Commission, 2017 LIFE Spain Sheet. 
158 European Investment Bank, 2016 European Fund for Strategic 
Investments 
159 In absolute terms, Spain was the main beneficiary until the period 
2000-2006; the second in 2007-2013 and the third in 2014-2020. 

33 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

Spain will receive EUR 28.56 billion160 in total from the EU 
Cohesion  Policy  funding  over  the  programming  period 
2014-2020 (ERDF and ESF, including European Territorial 
Cooperation  funding  and  the  allocation  for  the  Youth 
Employment  Initiative).  As  a  consequence  of  the  mid-
term  review,  these  figures  have  been  increased  by 
around  EUR 1.8  billion161,  taking  Spain  over  the  EUR 30 
billion mark for the current programming period. 

Figure  21:  ESIF  2014-2020  –  EU  allocation  by  theme, 
Spain (EUR billion)162 

contaminated  land  (EUR 265  million),  biodiversity  and 
Natura 2000 (EUR 225 million) and adaptation to climate 
change (EUR 195 million). 

Initially, Spain had a national operational programme for 
Sustainable  Growth,  which  had  the  largest  allocation 
from the ERDF (around EUR 5.5 billion). The programme 
had four priority axes: Low carbon economy, Sustainable 
urban  development,  Water  quality,  and  Sustainable 
transport.  It  also  concentrated  a  substantial  part  of  the 
environmental  investments.  In  2017,  this  programme 
was  merged  with  the  operational  programme  for  Smart 
Growth.  This  resulted  in  a  national  ERDF  operational 
programme whose budget is very significant, with around 
EUR 10  billion  from  the  ERDF  managed  by  the  central 
administration.  Moreover,  many 
ERDF 
operational  programmes,  managed  by  the  regional 
authorities, have allocated environmental investments. 

regional 

also 

participates 

Spain 
operational 
programmes of territorial cooperation (transnational and 
cross-border  cooperation)  under  the  ERDF  where  the 
environmental investments carry considerable weight. 

various 

in 

The  environmental  integration  has  been  ensured  in  the 
Partnership  Agreement  2014-2020  and  the  different 
Operational  Programmes  for  the  four  ESIF  through  the 
application of the SEA Directive and by other means. 

The Spanish Network of Environmental Authorities, with 
the  participation  of  the  Commission  services,  plays  an 
important  role  to  foster  environmental  integration  into 
the EU funding in Spain163. 

The  general  environmental  ex  ante  conditionality  (EAC) 
on  EIA/SEA  (looking  into  the  legal  framework  and  the 
effective 
the 
environmental impact assessment  rules) was considered 
fulfilled.  This  took  into  consideration  the  commitments 
undertaken by the Spanish authorities. 

comply  with 

arrangements 

to 

The  thematic  environmental  ex  ante  conditionalities  on 
Water  and  Waste  were  only  partially  fulfilled  by  Spain. 
Therefore,  action  plans  were  agreed  with  the  Spanish 
authorities  to  comply  with  all  the  criteria  by  the  end  of 
2016. 

These EACs have played a  major role in accelerating the 
implementation  of  EU  environmental  policy  and 
the  national  competent 
promoting  dialogue  with 
authorities.  The  EAC  Waste  was  already  considered  as 
fulfilled.  However,  the  EAC  on  Water  has  not  been 
completely met  yet. This is due to the delayed adoption 
of  the  second  cycle  River  Basin  Management  Plans  for 
the Canary Islands. 

In  the  period  2014-2020,  13  of  the  19  Spanish  regions 
have  the  status  of  ‘more  developed’  and  therefore 
receiving  less  EU  funding.  Also,  the  Cohesion  Fund  is  no 
longer  available  to  Spain.  Environmental  investments 
have to follow the new design of the EU Cohesion Policy 
and  the  main  priorities  reflected 
in  the  thematic 
concentration  (Innovation,  ICT,  SMEs  and  Low  Carbon 
Economy).  Nevertheless, 
the  direct  environmental 
investments  are  still  significant  and  represent  around 
11 % of the ERDF (EUR 2.3 billion). 

The  environmental  sectors  of  priority  in  Spain  for  the 
ERDF  in  2014-2020  are:  wastewater  (around  EUR 1.1 
and 
of 
billion), 

rehabilitation 

industrial 

sites 

160 Current prices, November 2011. These figures do not include the 
results of the MFF mid-term review. 
161 Again current prices 2011. 
162 European Commission, European Structural and Investment Funds 
Data By Country 

163 The Spanish Network of Environmental Authorities, a technical 
forum created in 1997 that it is performing quite well, was highlighted 
as a good practice in the 2017 EIR (country report and general 
Communication). 

34 

 
                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

Rural development 

The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) 

Regarding the integration of environmental concerns into 
the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the two key areas 
for  Spain  (as  for  all  Member  States)  are:  i)  using  rural 
land 
development  funds  to  pay  for  environmental 
management  and  other  environmental  measures,  while 
avoiding  financing  measures  which  could  damage  the 
environment;  ii)  ensuring  the  effective  application  of 
cross-compliance,  a  compulsory  horizontal  measure 
affecting  the  first  pillar  of  the  CAP  and  the  agri-
environmental  measures  of  the  second  pillar,  as  well  as 
the "greening" measure of the first pillar of the CAP. 

Maintaining  and  strengthening  this  environmentally 
ambitious  implementation  of  1st  pillar  greening  slightly 
contributes  to  improve  the  environmental  situation  in 
areas  not  covered  by  rural  development, 
including 
intensive area. 

One of the measures of the greening is the maintenance 
of  the  permanent  grassland.  The  modification  of  the 
definition of 'permanent grasslands' in 2017 through the 
‘Omnibus  Regulation’  has  offered  an  opportunity  to 
improve the eligibility of valuable sylvo-pastoral systems 
such  as  the  dehesas  to  receive  CAP  payments.  The 
Spanish competent authorities have already done various 
studies  for  the  application  of  the  new  definition  in  this 
type  of  pasture  and  from  2019  more  dehesas  will  be 
eligible for the payments. 

Some EUR 8.29 billion have also been allocated to Spain 
for  rural  development  (European  Agricultural  and  Rural 
Development  Fund  -  EARDF),  shared  in  national  and 
regional  Rural  Development  Programmes.  Of 
this 
amount,  approximately  EUR 863  million  are  for  agri-
environmental commitments, EUR 532 million for organic 
farming, and EUR 35 million for obligations resulting from 
Natura 2000. The region of Aragon also compensates for 
obligations under the Water Framework Directive. 

To promote a more coherent integration of Natura 2000 
in  rural  development  policies  and  funds  in  the  country, 
Spain  has  created  a  working  group  of  authorities 
responsible  for  Natura  2000  and  EAFRD.  A  number  of 
needs arising from Natura 2000 protection which require 
sufficient funding were identified at a Seminar in Madrid 
in September 2017 together with the Commission. 

European Maritime and Fisheries Fund 

Through  the  European  Maritime  and  Fisheries  Fund 
(EMFF), Spain will receive EUR 1.16 billion for its fisheries 
and maritime sector. In absolute terms, Spain is the main 
beneficiary  of  the  EMFF  for  2014-2020.  This  EU  support 
will  promote 
the 
the  Blue  Economy, 
sustainability aspects. 

including 

The  CEF  is  a  key  EU  funding  instrument  developed 
specifically  to  direct 
investment  towards  European 
transport,  energy  and  digital  infrastructure  to  address 
identified  missing  links  and  bottlenecks  and  promote 
sustainability. 

By  the  end  of  2017,  Spain  had  signed  agreements  for 
EUR 976 million for projects under the CEF164. Among the 
for  the 
projects  co-funded,  environmental  studies 
development  of  energy  connections  and 
the 
for 
improvement of railway connections can be mentioned. 

Horizon 2020 

Spain has benefited from Horizon 2020 funding since the 
programme  started  in  2014.  As  of  January  2019,  3 385 
participants  have  been  granted  a  maximum  amount  of 
EUR 1.08 billion for projects from the Societal Challenges 
work 
environmental 
issues165 166.  

dealing  with 

programmes 

In  addition  to  the  abovementioned  work  programmes, 
climate and biodiversity expenditure is present across the 
entire  Horizon  2020.  In  Spain,  projects  accepted  for 
funding  in  all  Horizon  2020  working  programmes  until 
December  2018  included  EUR  1.1  billion  destined  to 
climate  action  (30.8 %  of  the  total  Horizon  2020 
contribution  to  the  country)  and  EUR  145  million  for 
biodiversity-related  actions  (4.1 %  of  the  Horizon  2020 
contribution to the country)167. 

Several successful projects in this field already took place 
in  Spain  within  the  7th  EU  Framework  Programme  of 
instance,  the  RECARE  project168  has 
Research.  For 
developed  a  methodology  to  assess  the  state  of  soil 
degradation  as  a  starting  point  for  finding  effective 
solutions to protect and restore soils across Europe. The 
TURAS  project  has  demonstrated  ways  to  transform 
stressful  urban  areas  into  more  liveable  and  sustainable 
spaces where local communities can thrive 169. 

In the context of  Horizon 2020, some projects with  very 
interesting  objectives  and  results  are  currently  under 

164 European Commission, European Semester Country Report for Spain, 
2018, p. 15. 
165 European Commission own calculations based on CORDA (COmmon 
Research DAta Warehouse). A maximum grant amount is the maximum 
grant amount decided by the Commission. It normally corresponds to 
the requested grant, but it may be lower. 
166 i.e. (ii) Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine 
and maritime and inland water research and the bioeconomy; (iii) 
Secure, clean and efficient energy; (iv) Smart, green and integrated 
transport; and (v) Climate action, environment, resource efficiency and 
raw materials. 
167 European Commission own calculations based on CORDA (COmmon 
Research DAta Warehouse). 
168 European Commission, RECARE project. 
169 European Commission, TURAS project. 

35 

                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

implementation  in  Spain,  such  as:  SOLIMPACT,  NAIAD, 
UrbanGreenUP, ConnectinGEO, RECREATE, R2Pi or S2S4E. 

LIFE programme 

The LIFE programme is an EU financial instrument  solely 
devoted  to  the  environment.  Since  its  launch  by  the 
Commission  in  1992,  a  total  of  738  projects  have  been 
financed 
in  Spain.  Of  these,  458  have  focused  on 
environmental  innovation  and  demonstration,  261  on 
nature  conservation  and  wildlife  biodiversity  and  9  on 
information  and  communication.  Since  2014,  8  Climate 
Action  projects  are  also  being  co-funded  by  LIFE.  These 
projects  represent  a  total  investment  of  EUR 1.2  billion, 
of which EUR 573 million in EU funding. 

For  2014-2017,  the  EU  has  allocated  EUR 130  million  in 
funding  for  Spanish  projects170.  The  LIFE  OSO  COUREL  is 
among these projects. The project is helping to promote 
the  expanded  settlement  of  the  Cantabrian  brown  bear 
in new territories in Serra do Courel (Galicia, Spain), with 
an EU contribution of more than EUR 1 million171. 

The success rate of Spanish projects is not expected to be 
affected  by  the  abandonment  of  national  allocations  in 
2018,  since  there  have  always  been  enough  Spanish 
applications of high merit172. 

The 2017 EIR highlighted as a point of excellence the long 
experience  and  excellent  performance  of  Spain 
in 
preparing and managing projects co-financed by the LIFE 
Programme. 

Spain  has  always  been  one  of  the  countries  with  the 
highest  number  of  proposals  submitted  to  the  LIFE 
programme, and Spanish projects have traditionally been 
successful  in  achieving  their  objectives.  Spanish  LIFE 
projects  have,  for  example,  managed  to  increase  the 
marine  areas  protected  in  Spain  from  less  than  1 %  to 
more  than  8 %  of  the  country's  marine  territory.  The 
the  most 
projects  have 
endangered  feline  worldwide,  the  Iberian  lynx,  from 
critically  endangered’  to  ‘endangered’,  and  they  have 
substantially  raised  awareness  in  Spain  of  the  socio-
economic  advantages  of  Natura  2000  and  sustainable 
resource management. 

the  status  of 

improved 

European Investment Bank 

Spain  is  currently  the  main  beneficiary  of  European 
Investment  Bank  (EIB) loans,  covering a  very wide range 
of  sectors.  This  trend  has  been  consolidated  in  the  last 
few  years.  In  2018  alone,  the  EIB  Group  (the  European 
Investment  Bank  and  the  European  Investment  Fund)173 
loaned Spanish businesses and public institutions EUR 8.5 

billion, as shown in Figure 22. Of this amount, more than 
EUR 2.4  billion 
in 
environment-related projects. 

(29 %)  were  directly 

invested 

Climate action was one of the priorities of the Investment 
Plan for Europe in Spain for 2017. Here, the focus was on 
supporting  energy  generation  using  renewable  sources, 
friendly  modes  of 
securing  more  environmentally 
transport, 
sustainable 
facilitating 
production processes, and helping to renovate homes to 
improve their energy efficiency174. 

investment 

in 

Figure 22: EIB loans to Spain in 2018175 

European Fund for Strategic Investments 

The European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) is an 
initiative to help overcome the current investment gap in 
the EU. This investment plan has raised a lot of interest in 
Spain.  A 
large  number  of  applications  have  been 
submitted  in  a  wide  range  of  sectors,  including  the 
environmental sector. 

By  January  2019,  the  EFSI  had  mobilised  more  than 
EUR 8.1  billion  in  Spain,  and  the  secondary  investment 
triggered  by  those  funds  is  expected  to  be  more  than 
EUR 46.2 billion176. 

National environmental financing 

Spain  spent  EUR 9.2  billion  on  environmental  protection 
in  2016,  down  2 %  from  2015177.  Of  these  payments, 
59 % were allocated to waste management activities (the 
average  in  the  EU 
is  49.7 %).  EUR 1.4  billion  were 
allocated to wastewater management (16 % of total) and 
EUR 306  million  to  pollution  abatement  (3 %  of  total). 
Some  10 %  of  environmental  expenditure  was  allocated 
landscape  (EUR 943 
to  protect  biodiversity  and  the 
the  general 
million).  Between  2012  and  2016, 

170 Commission services based on data provided by EASME. 
171 European Commission, LIFE Corredores del Oso Pardo. 
172  To  know  more  about  the  LIFE  Programme  and  Spain,  see  the  LIFE 
Spain country factsheet. 
173 The EIB Group includes EIB and EFSI investments and loans. 

174 European Investment Bank, 2017 EIB Group activity in Spain, p. 2. 
175 EIB, Spain and the EIB, 2018.. 
176 European Investment Bank, The EIB in Spain, what we do. 
177 Eurostat, General Government Expenditure by function, 2018. 

36 

                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

government 
totalled EUR 45.5 billion178. 

funding 

for  environmental  protection 

As  it  has  been  mentioned  several  times  through  the 
report, one of the challenges for Spain  is to ensure that 
environmental  financing  remains  at  an  adequate  level. 
Existent  financial  gaps 
in  sectors  such  as  nature 
protection or the support of green activities are delaying 
a  correct  environmental  implementation  of  EU  law  and 
policies.  Therefore,  ensuring  financial  resources  to 
reduce the implementation gap should be considered as 
a priority for the country. 

2019 priority actions 

 

 

improve 

Spain should take advantage of the ESIF available for 
2014-2020 
compliance  with  EU 
to 
environmental 
law  and  policy  and  to  use  the 
potential of the green economy for competitiveness 
and job creation. 
Provide  more 
for  nature 
conservation,  particularly  by  using  more  funding 
from  the  European  Regional  Development  Fund 
(ERDF)  and  the  European  Agricultural  and  Rural 
Development  Fund 
further 
developing  the  financial 
incentives  to  promote 
nature  conservation  activities  provided  for  in  the 
basic legislation. 

(EARDF)  and  by 

resources 

financial 

178 Eurostat, General Government Expenditure by function, 2018. 

37 

 
 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

5. Strengthening environmental governance 

based  on  Spain's  2016  implementation  report183  and  its 
most  recent  monitoring  data  from  2017184.  However, 
additional  efforts  are  needed  to  further  improve  data 
accessibility  through  services,  to  improve  the  conditions 
for data reuse and to prioritise environmental datasets in 
implementation.  This  is  especially  the  case  when  the 
spatial data sets are identified to be of high-value for the 
implementation of environmental legislation185. 

Figure  23:  Access  to  spatial  data  through  view  and 
download services in Spain (2017)  

Information, public participation and access to 
justice 

Citizens  can  more  effectively  protect  the  environment  if 
they  can  rely  on  the  three  ‘pillars’  of  the  Aarhus 
Convention:  
(i) access to information;  
(ii) public participation in decision making; and  
(iii) access to justice in environmental matters.  

It is of crucial importance to public authorities, the public 
and  business  that  environmental  information  is  shared 
efficiently  and  effectively179.  Public  participation  allows 
authorities  to  make  decisions  that  take  public  concerns 
into account. Access to justice is a set of guarantees that 
allows  citizens  and  NGOs  to  use  national  courts  to 
protect the environment180. It includes the right to bring 
legal challenges (‘legal standing’)181. 

Environmental information 

The  first  requirement  of  the  Aarhus  Convention  is  that 
public authorities must provide access to information on 
environmental matters. 

links 

including 

Spain has a central environmental portal. On this portal, 
information on all the national and European legislations 
on  each  of  the  environmental  topics  can  be  found.  The 
portal  also  has  publications, 
to 
impact  procedures  and  to  the  more 
environmental 
theme-specific data portals, which are run independently 
and a State of the Environment report, which is published 
yearly  in  Spanish  and  English.  The  page  contains  a 
Geoportal  with  a  lot  of  relevant  data  and  displays  the 
geographical  information  on  a  map.  Users  can  view  the 
metadata  and  —  where  available  —  download  this 
geographical  or  related  monitoring  data.  Resources  for 
viewing and downloading services and a metadata search 
for different environmental categories are provided. 

Spain  has  performed  well  in  its  implementation  of  the 
INSPIRE  Directive182.  Its  performance  has  been  reviewed 

179 The Aarhus Convention, the Access to Environmental Information 
Directive 2003/4/EC and the INSPIRE Directive 2007/2/EC together 
create a legal foundation for the sharing of environmental information 
between public authorities and with the public. This EIR focuses on 
INSPIRE. 
180 The guarantees are explained in Commission Notice on access to 
justice in environmental matters, OJL 275, 18.8.2017 and a related 
Citizen’s Guide. 
181 This EIR looks at how well Member States explain access to justice 
rights to the public, and at legal standing and other major barriers to 
bringing cases on nature and air pollution. 
182 European Commission, INSPIRE. 

38 

Public participation 

In Spain, access to participation in environmental matters 
is  guaranteed  with  the  27/2006  Act186,  as  a  horizontal 
regulation. The Ministry competent  for the Environment 
(currently  MITECO)  publishes  relevant  information  on 
environmental assessments related to projects, plans and 
programmes  in  order  to  ensure  good  compliance  with 
the  obligation  to  guarantee  the  right  of  the  public  to 
participate187. 

Moreover, the level of public participation is heightened 
through the ‘Environment Advisory Council‘ (CAMA), the 
G5  (the  Group  of  the  5  biggest  NGO’s)  or  other 
participation  platforms  like  the  Spanish  Green  Growth 
Group,  that  aim  to  bring  together  the  social  and 

183 INSPIRE ES country sheet 2017. 
184 INSPIRE monitoring dashboard 
185 List of high value spatial data sets 
186 Ley 27/2006, de 18 de julio, por la que se regulan los derechos de 
acceso a la información, de participación pública y de acceso a la justicia 
en materia de medio ambiente (incorpora las Directivas 2003/4/CE y 
2003/35/CE). 
187 The Government of Spain, information on environmental 
assessments  

 
 
 
                                                                 
 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

is 

economic  sectors  and  have  them  participate.  Their 
participation 
for 
environmental  measures  at  national  level.  This  work  is 
complemented  by  several  actions  and  initiatives  at  the 
regional level. 

to  decision-making 

relevant 

The Eurobarometer figures from 2017 show that in Spain, 
there is strong agreement (89 % of respondents) that an 
individual can play a role in protecting the environment. 
This is unchanged from the 2014 Eurobarometer results. 

Access to justice 

When  it  comes  to  practical  information  on  access  to 
justice  in  Spain,  it  is  necessary  to  look  at  both  the 
national and regional level. At State level, the website of 
the Ministry for the Ecological Transition contains a user-
friendly  guide  on  the  Aarhus  Convention.  However,  it  is 
too  short  and  does  not  provide  clear  and  precise 
information  on  access  to  justice  rights.  The  situation  in 
the  Autonomous  Communities 
is  very  diverse.  Two 
Autonomous  Communities  were  particularly  looked  at: 
Asturias and Andalusia. Asturias provides clear access-to-
justice 
la  aplicación  del 
in  “Guía  para 
Convenio  de  Aarhus  en  el  Principado  de  Asturias”. 
However, Andalusia only provides information on access 
to information. 

information 

In addition to general provisions on legal standing, Spain 
has adopted specific legislation on access to justice with 
regard  to  the  Aarhus  Convention,  also  through  the 
27/2006 Act. It gives individuals the right to information 
and  the  right  to  public  participation.  For  public  interest 
litigation  that  goes  beyond  such  rights,  non-profit  legal 
persons who fulfil certain set criteria can bring challenges 
under this law. It would therefore appear that NGOs who 
meet  the  set  criteria  can  bring  legal  challenges  in  both 
nature and air cases, and individuals can bring a case on 
air pollution in relation to public participation. However, 
it  could  be  that  Spain  is  not  fully  aligned  with  the  case 
law of the EU Court of Justice on the right of individuals 
to go to court on air pollution based on the harm to their 
health. 

2019 priority actions 

 

Improve access to spatial data and services by better 
linking  the  national  INSPIRE  website  and  regional 
portals,  identify  and  document  all  spatial  datasets 
required to implement environmental law, and make 
the data and documentation at least accessible ‘as is’ 
to  other  public  authorities  and  the  public  through 
the  digital  services  provided  for  in  the  INSPIRE 
Directive. 

  Better inform the public about their access to justice 
rights, notably in relation to air pollution and nature. 

Compliance assurance 

to  ensure 

Environmental compliance assurance covers all the work 
undertaken  by  public  authorities 
that 
industries,  farmers  and  others  fulfil  their  obligations  to 
protect  water,  air  and  nature,  and  manage  waste188.  It 
includes  support  measures  provided  by  the  authorities, 
such as:  
(i) compliance promotion189;  
(ii) inspections and other checks that they carry out, i.e. 
compliance monitoring190; and  
(iii)  the  steps  that  they  take  to  stop  breaches,  impose 
sanctions  and  require  damage  to  be  remedied,  i.e. 
enforcement191.  
Citizen  science  and  complaints  enable  authorities  to 
liability192 
focus  their  efforts  better.  Environmental 
ensures that the polluter pays to remedy any damage. 

Compliance promotion and monitoring 

The  quality  of  online  information  given  to  farmers  on 
how to comply with obligations on nitrates and nature. is 
an  indicator  of  how  actively  the  authorities  promote 
compliance in areas with serious gaps in implementation. 
In  Spain,  these  areas  are  under  the  responsibility  of  the 
Autonomous  Communities.  Two  were  particularly 
examined:  Castilla-La-Mancha  and  Murcia.  Neither  has 
guidance  targeted  at  farmers  on  nature.  Murcia  has 
produced  a  brief  document  on  nitrates,  explaining  the 
measures to be implemented. 

Major industrial installations pose serious pollution risks. 
The  public  authorities  are  required  to  have  plans  to 
inspect  them  and  must  make 
inspection 
individual 
reports  available  to  the  public193.  This 
is  also  a 
responsibility  of  the  Autonomous  Communities.  Castilla-
La-Mancha  publishes 
its  annual  plan  but  Murcia 
publishes out-of-date information. 

Citizen science and complaint handling 

Engaging citizens, including through science, can deepen 
their  knowledge  about  the  environment  and  help  the 
authorities in their work. An example is an app for marine 

188  The  concept  is  explained  in  detail  in  the  Communication  on  ‘EU 
actions  to 
improve  environmental  compliance  and  governance’ 
COM(2018)10  and  the  related  Commission  Staff  Working  Document, 
SWD(2018)10. 
189 This EIR focuses on the help given to farmers to comply with nature 
and nitrates legislation. 
190 This EIR focuses on inspections of major industrial installations. 
191This  EIR  focuses  on  the  availability  of  enforcement  data  and  co-
ordination between authorities to tackle environmental crime. 
192  The  Environmental  Liability  Directive  2004/35/EC,  creates  the 
framework. 
193 Article 23, Industrial Emissions Directive, 2010/75/EU. 

39 

                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

biodiversity  run  by  the  Government  of  the  Canary 
Islands194. 

The availability of clear online information about how to 
make  a  complaint  is  an  indicator  of  how  responsive 
authorities are to complaints from the public. 

Complaint  handling  is  mainly  the  responsibility  of  the 
Spanish  Autonomous  Communities,  and  it  is  relatively 
easy  for  people  to  obtain  information  online  on  how  to 
complain. 

Enforcement 

identifies  problems,  a  range  of 
When  monitoring 
responses  may  be  appropriate.  Neither  of  the  two 
Autonomous Communities examined (Castilla-La-Mancha 
and Murcia) publishes information on the administrative 
follow-up  to  detected  non-compliance.  Furthermore, 
there is no published information on responses to cross-
compliance breaches on nitrates and nature. Statistics on 
environmental crime are published. 

that 

shows 

Spanish 

More  generally,  the  Commission's  own  enforcement 
experience 
administrative 
enforcement  of  environmental  legislation  is  not  always 
effective.  Unlawful 
the 
activities 
environmental damage is not addressed for years despite 
the 
the  competent  administrative 
authorities.  By  way  of  contrast,  Spain  has  taken  more 
effective steps to combat environmental crimes through 
a  system  of  special  environmental  prosecutors  and 
environmental police (SERPONA). 

intervention  of 

continue 

or 

is  especially  challenging. 

Tackling  waste,  wildlife  crimes  and  other  environmental 
It  requires  close 
offences 
cooperation  and  coordination  between 
inspectors, 
customs  authorities,  police  and  prosecutors.  The  annual 
report  of  the  environmental  public  prosecutor’s  office 
refers  to  cooperation  with  police195.  With  regard  to  co-
IMPEL 
inspectors 
operation  between 
network,  the  Ministry  for  the  Ecological  Transition  is  in 
charge  of  the  IMPEL  national  coordination.  The  main 
challenge 
the 
Autonomous  Communities  to  get  involved  in  IMPEL 
projects  (training)  and  to  engage  with  the  specialist 
environmental police force, SEPRONA. 

to  encourage 

inspectors 

through 

from 

the 

is 

Environmental liability 

The  Environmental  Liability  Directive  (ELD)  establishes  a 
framework  based  on  the  ‘polluter  pays’  principle  to 
prevent  and  remedy  environmental  damage.  The  2017 
information  on 
EIR 

focused  on  gathering  better 

environmental  damage,  financial  security  and  guidance. 
The  Commission 
is  still  collecting  evidence  on  the 
progress made. 

It  is  worth  to  mention  that  Spain  has  published  in 
October  2018  a  document  with  updated  information  on 
the cases of environmental damage dealt with under Law 
26/2007196,  from  2007  until  2017,  as  well  as  other 
elements to evaluate the implementation of the law. 

In  addition,  an  action  protocol  and  an  administrative 
procedure  to  apply  in  case  of  environmental  damage, 
and a document for drafting remedial measures projects 
have been also published197. 

2019 priority actions 

  Better 

inform 

the  public  about 

compliance 
promotion, monitoring and enforcement and what is 
being  done  to  promote  compliance  by  at  least 
ensuring availability of online information to Spanish 
farmers  about  how  to  comply  with  obligations  on 
nitrates  and  nature.  Provide  more  up-to-date 
information  online  on  inspection  plans  and  reports 
on industrial inspections.  
Publish  information  on  the  result  of  administrative 
enforcement  action  and 
improve  this  type  of 
enforcement action. Also publish the follow-up given 
to cross-compliance breaches on nitrates and nature. 
Further  develop  and  structure  the  information  on 
incidents causing environmental damage and publish 
this information198. 

 

 

Effectiveness of environmental 
administrations 

in 

involved 

implementing 

Those 
environmental 
legislation at EU, national,  regional and local levels need 
to have the knowledge, tools and capacity to ensure that 
the  legislation  and  the  governance  of  the  enforcement 
process bring about the intended benefits. 

Administrative capacity and quality 

(1978)  provides 

The  Spanish  Constitution 
for  the 
exclusive  competence  of  the  State  (national  Parliament 
and  Government)  to  approve  basic 
legislation  for 
environmental  protection  without  detriment  to  the 
competence  of 
to 
establish additional protection measures and to develop 
the basis legislation. 

the  Autonomous  Communities 

Spain’s public administration is highly decentralised. This 

194 Spain is also active in the Citizen Science Interest Group within the 
network of European environment agencies. This network has a project 
on air quality citizen science in which Spain takes part. 

195 Spain, Public Prosecutor office, annual report  

196  Law  26/2007on  environmental 
2004/35/EC into the Spanish legal system. 
197 The Spanish Government,  action protocol and an administrative 
procedure to apply in case of environmental damage  
198 In line with Commission proposal (Article 3 of COM(2018) 381). 

liability,  transposing  Directive 

40 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

is  illustrated  by  the  proportion  of  spending  managed  by 
regional  and  local  governments.  This  is  even  more 
accentuated in the field of the environment. 

environmental  assessments.  Spain  was  delayed  in  this 
transposition202. Spain has finally notified the transposing 
national measures in December 2018203. 

to 

the 

regions, 

although 

Most of the environmental implementation competences 
central 
belong 
administration  has  still  important  powers  in  fields  like 
water  management  in  rivers  flowing  through  different 
regions and coastal protection. The local authorities also 
play  an  important  role  in  fields  like  waste  management, 
air quality or sustainable urban development. 

the 

received  a 

Environmental  policy  developments  in  Spain  are  mainly 
driven  by  EU  Directives  and  Regulations.  During  the  last 
decade,  there  has  been  progress  in  transposing  EU 
environmental  Directives  faster.  The  Commission  has 
traditionally 
very  high  number  of 
environmental  complaints  against  Spain.  Overall,  the 
the 
cooperate 
Spanish  authorities 
Commission  to  solve  the  pending  issues  concerning  the 
implementation of environmental law199. The number of 
infringements  has  decreased  during  the  last  few  years. 
However,  significant  gaps  in  implementation  remain  in 
sectors such as wastewater and waste.  

closely  with 

During  the  last  years,  there  has  been  some  progress  in 
Spain  to  streamline  and  improve  the  efficiency  of  the 
different  public  administrations.  At  the  same  time, 
because  of  the  economic  crisis,  the  public  sector  has 
suffered large cuts in resources, which have affected the 
environmental sector as well. 

administrations 

various  public 

The 
in 
implementing environmental law have different levels of 
financial  and  human  resources  at  their  disposal  to 
undertake their tasks. 

involved 

It  can  be  highlighted  as  a  good  and  innovative  practice 
the  exercise  conducted  by  the  Autonomous  Community 
of the Basque Country that has carried out the evaluation 
regional 
report  on 
environmental strategy 2020, following the model of the 
Commission’s  2017  EIR.  This  has  also  stimulated  the 
knowledge  and  the  debate  on  the  ground  about 
environmental implementation issues200. 

implementation  of 

the 

the 

Coordination and integration 

As  mentioned  in  the  2017  EIR,  the  transposition  of  the 
revised  EIA  Directive201  provides  an  opportunity  for 
countries  to  streamline  their  regulatory  framework  on 

199 The last ‘Package meeting’ with Spain on infringement procedures 
and enforcement of EU environmental law took place in Madrid on 23-
24 November 2017. 
200 This Euskadi EIR report was presented to the civil society in in a 
public Seminar on environmental policies organised on 8 June 2018 in 
Donostia-San Sebastián. 
201 Directive 2014/52/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council 
of 16 April 2014 amending Directive 2011/92/EU on the assessment of 
the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment. 

41 

the 

The  Commission  encourages 
streamlining  of 
environmental  assessments  to  reduce  duplication  and 
avoid  overlaps  in  environmental  assessments  applicable 
to  projects.  Streamlining  helps  to  reduce  unnecessary 
administrative  burden. 
It  also  accelerates  decision-
making  without  compromising  the  quality  of  the 
environmental  assessment  procedure204.  Spain  has 
already  introduced  the  streamlining  of  environmental 
assessments under the EIA and Habitats Directives. 

coordination,  mainly 

Spain’s  highly  decentralised  administration  creates 
coordination  challenges,  namely  in  policy  areas  such  as 
the  environment.  The  Spanish  legal  system  provides  for 
some  mechanisms  of  political  and  technical  cooperation 
State 
and 
Administration and the Autonomous Communities. This is 
the case of the Sectoral Conference on Environment and 
some  technical  and  participatory  commissions,  like  the 
National Council on Water and the Environment Advisory 
Council. 

between 

the 

Spain  has  also  created  some  coordination  technical 
committees  on  various  environmental  matters,  for 
instance:  on  climate,  waste,  environmental  quality, 
environmental  damage,  genetically  modified  organisms, 
biosafety, natural heritage and biodiversity, etc. 

However,  there  is  clear  room  to  improve  the  efficiency 
and strengthen these cooperative actions. Some progress 
has  been  made  in  recent  years,  for  instance  to  prepare 
the draft Spanish strategy on the circular economy. 

Adaptability, 
(eGovernment) 

reform 

dynamics 

and 

innovation 

The  Spanish  public  authorities  are  increasingly  adopting 
and  using  electronic  services  to  interact  with  the  public 
or  regulated  entities  online.  Based  on  Europe’s  2017 
Digital Progress Report, the country has a score of 0.72/1 
for digital public services, higher than the EU-28 average 
of 0.55/1205. 

Spain is one of the EU countries with the highest  online 
interaction  between  the  authorities  and  the  public.  The 
reason for the good results in open data is linked to the 

202 The deadline expired on 16 May 2017. The Commission had to 
launch an infringement procedure against Spain. 
203 Law 9/2018 of 5 December, published in the State Official Journal of 
6 December 2018. 
204 The Commission issued a guidance document in 2016 regarding the 
setting up of coordinated and/or joint procedures that are 
simultaneously subject to assessments under the EIA Directive, Habitats 
Directive, Water Framework Directive, and the Industrial Emissions 
Directive, OJ C 273, 27.7.2016, p. 1. 
205 European Commission, Europe’s Digital Progress Report (EDPR) 2017 
Country Profile Spain, p. 10. 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

18/2015  Law  which  ensures  data  reuse  and  data 
transparency206.  It  is  also  thanks  to  the  solid  base 
provided  by  the  Aporta  project  that  was  established  in 
2009  and  has  promoted  an  open  data  culture  in  the 
Spanish public sector207. In 2017, Spain performed better 
than  in  the  previous  year  for  pre-filled  forms  (72  out  of 
100)  and  the  completion  of  eGovernment  information 
(94 out of 100)208. 

Enabling financing and effective use of funds 

The  Spanish  national  and  regional  authorities  have  long 
experience  in  the  management  of  EU  funding,  and  no 
major problems have arisen in this respect. 

However,  environmental  projects  sometimes  suffer 
delays, and in the end money is allocated to other areas. 
For  instance,  this  has  happened  with  the  national  ERDF 
OP  2014-2020  (POPE),  which  has  been  amended  at  the 
end of 2018 and the allocation of the Thematic Objective 
6 (environment) has been decreased in  around EUR 118 
million  that  were 
initially  devoted  to  wastewater 
investments. 

2019 priority actions 

 

 

and 

should 

address 

regional 

Spain 
local 
fragmentation  by  developing  better  environmental 
coordination mechanisms. 
Spain  can  further  improve  its  overall  environmental 
governance 
citizen 
engagement,  compliance  and  enforcement,  as  well 
as administrative capacity and coordination). 

transparency, 

(such 

as 

ratified 
Convention. 

the  Offshore  Protocol  of 

the  Barcelona 

Forests:  EU  Timber  Regulation  (EUTR)210/  Forest  Law 
(FLEGT) 
Enforcement,  Governance 
Regulation211 

Trade 

and 

the  European  Timber  Trade 
In  accordance  with 
Regulation  (EUTR),  which  prohibits  placing 
illegally 
harvested  timber  on  the  EU  market,  the  competent 
authorities  in  the  Member  States  must  conduct  regular 
checks  on  operators  and  traders  and  apply  penalties  in 
case of non-compliance. 

Between  March  2015  and  February  2017,  Spain 
conducted  87 %  of  the  75  checks  that  were  planned  on 
operators of domestic timber, and 51 % of the 425 checks 
planned  for  operators  importing  timber.  These  numbers 
remain  low  compared  to  the  estimated  number  of 
operators  who place timber for the first  time on the EU 
in  Spain212.  Spain  reported  on  enforcement 
market 
actions launched against operators who infringed the due 
diligence  requirement  and  prohibition;  however,  no 
penalty has been imposed so far. 

Spanish 

(Article 12  EUTR),  Spain 

reported 
On  cooperation 
government 
various 
collaborating  with 
institutions  and  other  EU  competent  authorities,  mainly 
through its participation in the FLEGT/EUTR Expert Group 
meetings and the Ad Hoc Expert Group on FLEGT. Spain is 
also  involved  in  building  up  the  EUTR  Mediterranean 
network213. 

International agreements 

The  EU  Treaties  require  the  EU  environmental  policy  to 
promote  measures  at  international  level  to  deal  with 
regional or worldwide environmental problems. 

The EU is committed to strengthening environmental law 
and its implementation globally. It therefore continues to 
support  the  Global  Pact  for  the  Environment  process, 
which  was  launched  by  the  United  Nations  General 
Assembly  in  May  2018209.  The  EIR  is  one  of  the  tools  to 
ensure  that  the  Member  States  set  a  good  example  by 
respecting  European  Union  environmental  policies  and 
laws and international agreements.  

Spain  has  signed  and  ratified  almost  all  multilateral 
environmental  agreements.  It  has  signed  but  not  yet 

206 With support of the Royal Decree 1495/2011 dealing with general 
Authorisation regime. 
207 The Government of Spain, Open data portal  
208 European Commission, Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) 
2018 Country Report Spain, pp. 10-11. 
209 UN General Assembly Resolution 72/277 and Organizational session 
of the ad hoc open-ended working group.  

Genetic  resources:  Nagoya  Protocol  on  Access  to 
Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of 
Benefits Arising (ABS)214  

into  the  EU 

In  accordance  with  the  EU  ABS  Regulation,  which 
transposes 
legal  order  the  required 
compliance  measures  under  the  Nagoya  Protocol,  Spain 
has  designated  competent  authorities  and  enacted 
sanctions  for  infringements  of  the  Regulation.  No  due 
diligence  declaration  has  been  submitted  so  far  and  no 

210 Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council of 20 October 2010 
211  Regulation  (EC)  No  2173/2005  of  20  December  2005  on  the 
establishment  of  a  FLEGT  licensing  scheme  for  imports  of  timber  into 
the European Community. 
212 Based on customs’ data, it was estimated that 1’000 Spanish 
operators placed domestic timber on the EU market for the first time 
and 11’000 imported timber. 
213 Under the EIR-P2P, a Workshop has been organised to strengthen 
cooperation among eight Mediterranean EU Member States, as well as 
to improve and harmonise implementation of the EUTR in the 
Mediterranean region. 
214 Regulation (EU) No 511/2014 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council of 16 April 2014 on compliance measures for users from the 
Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and 
Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilisation in the Union 
Text with EEA relevance. 

42 

                                                                 
                                                                 
Environmental Implementation Review 2019 – Spain 

penalties  applied.  Spain  submitted  their  first  report  to 
the  Commission  on  implementation  of  the  EU  ABS 
Regulation (end 2017). 

the  Convention  on 
trade: 
International  wildlife 
International  Trade  in  Endangered  Species  of  Wild 
Fauna and Flora (CITES)215 

Spain has established relevant national authorities and is 
processing  (requests  for)  import,  (re-)  export  and  intra-
EU  trade  documents  on  a  regular  basis.  This  is  pursuant 
to  the  obligations  laid  down  in  the  Basic  Regulation216 
which 
the 
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species 
of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) into EU law,  

the  major  obligations  of 

transposes 

Reports  on  seizures  of  illegal  shipments,  like  those 
exchanged  through  the  EU-TWIX  platform,  testify  to  the 
activity of customs authorities. 

To  ensure  full  implementation  of  the  EU  Wildlife  Action 
Plan  (2016),  Spain  has  been  working  on  enforcement 
cooperation  with  Mexico,  in  particular  on  exotic  bird 
trafficking.  In  2017,  Spain  also  collaborated  with  CEPOL 
to  organise  training  activities  for 
law  enforcement 
officials involved in combating wildlife crime. 

2019 priority action 

 

Increase  efforts  to  be  party  to  relevant  multilateral 
environmental  agreements,  by  signing  and  ratifying 
the remaining agreements. 

Sustainable 
implementation of the UN SDGs  

development 

and 

the 

Sustainable development links environmental, social and 
economic policies in a coherent framework and therefore 
helps  to 
legislation  and 
policies. 

implement  environmental 

Sustainable development links environmental, social and 
economic  policies  into  a  coherent  framework  and  is 
important  enabler  of  environmental 
therefore  an 
implementation. 

The  Spanish  Government  approved 
the  Spanish 
Sustainable  Development  Strategy  (SDS)  in  2007.  The 
idea  of  sustainability  re-emerged  with  the  Sustainable 
Economy Law adopted in 2011. As explained in the 2017 
EIR country report, there was no close monitoring of and 
follow-up to these initiatives and actions. 

However,  Spain  has  attached  special  importance  to  the 
Sustainable  Development  Goals  (SDGs).  Thus,  a  High 

215  The  Convention  on  International  Trade  in  Endangered  Species  of 
Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). 
216 Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 on the protection of species of 
wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein. 

Level Working Group for the 2030 Agenda was set up in 
September  2017  with  the  participation  of  the  relevant 
ministries.  This  forum  has  also  convened  regional  and 
local administrations, developing different initiatives and 
tasks,  including  dialogue  with  the  relevant  partners  and 
stakeholders.  As  a  result,  a  national  Action  Plan  for  the 
Implementation of the 2030 Agenda has been drawn up 
and was adopted by the Spanish Government on 29 June 
2018.  The  Plan  will  cover  a  transition  from  the  urgent 
launch  of 
the 
formulation  of  a  long-term  sustainable  development 
strategy  for  Spain.  Many  regional  and  local  authorities 
have also adopted action plans inspired by the SDGs. 

implementation 

the  Agenda’s 

to 

For  the  new  Government  that  came  to  power  in  June 
2018  the  2030  Agenda  is  a  priority.  It  has  created  the 
post  of  High  Commissioner  for  the  2030  Agenda  who 
reports directly to the President of the Government, and 
also  a  High  Commissioner  for  Child  Poverty.  It  has  also 
created  a  Ministry 
the  Ecological  Transition, 
responsible  for  energy,  the  environment,  and  climate 
change. Compliance with the Paris Agreement on climate 
change is a key priority too. 

for 

In  July  2018,  Spain  submitted  a  National  Voluntary 
Review on the implementation of the SDGs to the UN217. 
The review states that: ‘It is  absolutely vital that Spain’s 
commitment  to  the  Agenda  be  reflected 
in  basic 
agreements  between  the  political,  economic,  and  social 
powers,  acknowledging  the  necessity  for  a  long-term 
vision and the promotion of sustainability in its broadest 
sense.’ 

217 UN, SDGs: Spain’s Report For The 2018 Voluntary National Review 

43