Malaga to issue fines for breaching Low Emission Zone regulations during legal process

The ruling by the High Court of Justice of Andalucía (TSJA), which partially annuls the Low Emission Zone (ZBE) on the grounds that vehicles from outside Malaga should not be penalised, will be the centre of the debate at Thursday's local ruling team meeting.

The representatives of the Vox and Con Málaga groups have submitted separate motions, calling for an immediate halt to sanctions, citing public interest harm.

In the first two months following the implementation of the ZBE, Malaga issued some 12,000 fines for unauthorised access of vehicles without an environmental sticker that pay the vehicle tax (IVTM) in other municipalities.

From 30 November, in theory, vehicles with a B sticker registered outside the ZBE will also not be able to enter the zone. Physically displaying the sticker is not mandatory, as the system reads vehicle registration numbers and cross-references them with the database of the traffic authorities (DGT).

The TSJA's ruling stems from an appeal Vox had filed. It is not yet final and the city council is studying the possibility of appealing to the Supreme Court.

According to Mayor Francisco de la Torre, fines cannot legally be suspended until the legal proceedings are resolved or, if no appeal is filed, until the text of the regulation is amended. This would, at a minimum, allow a year to see how things develop.

In the meantime, the number of fines is increasing at a rate of 5,000 per month if the current pace is maintained.

Deputy spokesperson for Con Málaga Toni Morillas defended the implementation of the Low Emission Zone (ZBE) on the grounds of sustainability. She stated this to differentiate her party's underlying motivations from those of Vox, although they both agree that sanctioning must stop immediately.

"We will reiterate that the city council should not appeal the ruling and should not waste any more time, that the penalty system should be suspended and that a participatory process should be initiated that makes the ZBE contingent on fulfilling obligations that have not been met, such as park-and-ride facilities and a public transport network," she stated.

Vox deputy spokesperson Yolanda Gómez has also demanded that the municipal ruling team stop issuing fines. "They're collecting around one million euros a month. We propose going a step further. There are legal and administrative tools to avoid issuing fines."

Vox submitted a lengthy motion based on a dense legal argument that, according to its advisors, supports the possibility of demanding this cessation of fines. They not only want to suspend sanctioning, but also declare it damaging.

Vox believes the fines harm both residents and the city council, which would face litigation. "When the ruling is final, they would have to return the fines with interest. If they decide to appeal to the Supreme Court, all they are demonstrating is that they want to continue delaying the proceedings because there is already established case law on this matter," Gómez said.

Vox has submitted a motion to other local councils in municipalities where the implementation of the ZBE in Malaga has impacted drivers. It has requested that Malaga city council refund those drivers.

Gómez stated that there is no environmental justification for imposing these restrictive measures and clarified that the European directive merely offers recommendations that the local government has interpreted in the most restrictive manner.

Opposition party PSOE spokesperson Mariano Ruiz Araujo stated that he would carefully consider his vote regarding the suspension of the penalty system.

"It's a delicate matter. We are talking about a revenue-generating Low Emission Zone, not a transformative one, without improvements to public transport or park-and-ride facilities. Vox has been masterful. What they've achieved is that the people of Malaga will also have to pay. They should stop wasting money on tactics that benefit no one. Now we're all going to have to pay," he said.

De la Torre also criticised the fact that, as a result of Vox's measure, the city council is now forced to penalise vehicles in the city of Malaga as well. "The ruling supports our decision to implement the Low Emission Zone. We wanted to ensure that Malaga residents didn't suffer any consequences until now and that they could calmly renew their vehicle," he said.

"It's ironic that Vox denies climate change when Bilbao is experiencing 43C these days. They've created an obstacle for the residents of Malaga," he said with a tone of sarcasm.

Regarding a possible solution to this legal tangle, De la Torre admitted there's a lack of certainty.

"I don't have a crystal ball. The ruling makes it clear that we can't do what we wanted to do. We'll see if there's grounds for an appeal, but we can't simply stop applying a regulation because of some motions," the mayor stated.

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