Spanish Regulations Research Articles

Challenges in Housing Accessibility Towards Universal Design

Housing is the most regulated type of building. Standards significantly influence the design and construction quality, often making universal design more expensive and challenging to implement. This study aims to review current Spanish regulations on accessibility in the housing sector, to promote non-discriminatory and independent access, while ensuring the safety of each resident. The research is exploratory and qualitative, involving a systematic bibliographic review through an exhaustive search of regulations in force until December 2023. In Spain, there are three laws (from 1999, 1960 and 2022), three decrees (from 2006, 2013 and 2015) and a national plan from the regulatory framework. The main regulation, the Technical Building Code, outlines the accessibility, safety and habitability requirements that buildings must adhere to. The most recent is Law 6/2022 on Cognitive Accessibility. Spain has robust legislation with innovative approaches and ambitious goals. However, there is a lack of societal awareness that housing is a fundamental right and that the regulations must be upheld. Several proposals for improvement have been made. These suggested changes address the specific challenges of each region and promote more inclusive and adaptable projects for all people from the early stages of design.

Correction for reverberation time in acoustic measurements from service and equipment - Comparison between different methods

The measured values of the sound pressure level in ordinary rooms in dwellings vary depending on the combined effect of the absorption and the scattering of the furniture, or to the presence of absorbent surfaces on walls and ceilings. Regarding the measurement of noise from building services, ISO 16032 and ISO 10052 methods allow to normalize the sound pressure levels to a reference reverberation time of 0,5s. Several European countries incorporate this reverberation time correction into their regulations. However, Spanish regulations, specifically RD 1367/2007, and the majority of regional decrees and ordinances concerning the evaluation of noise from activities or equipment within buildings, do not incorporate this correction, even when measurements are performed in two scenarios: before the building's occupation when rooms are empty, or when the building is fully furnished, as may occur in the case of complaints. For that reason, this study compares the values of the reverberation time index obtained in 180 residential rooms using various methods while also evaluating the benefits and drawbacks of their application.

Hybrid ventilation in a nearly zero-energy building as a function of users’ habits for better indoor air quality and thermal comfort in a warm climate

ABSTRACT During the design stage of a detached house located in warm climate, passive strategies were integrated and a high-energy efficiency qualification was achieved in accordance with the Spanish Building Technical Code (CTE). During the execution phase, an elevated level of control was carried out to guarantee airtightness and thermal insulation quality according to the specifications of the project. A hybrid ventilation system was designed and installed as it was allowed under Spanish regulations for residential buildings, but as a legislative exception. The mechanical part of the hybrid ventilation system was deactivated by the owner due to his cultural perception that effective ventilation can only be achieved by opening windows. Consequently, with the operable aerators closed, ventilation relied solely on traditional Mediterranean airing habits, impacting both the indoor air change rate and subsequently, indoor air quality and thermal comfort. This research aims to assess whether satisfactory levels of thermal comfort and indoor air quality can be attained solely through these airing habits, thus questioning the necessity of active strategies to meet the indoor air change rate requirements. Thermal comfort and indoor air quality are evaluated based on indoor environmental data correlated with users’ declared ventilation habits.

Evolutionary regulatory dynamics in a pluralist and polarized journalism landscape: a case study of the normative framework in Spanish media

Within the European Union, the pluralist polarized journalistic model suggests the presence of journalistic cultures rooted in the connections between political parties and media organizations. In this classical framework, the state exerts significant intervention to influence a media system characterized by lower levels of professionalization. In this regard, Spain serves as a well-examined example of a pluralist polarized Western democracy. Our study entails a systematic review based on two distinct dimensions. Firstly, we scrutinized all legal documents pertaining to media regulation in Spain published between the Spanish transition and the present 1977–2024. From this perspective, we propose a chronological evolution to categorize this extensive collection of norms. Secondly, we complement our primary source assessment with an examination of secondary sources to validate the proposed evolution. Our findings indicate that the Spanish media regulation is evolving due to two pivotal factors: the influence of the European Union and the preservation of the narrative established during the transition to democracy. While contemporary communication grapples with issues such as the rise of artificial intelligence, journalistic instability, algorithmic communication, and fragmented user consumption, these areas are only addressed peripherally within the Spanish media normative context.

Levelized cost of electricity in renewable energy communities: Uncertainty propagation analysis

Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) are being deployed all around the World as a technically feasible solution to decreasing users' dependence on fossil fuels. Several demonstration facilities have shown their potential to provide final consumers with clean energy and all associated environmental benefits. However, the economic evaluation of these systems as a whole set is more complex than evaluating generation technologies individually, which can be considered a barrier, and it may be more complicated to calculate its uncertainty with precision. This paper deals with this challenge and adapts a model for the evaluation of the global Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) of a polygeneration microgrid to the characteristics of a typical REC, allowing the assessment of the distribution of the LCOE depending on the uncertainty of the input parameters. Thanks to its simple analytical formulation, the proposed model, that can be used for any combination of technologies (both renewable and conventional), provides relevant information on uncertainty propagation in a symbolic way that avoids the need to run numerical simulations or make assumptions on the distribution of the random input parameters. A case study has been presented, considering a typical small electrical REC with photovoltaic plants and micro wind turbines. Although the model can be defined to any market, as a representative example, it has been evaluated according to the current Spanish and Italian regulations, which are analyzed in depth with reference to the scientific literature. Results show that uncertainties in parameter estimates give rise to a very large scatter in the LCOE, pointing out a set of quantities whose role is crucial for a reliable estimate, among which electricity purchase and selling prices, yearly power load, and self-consumption / virtually-shared energy rates stand out.

Effects of Facilitating Internal Control Mechanisms on Financial Sustainability:The Case of Local Governments in Spain

This paper provides evidence about the effects of facilitating internal control mechanisms on the financial sustainability of local governments. Specifically, it explores the effect of Spanish regulation mandating that municipalities prepare the Annual Financial Control Plan (PACF for its acronym in Spanish). The study is based on the PACFs of 77 Spanish municipalities and relates the quality of risk analysis and the scope of planned public audit activities to the financial sustainability of the municipalities. Our results show that higher quality risk-based planning and increased use of operational audits contribute to financial sustainability. We also find that municipalities with less complex structures and women in positions of responsibility, such as mayor or controller, have greater financial sustainability. In contrast, a lack of resources for the development of the control function is a limiting factor.

Influence of Balcony Thermal Bridges on Energy Efficiency of Dwellings in a Warm Semi-Arid Dry Mediterranean Climate

Thermal bridges significantly influence the energy performance of buildings. However, their impact varies depending on the type of thermal bridge, climate conditions, construction methodologies, and geometric characteristics of the building. On the Spanish Mediterranean coast, buildings with large balconies are predominant. Nevertheless, the Spanish energy efficiency regulations do not adequately specify the thermal bridges at the junctions of balconies with facades, leading to a lack of consideration for their influence in the majority of architectural projects. The objective of this study is to qualitatively and quantitatively assess the impact of such thermal bridges on the energy efficiency of buildings in a dry Mediterranean climate (BShs) within a warm semi-arid climate (BSh). As a case study, the influence of this thermal bridge is analyzed in two residential buildings located on the Mediterranean coast of southeastern Spain. The study also examines the modification of various construction parameters of this thermal bridge and determines the optimal design parameters to reduce its thermal transmittance. The results demonstrate that the energy needs caused by thermal bridges account for approximately 40% of the total annual energy needs of the studied residential buildings. Balcony thermal bridges account for 25% to 40% of the energy needs caused by all thermal bridges. The lack of differentiation in Spanish standards between balcony–facade and facade–slab edge junctions causes an imprecision in calculations equivalent to 12% of the total annual energy needs of dwellings. The novelty of this research lies in highlighting that current regulations and calculation programs need improvement to better characterize balcony thermal bridges and enhance the accuracy of building energy efficiency calculations.

Extreme snowfalls and atmospheric circulation patterns in the Cantabrian Mountains (NW Spain)

This research examines the atmospheric patterns associated with damages caused by extreme snowfalls during a 115-year period, using newspapers as the source to document the events and performing then a synthetic damage index. Between 1900 and 2015 there was 180 days with personal and material damages due to snowfalls (without considering associated hazards as snow avalanches or landslides): Apart from the numerous material damages recorded, 60 people were killed and 254 injured. Advections from the north represented a 30% of damaging days (followed by cyclonic and northeastern) accumulating the greatest number of days in the highest deciles of damage, although cyclonic days were the most damaging ones on average. The analysis of data from five weather stations in the area, allowed to relate weather types with temperature and precipitation extremes, showing that northern and cyclonic types led to the lowest temperature and the highest precipitation. Both the number of events and the damage index decreased throughout the study period, with the most serious events (those that caused deaths and injuries) highly concentrated in the first half of the 20th century. This decrease trend is parallel to that observed in the frequency of two of the most damaging advections, northern and northeastern (responsible for a 46.7% of damage), which have gone from representing 7.3% of days before 1930 to 5.8% after 1990. Futhermore, the relationship between the NAO phases and the days of damage has been examined, noting that damages are less frequent and les intense during the NAO's positive phase. Finally, non-atmospheric drivers such as land-use intensity decline in rural areas and Spanish regulations on roof snow loads standards (initiated in the 1960s and refined subsequently, thus mitigating roof collapses and associated casualties), could have partially contributed to the decline in snowfall damage in the area.

Biobanking Legislation in Spain: Advancing or Undermining Its Ethical Values?

Biobanks are important resources for improving public health and individual care. Some legal frameworks can be more or less conducive to advancing the potential benefits of biobanks. The purpose of this article is to assess biobanking legislation and practices in Spain to determine how well they fare in such a regard. We focus here on some of the primary ethical values that ground relevant legislation and that we believe are consistent with promoting biobanking benefits: the value of scientific research; efficient use of scarce resources; and respect for the dignity of donors. We argue that although Spanish regulations advance these values in important ways, they also have provisions that undermine them and thus risk limiting the potential benefits of biobanks. We offer some suggestions for improvement.

What is Spanish regulation on the application of artificial intelligence to medicine like?

This article will attempt to analyze the current impact of Artificial Intelligence in Spanish healthcare, as well as the challenges that its application poses both from an ethical and legal point of view. Technological advances, which are already being applied in healthcare, make it necessary to adapt the legal system to the new trends that are emerging in society and force healthcare professionals to review their codes of ethics in the face of new ethical dilemmas, since these codes of ethics do not have clear guidelines for action on AI that raise relevant ethical problems to which no response is being given, except for the code of ethics for medicine, which has recently been included. After a review of the last 5 years of Spanish and European regulations in medicine, it can be concluded that the regulation and legislation of the application of AI is very deficient, both in the EU and in Spain. In order to try to identify different ways of resolving conflicts related to AI in medicine, jurisprudential sentences related to the rights and obligations of health professionals, patients and users have been analyzed and reviewed. Therefore, the paper concludes with the proposal of a series of aspects to be taken into account for the future regulation of the application of AI in medicine.

Evaluation of Energy Efficiency in Large-Scale Public Lighting. The case of the City of Cuenca, Ecuador.

This paper describes a large-scale energy efficiency assessment of the public lighting system in the city of Cuenca, Ecuador, carried out with the collaboration of the system administrator, the Central South Regional Power Company (CENTROSUR). For the evaluation, the Spanish regulation ITC-EA-02 and the European standard UNE-EN 13201 were used since there are no similar efficiency standards in Ecuador. Three thousand measurement points distributed on about 200 city roads were surveyed. The results allowed to evaluate the levels of average horizontal illuminance on the road and the mean and general uniformities of the arteries as well as the energy efficiency during the years 2014-2015. As a conclusion, and according to the aforementioned European regulation, 81% of the studied roads have excessive levels of illumination; 13% deficient levels and only 6% of the roads complied fully with the standards.

Políticas en salud laboral en personas trabajadoras mayores: análisis comparativo entre España y Chile

ObjectiveTo analyze and compare the current Spanish and Chilean regulations regarding occupational risk prevention, regarding the existence of specific indications that protect the occupational health and safety of people over 55 years of age. MethodQualitative study in which a documentary content analysis was carried out using ATLAS/ti. The sample was 88 regulatory documents on occupational risk prevention for Spain and Chile. The guidance of the European Agency for Safety at Work (EU-OSHA) regarding age-critical risks was followed. ResultsIn global terms, 21.9% of the total Spanish documents analyzed show the explicit presence of considerations on aging, while for Chile this occurs in 9%. Both countries mention indications regarding ergonomic risks and noise. Shift work and psychosocial risks are considered only in Spain, while extreme temperatures, vibrations and geographical altitude appear exclusively in Chilean regulations. Neither country refers to issues inherent to working women (care responsibilities, menopause). ConclusionsThe Spanish regulations present a greater presence of indications on aging compared to the Chilean one. However, development in this area is insufficient in both countries. Chile and Spain have guides of recommendations, which are not mandatory, and their application is voluntary. This suggests that the prevention of occupational risks has a great pending challenge with people over 55 years of age.

Women’s rights in the workplace – EU vs. Spanish legislation on co-responsibility rights

The establishment of a regulatory framework to ensure women’s equality in the workplace has been a lengthy journey in the European Union (EU) and its Member States. In Spain, there was no significant impetus initially. Nevertheless, a few decades later, due to substantial legislative improvement, Spain is considered by many a very convenient place for women to live and work, even though there is still much to be done. This article aims to analyse the adequacy of Spanish labour regulations with the EU’s normative acquis concerning work-life balance and co-responsibility—essential elements for the achievement of equality in the workplace. To this end, detailed reference will be made to the introduction of rights through the domestic regulatory framework. Consequently, the study will assess whether Spain is one of the EU countries with the highest standards of gender equality in employment and occupation resulting from the implementation and exercise of work-life balance rights to achieve co-responsibility and resolve reconciliation issues.

Back to goodwill amortisation: impact of the 2016 Spanish regulation on the mispricing of listed firms

PurposeThis article analyses the recent inverse transition from goodwill impairment to goodwill amortisation implemented in Spain in 2016. The authors contribute to the existing literature by describing their differing impact over goodwill and impairment figures and testing the impact of goodwill on balances over stock prices.Design/methodology/approachFirst, using a database with all Spanish non-financial firms with positive goodwill on their balance sheets, the authors describe the impact of the regulatory change over goodwill and impairment figures. Second, focussing on listed firms only, the authors study the impact of financial reporting of goodwill and impairment on stock prices.FindingsAverage goodwill per company and the share of goodwill over total assets significantly reduced after 2016, but the results cannot be easily extrapolated to listed firms due to lack of data. When testing the impact of potentially inflated goodwill balances on prices, the authors find that investors kept overvaluing firms with inflated goodwill balances also with the amortisation method.Research limitations/implicationsThe lack of data for listed firms with goodwill in Spain makes it difficult to obtain statistically sound evidence, the results could be biased by the cultural traits of the country and related to the intensity of enforcement and monitoring.Practical implicationsThis might suggest that the effects of the impairment method linger, so the authors conform to the interpretation that the systematic amortisation paired with a periodic impairment test may lead to accounting that better reflects the underlying economics of goodwill.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, there are no recent articles that analyse this new “turn-around” requiring again the systematic amortisation of goodwill.

The Presumption of the Employment Relationship of Platform Workers as an Opportunity to Eliminate Obstacles Arising from Competition Law in the Conclusion of a Collective Agreement: The Example of Spain

Abstract Collective bargaining is the most appropriate tool to introduce detailed regulations specific to platform work. However, the status of platform workers (they are usually self-employed), combined with EU competition law, constitutes a significant restriction on their collective bargaining rights. Hence, the aim of this article is to prove the thesis that the presumption adopted in the Spanish regulation of recognising platform workers as workers in the strict sense would be a universal solution to the problem of ensuring proper labour protection for this group of workers.

Reining in Pegasus: The Oversight of the Spanish Intelligence Service in the Catalangate

The Pegasus spyware case, revealed in July 2021, also impacted Spanish politics when a report produced by Citizen Lab denounced that Catalan independentists had been surveilled using this software. The scandal — known as Catalangate — highlighted the need for a thorough audit of these surveillance capacities in the hands of the Spanish intelligence service. Using Catalangate as a case study, this article analyses whether Spanish mechanisms for controlling the surveillance capacities of the National Intelligence Centre (CNI) have followed the procedures established in Spanish legislation. Our conclusion is that the Spanish control system worked effectively. When the Parliamentary committee was unable to fulfill its duties, another actor within the democratic system, the Ombudsman, filled that gap. Secondly, the article analyses if Spanish control mechanism meets the more recent standards of case law from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). This case law emphasises the importance of procedural guarantees for legitimising both bulk and targeted surveillance procedures, showing the need for potential improvements in Spanish regulations.

A multi-taxa assessment of aquatic non-indigenous species introduced into Iberian freshwater and transitional waters

Aquatic ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to the introduction of non-indigenous species (NIS), leading to multi-faceted ecological, economic and health impacts worldwide. The Iberian Peninsula comprises an exceptionally biodiverse Mediterranean region with a high number of threatened and endemic aquatic species, most of them strongly impacted by biological invasions. Following a structured approach that combines a systematic review of available information and expert opinion, we provide a comprehensive and updated multi-taxa inventory of aquatic NIS (fungi, macroalgae, vascular plants, invertebrates and vertebrates) in Iberian inland waters. Moreover, we assess overall patterns in the establishment status, introduction pathways, native range and temporal introduction trends of listed NIS. In addition, we discuss the legal coverage provided by both national (Spanish and Portuguese) and European NIS regulations. We inventoried 326 aquatic NIS in Iberian inland waters, including 215 established, 96 with uncertain establishment status and 15 cryptogenic taxa. Invertebrates (54.6%) and vertebrates (24.5%) were the groups with the highest number of NIS, with Arthropoda, Mollusca, and Chordata being the most represented phyla. Recorded NIS originated from diverse geographic regions, with North and South America being the most frequent. Vertebrates and vascular plants were mostly introduced through intentional pathways (i.e. release and escape), whereas invertebrates and macroalgae arrived mostly through unintentional ways (i.e. contaminant or stowaway). Most of the recorded NIS were introduced in Iberian inland waters over the second half of the 20th century, with a high number of NIS introductions being reported in the 2000s. While only 8% of the recorded NIS appear in the European Union list of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern, around 25% are listed in the Spanish and Portuguese NIS regulations. This study provides the most updated checklist of Iberian aquatic NIS, meeting the requirements set by the EU regulation and providing a baseline for the evaluation of its application. We point out the need for coordinated transnational strategies to properly tackle aquatic invasions across borders of the EU members.

Reporting reimbursement price decisions for onco-hematology drugs in Spain.

Even using well-established technology assessment processes, the basis of the decisions on drug price and reimbursement are sometimes perceived as poorly informed and sometimes may be seen as disconnected from value. The literature remains inconclusive about how Health Technology Assessment Bodies (HTAb) should report the determinants of their decisions. This study evaluates the relationship between oncology and hematology drug list prices and structured value parameters at the time of reimbursement decision in Spain. The study includes all new onco-hematological products (22), with a first indication authorized between January 2017 and December 2019 in Spain and pricing decisions published up until October 2022. For each product, 56 contextual and non-contextual indicators reflecting the structured multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA) - Evidence-based Decision-Making (EVIDEM) framework were measured. The relationship between prices and the MCDA-EVIDEM framework was explored using univariate statistical analyses. Higher prices were observed when the standard of care included for combinations, if there were references to long-lasting responses, for fixed-duration treatment compared to treatment until progression and treatment with lower frequencies of administration; lower prices were observed for oral administration compared to other routes of administration. Statistically significant associations were observed between prices and the median duration of treatment, the impact on patient autonomy, the ease of use of the drug, and the recommendations of experts. The study suggests that indicators related to the type of standard of care, references to long-lasting responders, the convenience of the use of the drug, and the impact of treatment on patient autonomy, as well as contextual indicators such as the existence of previous clinical consensus, are factors in setting oncology drug prices in Spain. The implementation of MCDA-EVIDEM methodologies may be useful to capture the influence on pricing decisions of additional factors not included in legislation or consolidated assessment frameworks such as the European Network for Health Technology Assessment (EunetHTA) core model. It may be opportune to consider this in the upcoming revision of the Spanish regulation for health technology assessments and pricing and reimbursement procedures.

Design of Drainage Downspouts Systems over a Road Embankment

Numerous studies have examined the complex relationship between factors like embankment downspout spacing, height, slope, and rainfall characteristics in the quest to find the best spacing for embankment downspouts. Defining the correct spacing between road drainage elements is of utmost importance in minimizing water flow on roadways. This paper presents a methodology based on numerical methods for the design of road drainage systems using the Iber model. The objective of the work is to propose a tool and criteria for analyzing the hydraulic behavior of runoff on highways, determine the appropriate drainage behavior, and apply the methodology in a case study. This case study is based on a straight highway section with slopes up to 5%, according to Spanish road design regulations. Different dimensions are considered for the chute, drainage channel, collection nozzle, and downspout over the embankment. Tests are carried out to evaluate the separation between downspouts, the longitudinal slope, and the size of the nozzles. The results show the suitable hydraulic performance of the model, besides providing the absorption capacity of each downspout. The influence of the nozzle size, the slope, and the width of the causeway on the draughts and velocities is analyzed. The influence of downspout spacing and nozzle type on road drainage design is determined. In summary, this article presents a methodology and criteria for the design of road drainage systems and shows the results obtained in a case study using the Iber model. The results help in understanding the influence of different variables on the hydraulic behavior of road runoff and provide relevant information for proper drainage design.

REMIT – Market manipulation decisions in Spain and Italy involving coordination of matching orders and wash trades; numerous decisions announced in Romania and Bulgaria

John Ratliff and his colleagues summarize and comment on recent detailed Spanish and Italian Energy Regulator decisions on market manipulation through giving false or misleading signals (coordination on matched orders, including iceberg bids, and wash trades). The cases include explanations of such practices, the related evidence relied on by the authorities to show the infringements of Article 5 of REMIT, and the defence arguments raised, including ne bis in idem. He also summarizes (with the assistance of Monica Iancu and her colleagues in Bondoc & Asociatii) a press release from the Romanian Energy Regulator, noting the many decisions it had taken between 2019 and 2022, mainly on wash trades, with some on layering and pre-arranged transactions. Some 20 market participants have been sanctioned for infringements on the wholesale electricity market; and four market participants have been sanctioned for infringements on the wholesale natural gas market. Finally, he notes two recent press releases from the Bulgarian Energy Regulator concerning market manipulation cases, one including layering and spoofing, in which seven companies were sanctioned.