The municipal group VOX Málaga has demanded that the City Council suspend the fines from the Low Emission Zone following the judicial annulment of the ordinance and the precedent set in Madrid. The party estimates that 35,000 fines have been imposed and between 5 and 6 million euros have been collected.
The Municipal Group VOX Málaga has insisted that the Málaga City Council's governing team immediately suspend the fines arising from the Low Emission Zone (ZBE). This request comes after the Superior Court of Justice of Andalusia annulled the provisions of the Mobility Ordinance regulating this measure and following a new court ruling in Madrid that requires the cancellation of millions of fines for a similar system.
The spokesperson for VOX Málaga, Antonio Alcázar, has criticized the City Council for continuing to impose fines despite the judicial situation. “The TSJA has already annulled the regulation of the ZBE included in the Mobility Ordinance, but the City Council has done nothing and continues to fine the people of Málaga,” he denounced.
Over 35,000 fines and millions collected
According to the data held by the party, the PP has imposed around 35,000 fines since the sanctioning regime of the ZBE came into effect. The estimated collection stands between five and six million euros. Alcázar has denounced the lack of transparency from the governing team: “The City Council does not respond to our requests to know the updated number of cases or the exact amount collected.”
The councillor has warned that maintaining the fines will only generate “huge litigation and a significant problem for the City Council in the future.” As a precedent, he recalled that the Madrid courts have forced the city council of the capital to refund millions of euros for over three and a half million fines. “The same could happen in Málaga if the PP does not rectify,” he pointed out.
VOX encourages those fined to appeal
The legal secretary of VOX Málaga, Jesús Ruiz Ballesteros, has stated that the recent court rulings strengthen the position of those who appeal the fines. “The ruling in Madrid confirms that the fines will have to be refunded. The same can happen in Málaga, both in the most restricted area and in the wider one,” he explained.
Ruiz Ballesteros has encouraged fined citizens to appeal: “Everything indicates that many of them will end up being annulled and the money will have to be returned.” He also warned of the economic cost that the City Council will incur not only for the refunds but also for the administrative management.
For the VOX spokesperson, the ZBE is a measure whose real usefulness for improving air quality is in question. “Various experts and transport professionals doubt its effectiveness, and we have said this from the beginning,” Alcázar stated.
A conflict that affects the pocket of Málaga residents
For the Málaga driver, the situation is uncertain. Anyone who has received a ZBE fine may find that if the City Council does not suspend it, the judicial process could drag on, and they may end up having to pay or appeal on their own. VOX urges the City Council to act with “responsibility” and to provisionally suspend the sanctioning regime.
Meanwhile, the Málaga City Council has not officially commented on VOX's request. The municipal opposition will continue to pressure for the fines to be suspended, while the thousands affected await a solution that, in light of the judicial precedents, could include a refund.
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