The Minister of Territory of the Generalitat, Sílvia Paneque, has raised the need to thoroughly review the financing model for large-capacity highways and motorways in Catalonia, with special attention to the AP-7. She has advocated for implementing a pay-per-use vignette system, emphasizing that it is a state-owned infrastructure and that "it should be replicable in the rest of the State."
During an interpellation by Comuns deputy Lluís Mijoler, in the Parliament, Paneque has ruled out recovering the "past and old" system of barrier tolls. Instead, she has advocated for a scheme similar to that of countries like Austria, Switzerland, or Slovenia, based on an annual fee with specific modalities depending on road usage, vehicle emissions, or tonnage.
For his part, Mijoler has shared the criticism of the old toll barriers, which in his opinion penalized mobility "indiscriminately." He has shown his support for the introduction of the vignette, provided that the revenue is earmarked and allocated to the improvement of the road network and the decarbonization of transport. Furthermore, he has called for the transfer of the management of the AP-7 to the Generalitat and a decisive boost to rail freight transport.
The deputy has pointed out that the AP-7 is suffering from strong pressure due to three main causes: the increase in traffic, especially heavy vehicles; the lack of sufficient investment in maintenance, safety, and road alternatives; and "the absence of clear governance after the toll liberation."
Reference to the Basque model
Within the framework of the debate that Paneque wants to open with the other parliamentary groups, the minister has urged to look to the Basque Country as an example to consider: "Perhaps it is the model closest to us, to which we could assimilate and which is proposed by the entire State."
She recalled that the Foral Deputations own the main road infrastructures and maintain tolls, not as a tool to amortize construction, but as a stable formula for financing maintenance, future expansions, and road modernization. As she highlighted, "The result is a high-capacity road network in an optimal state of conservation."
However, Paneque has warned that the Catalan proposal cannot be limited only to roads managed by the Generalitat: "If Catalonia were to apply a vignette system only to the Generalitat's roads, we would be building an incoherent system that would also harm us as a territory, and precisely, the users we want to protect."
Although he has not directly commented on the possible transfer of the AP-7, he has defended that the Generalitat can assume improvement actions for the network, as well as eventual lane extensions, despite it being a state highway. These interventions, he pointed out, could be articulated through management assignments and channeled through the mixed investment company.