Transport negotiates with unions to stop the rail strikes of November 17 and 23

The Royal Decree-Law 34/2026, of November 10, on urgent measures to reinforce operational safety in railway transport and the social protection of railway personnel, is pending validation as of November 12. It was approved by the Government on the 10th and published in the BOE on the 11th; the consulted sources do not yet show a validation vote nor an agreement to process it as a bill. With the Parliament dissolved, the decision corresponds to the Permanent Deputation of the Congress.

Current situation: published and in force, but not validated

The accredited milestones are the approval by the Council of Ministers and the publication of the decree-law. No debate date or opening of amendments has been recorded yet. Therefore, it is not in the stage of committee report, commission opinion, or Senate examination.

Validity and validation are different matters: its measures apply, generally, from November 11, although parliamentary backing to maintain them is missing. Article one, relating to operational safety and driving times, has a deferred entry into force of six months, until May 11, 2027, as explained by Demócrata on its application.

Next step: debate and validation vote

The Presidency of the Congress must convene the Permanent Deputation and include the decree-law for debate and voting. It can do so on its own initiative or at the request of two parliamentary groups or one-fifth of the members of that body. The dissolution does not eliminate this control: the Permanent Deputation assumes the Congress's powers over decree-laws.

Article 151 of the Congress Rules establishes a thirty-day period to decide. The Constitutional Court Ruling 32/2026 records its calculation in working days according to article 90.1 of the Rules. This period should not be confused with an already announced voting date.

• Debate: a Government member will explain the reasons of extraordinary and urgent necessity, and the groups will state their positions.
• Joint vote: the decree-law is accepted or rejected as a whole, without modifying articles. Validation requires a simple majority — more favorable than opposing votes — and the attendance of the majority of the body's members.
• Result: if validated, it remains in force; if rejected, it is repealed. The agreement must be published in the BOE.

Possible processing as a bill

After validation, the Presidency will ask if any group requests processing it as a bill. This decision requires a separate vote: it is neither automatic nor necessary to maintain the measures. Article 151.5 expressly allows the Permanent Deputation to process decree-laws issued between legislatures urgently.

The practical difference is that this second route allows introducing changes. It does not require a consideration vote — the initial vote typical of bills — and does not admit total amendments requesting to return the text to the Government.

In the corresponding legislative procedure, the amendment period would open; then the committee report, opinion, and parliamentary approval would follow. The urgent procedure halves the ordinary deadlines. The Senate's intervention and, if it introduces changes or a veto, a new decision by the Congress are part of the legislative process, not the validation.

In short, the immediate milestone is to maintain or repeal the decree-law; only a subsequent agreement would open the way to modify it through processing as a bill.

Carlos Cuerpo assumes the management of Transport, but he has not been appointed the titular minister of that department: since November 4, 2026, he is temporarily in charge of the "ordinary dispatch of affairs" of the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility. He retains the First Vice Presidency and the Ministry of Economy, Commerce, and Business. This distinction, noted by Demócrata regarding the extraordinary BOE, is important to separate the permanent competencies of the ministry from the temporary nature of his assignment.

Legal framework and general mandate

Article 7 of Royal Decree 829/2023 assigns Transport the proposal and execution of government policies on infrastructure and land transport of state competence, air and maritime, to guarantee fair and sustainable mobility.

Article 1 of Royal Decree 253/2024, which develops its organizational structure, specifies that mandate: it includes the administrative regulation of transport services, active mobility, postal services, certain scientific activities, and investment planning. These are the department's matters whose ordinary management Cuerpo assumes, not new powers created for him.

Main areas of action

• Infrastructure and land transport. The ministry directs state policies on roads and railways, their planning, and corresponding investments. It also orders and administratively regulates transport services under its competence. Article 2 contemplates the execution of infrastructure directly or through attached bodies and entities, prioritizing safety, maintenance, daily mobility, and connection between transport modes.
• Air and maritime transport. It includes policies on infrastructure and services in these sectors. Its specialized organization includes the General Secretariat of Air and Maritime Transport and the Directorates-General of Civil Aviation and Merchant Marine.
• Sustainable mobility. Articles 10 and 11 cover strategy coordination, healthy and safe mobility, combating climate change, energy saving, and transport efficiency. They include logistics and intermodality, that is, facilitating the combination of different means to transport people and goods.
• Investments and European financing. The department is responsible for planning and programming investments, monitoring Recovery Plan actions, and coordinating European funds destined for transport and mobility through its competent bodies.
• Other matters. Article 1 also assigns the normative regulation of postal services and the promotion and direction of state services of astronomy, geodesy, geophysics, and cartography. Therefore, its scope is not limited to trains, roads, ports, and airports.

How they are exercised and their limits

Cuerpo does not personally replace all technical bodies. Article 1 places under the department head's direction the State Secretariat of Transport and Sustainable Mobility and the Undersecretariat. The former organizes the areas of land, air, and maritime transport and sustainable mobility. The coordination of international relations also depends directly on the ministerial head.

Regarding crises, Royal Decree 690/2025 strengthens supervision, prevention, coordination, and victim assistance through an observatory dependent on the State Secretariat. This does not assume direct management corresponding to sectoral bodies.

Finally, Transport does not absorb unrelated competencies: traffic and road safety belong to Interior; housing, land, and Urban Agenda belong to another ministry. The regulations require coordination and respect for other departments' competencies. Moreover, Cuerpo's assignment expressly refers to ordinary dispatch: it should not be confused with a permanent appointment nor with an expansion of the ministry's legal powers.

Before joining the State Secretariat of Transport and Sustainable Mobility in November 2023, José Antonio Santano had developed a mainly municipal and provincial career, linked to the PSE-EE and Gipuzkoa. His longest responsibility was the Mayorship of Irun, which he held from 2002 to 2023. He also had legal training, a period in private consultancy, and responsibilities related to economy, local development, logistics, and public services.

Education and early professional steps

Born in Irun in 1965, Santano studied at the public school Leka-Enea and at the Pío Baroja Institute before earning a Law degree from the University of the Basque Country. His career was not exclusively in institutions: he worked for about two years at Arthur Andersen as an auditor and legal advisor. This professional experience preceded his return to executive political responsibilities, according to his institutional curriculum.

Political start and provincial stage

His entry into municipal politics was early: in 1983, at 18 years old, he was elected councilor of Irun. He remained in the City Council until 1988. Institutional biographies present him as the youngest councilor in Spain at that time, a fact reflecting his early incorporation into public life.

After his time in the private sector, he took on responsibilities in the Gipuzkoa Provincial Council. Between 1991 and 1995 he was provincial deputy for Youth and Sports. Later, he served as director of Economy and Tourism during the late 1990s. His provincial experience thus covered youth and sports policies as well as economic promotion areas, according to the Ministry biography.

Return to Irun and over twenty years as mayor

In 1999 he returned to the Irun City Council as first deputy mayor, under Mayor Alberto Buen, with responsibilities in Presidency and Economy and Finance. During that period, he also presided over Bidasoa Activa, the local development agency of the region.

In September 2002, he succeeded Buen as Mayor. He continued as mayor after the municipal elections of 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2023, until leaving the position to join the Government of Spain. His more than two decades in office made municipal management the central axis of his career. Between 2003 and 2007, he was also a member of the Gipuzkoa General Assemblies, the representative chamber of the territory.

In parallel, he developed organizational responsibilities in the PSE-EE: he was linked to the Economy and Employment area between 2002 and 2003 and, when his incorporation to the Ministry was announced, he was part of the party's Executive Commission.

Previous experience related to transport and public management

His municipal activity included responsibilities related to his later state destination. The official appointment note lists the following:

• Presidency of the Transport, Sustainable Mobility, and Safety Commission of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces.
• Vice-presidency of EUDEL, the association of Basque municipalities, in several terms.
• Presidency of Zaisa, the cross-border logistics platform of Irun.
• Presidencies of the Ficoba fairground, Bidasoa Oarso Industrialdea, and Txingudi Services.

In summary, he arrived at Transport with a profile of a local manager with legal training, economic experience, and knowledge of public services and logistics. The Council of Ministers approved his appointment on November 28, 2023, closing his long period leading Irun.