Andalusian court strikes down Málaga low-emission zone fines as discriminatory

Andalusian court strikes down Málaga low-emission zone fines as discriminatory

Málaga's Low Emission Zone has lost its power to sanction. The Superior Court of Justice of Andalusia (TSJA) has ruled that fining only vehicles from outside the city was discriminatory, and this Wednesday the city council stopped issuing fines. The reaction was swift: from those celebrating the court blow to those warning that a new rule will now have to be drafted which, if applied to everyone, will also penalize the people of Málaga.

The paradox is textbook. The appeal was filed by Vox, and the ruling does not eliminate the LEZ: it forces it to be redone. In other words, the party that promised to end the restrictions has, for now, managed to make the council choose between fining locals and outsiders alike or leaving the rule as a dead letter. Welcome to administrative law.

What peine to the Málaga LEZ fines

The TSJA found that sanctioning only vehicles from outside the capital was discriminatory. The immediate consequence: the council stops fining this Wednesday and will have to draft a new rule that complies with the law. The ruling does not assess whether the LEZ is good or bad, only whether the sanctioning system was fair. And it was not.

The ruling comes after an appeal by Vox, a party that has made fighting Low Emission Zones one of its banners. In Valencia, Zaragoza, Toledo and other cities, according to the messages, these restrictions have been struck down or delayed. In Málaga, the effect has been different: the court does not annul them, it forces them to be corrected. More wood for the fire.

Who pays now: the dilemma of fining the people of Málaga

The ruling leaves the council in a bind. If it wants to keep the LEZ, it will have to fine residents too, an unpopular measure. If it does not want to fine anyone, it will have to settle for a token LEZ, three streets and vehicles over 50 years old, as some messages joke. The PP, which governs Málaga with an absolute majority, usually gets its way, but now faces an uncomfortable scenario.

Some argue that Vox's appeal sought precisely that: forcing the mayor to choose between the unpopularity of fining his own constituents or the futility of an empty rule. Others respond that the real goal was to delay the LEZ's entry into force, as has already peine in other cities. The full calculation, with the deadlines and legal alternatives, is enough for a manual of political strategy.

LEZ: European obligation, local interpretation

The law requires having a Low Emission Zone, but does not demand a specific level of restriction. That leeway is what some use to create broad LEZs and others to reduce them to a minimum. The PP, according to the messages, rushed to create restrictive LEZs in some cities to look pogre and green, when there was no need and there was still time. Vox, without the power to eliminate them, knocks them down in court or minimizes them politically.

The result is a regulatory patchwork where each city does what it can or what it wants. In Valencia, the LEZ is not yet active. In Málaga, the fines have stopped. Elsewhere, they continue. The EU recommends, the state mandates and the councils interpret. À la carte federalism.

The cost of mobility: fines, parking meters and other things

Beyond the LEZ, discontent over restrictions and traffic fines runs through the debate. One message describes a €445.80 fine for parking without paying the parking meter in Zaandam (Netherlands), with cigarettes at €12 a pack and petrol at €2.30/l. Another recalls that in some towns parking meters have even been sawn down. Mobility has become just another tax, and not always a well-explained one.

In Spain, the CO2 tax paid in some municipalities adds another layer. The feeling that everything is fees and restrictions fuels the discourse against LEZs, even though they have a European origin and an environmental goal. The debate mixes air quality, revenue collection and freedom of movement. And nobody wants to keep the unpopular part.

What happens now with Málaga's LEZ

The council will have to draft a new rule that does not discriminate. Meanwhile, the fines are suspended. There is no clear date for the new regulation, nor is it known whether it will choose to apply the LEZ to all vehicles or reduce its scope. The ruling does not prevent the new rule from being appealed, so the judicial cycle could repeat itself.

A prediction with reservations: if the council keeps the LEZ and applies it to residents, it will face a political cost. If it empties it of content, it will face an environmental cost and possible European demands. In any case, the matter is not closed. The ball is in the council's court, and there are many players on the field.