The Government says it has approved two decrees that don't exist. The big con

Journalist José María Olmo claims that the Government has treated two decrees that do not exist as approved, information he attributes to Antena 3 Noticias. A real decreto-ley (Spanish emergency decree-law) does not take legal effect until it is published in the BOE (Spain's official gazette), so the accusation points to an announcement with no law behind it.

The journalist **José María Olmo** posted on X that the Government treats two decrees that do not exist as approved and called it “the big scam”, with information attributed to **Antena 3 Noticias**. His message does not identify which two decrees they are or attach documents.

## What makes a decree exist
A real decreto-ley begins to exist when it is published in the **BOE**. Before that step, there is an agreement by the Consejo de Ministros (Spain's cabinet): an intention to legislate, but no legal effect against anyone. The Executive can announce its approval at the subsequent press conference; what it cannot do is invoke it as law in force without the text in the Gazette.

The Congreso (Spain's lower house) must validate or repeal the decree within **30 days** of its promulgation. That procedure only opens if the regulation has already been published.

## Why the gap matters
If you cannot read a regulation, you cannot comply with it. Companies, public administrations and citizens need the text to know where they stand, and an announcement without publication leaves that gap open.

If the decrees existed and publication came late, it is a communications failure. If they were never approved, the problem is one of credibility, and the accusation is serious. For now it rests on Olmo's account, not on a document that backs it up.

Checking whether a decree exists is as simple as looking it up in the BOE.