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Since it was first approved under the name of Madrid Central, Madrid’s low-emission zones have lived on a tightrope. Now, like Madrid 360, Justice has been demanding that Madrid return the money to thousands of Madrid residents for two years. With their latest decision they are closer to achieving it. What has happened? The Superior Court of Justice of Madrid (TSJM) has opened a separate piece within the execution of the ruling that annulled the Low Emissions Zone (ZBE) of Madrid in 2024. This decision arrives after Associated European Motorists (AEA) will demand that Justice execute the refund of the fines imposed with the previous mobility ordinance. At the moment, the Madrid City Council and the rest of the affected parties have a period of 20 days to present their arguments regarding this decision. And all this, why? To understand the story we have to go back to 2024. In Septemberthe TSJM declares the Madrid ZBE null and void, alleging that there was not a sufficient study of whether these low-emission zones could produce a “discriminatory effect for the most economically vulnerable groups.” In response, the Madrid City Council filed an appeal to the Supreme Court but this was rejected so the low emissions zone was now de facto cancelled. However, during that time, the Madrid City Council worked to modify its mobility ordinance and keep the ZBE active, which shields the entire city from the entry of unmarked cars. (from outside Madrid) and has two other interior areas of special protection. With the rejection of the appeal, Madrid would have to return the money for all the fines imposed from January 2022 until the entry of the new mobility ordinance but that is not happening. Not, at least, totally. What do they say at the Madrid City Council? In Xataka We have contacted the Madrid City Council who defend that “the sanctions imposed with the previous ordinance, and which exclusively affect Plaza Elíptica and Centro, the Special Protection Zone that annulled the TSJM ruling, will not be returned because they were processed with an ordinance that was in force” The answers to know what fines will no longer be collected must be found in the Madrid City Council website where it is specified that these are: Fines that are in process and have not been paid. Fines that have not been fully collected, even if they are being enforced. The first problem is that Madrid does not return the money for the fines paid and, in that case, the sanctioned driver has to go to court to claim the money. The second problem is that Madrid has only been returning the fines referring to the Low Emissions Zone of Special Protection of the Central District and Plaza Elíptica, two spaces with independent rules which prevents cars labeled C and B from parking on the street. In these areas, only the ECO and Zero emissions labels have free passage to circulate without restrictions. What do they say in AEA? What they defend in AEA is that the Madrid City Council must return all fines (those imposed in these special areas and those at the entrance to the city) regardless of whether they have been paid or not paid. The latest judicial movement, however, only affects fines that are unpaid. Mario Arnaldo, president of AEA, assures in statements to Xataka that Madrid “is acting like a cheating administration that only wants to get the quarters from the people of Madrid.” And it is that, according to the association’s calculations of drivers’ defense, between January 2022 and December 2025 (latest data available), Madrid has fined 3.4 million drivers for a value of 663.29 million euros. Of that money, 203.22 million euros are part of the fines for entering the Madrid municipality that the city refuses to return. In addition, the association remembers that Justice has already agreed with them in the appeals presented to receive money from fines already paid. This procedure must be done individually and what AEA pursues is that the Madrid City Council has to return all the money automatically. That is, the more than 660 million euros raised. So is it legal or not? Right now, breaking the rules of the ZBE in Madrid is grounds for sanctions. And the Madrid City Council hides behind the modification last April to keep alive this low-emissions zone that AEA has already resorted to when it understands that the problems for which the TSJM annulled the previous mobility ordinance have not been solved. At the moment “it has a presumption of legality,” AEA tells us. This means that the Madrid City Council has activated its ZBEs and punishes those who fail to comply with the rules, but Justice will have to decide in the future whether said space restricted to the most polluting cars is legal or, once again, falls into the same mistakes of the past. Photo | Korng Sok In Xataka | A very high percentage of the fines that are appealed in Madrid for the ZBE end up annulled: two reasons explain this