The Lehendakari, Imanol Pradales, and the president of the Government, Pedro Sanchezhave closed this Wednesday, in the Bilateral Commission for Permanent Cooperation, the transfer to Euskadi of two powers, Coastal Management and Cinematographic and Audiovisual Activitywhich will become effective on December 16 at the meeting of the Joint Transfer Commission.
Besides, Before the end of the year, another four will be transferred to Euskadi subjects: meteorology, maritime rescue, work authorizations for foreigners and the National Machinery Verification Center in Barakaldo. By 2025, around about twenty transfersamong them “the block that affects the whole of the so-called Social security and the economic regime”, as Pradales explained in a press appearance, in which he announced that a set calendar of pending subjects for next year.
Pradales and Sánchez have chaired the Bilateral Permanent Cooperation Commissiona coordination and cooperation body that was launched this Wednesday and whose main objective is supervise the negotiation of powers that remain to be transferred to Euskadi. “It is the first time in history that a Lehendakari and a President of the Government (of Spain) met under this framework of a bilateral cooperation commission,” highlighted the President of the Basque Executive.
In this first meeting we also talked about the creation of the European Atlantic Macroregionof immigration management and the official status of Basque in the EU by the European Council, among other issues.
In his subsequent intervention before the media, the lehendakari explained that this Wednesday the effective transfer of two new powers was approved “very relevant for Euskadi”. The first is Coastal Planning and Management, and the second is Cinematographic and Audiovisual Activity, whose transfer will become effective on next December 16 in the Joint Transfer Commission.
Regarding Coastal Management and Planning, he stressed that this transfer means that, from now on, Euskadi will begin to manage and grant where appropriate, even sanction, among others, the authorizations in areas of easement of transit and access to the sea of urbanization projects, walks, cycle paths, etc., in addition to concessions for the construction of bridges, power or communications lines, piers, pontoons or fixed slipways.
Likewise, he highlighted that this new competition will enable the boosting key infrastructure for the energy transition such as wind turbines or power lines, new fishing projects such as the bluefin tuna fattening cages that are currently being installed off the Basque coast in Getaria; or the expansion towards the sea of the nature network in the Jaizkibel area. “It will also allow us to be more agile, simplifying and reducing administrative procedures, since it will not be necessary to go through Madrid to obtain authorizations,” he remarked.
Last piece of the puzzle
In turn, he has specified that the transfer of the Cinematographic and Audiovisual Activity represents “the last piece of the puzzle to be able to affirm that, in terms of culture, the Statute of Gernika has been completed.” Thanks to this competence, the Basque Government will manage, among other issues, the aid for the development and promotion of production, distribution, exhibition and promotion of audiovisual works in Basque, or the Fund for the Protection of Cinematography in co-official languages, which is dedicated to encouraging the production, distribution and exhibition of audiovisual works in the Basque language.
As Pradales stressed, cinema “is a growing sector in Euskadi“, dynamic, powerful”, and young people “consume more and more audiovisual content”. This new competition, as he added, will make it possible to reinforce the Basque strategy of the film sector and the audiovisual sector, and will be able to “promote the creation of own content”.
Four other transfers
Pradales has also announced that there has been a new push to next block of transfers: meteorology, maritime rescue, work authorizations for foreigners and the National Machinery Verification Center in Barakaldo. “Both governments are already working to agree them and try to close this first block before the end of this year. Today we have decided to create a transversal subcommittee for this issue and its acceleration,” he stated.
He lehendakari has stated that They will be “demanding and self-demanding” for the transfers to materialize. Pradales has pointed out that we must “update, expand and improve the political capacities” that Euskadi has today “to continue growing in well-being and improve the quality of life.”
The Bilateral Cooperation Commission has established that, by the end of this year, a first block of six transfersof which two have been closed today, so there are four pending for 2024. In any case, he clarified that the technical teams “have been working for months on these issues of meteorology, maritime rescue and work permit authorizations for foreign people.” “I think we are on the right path,” he stated.
Regarding the decision to activate a subcommittee to accelerate the pace of transfers, he specified that it is not only about the Ministry of Territorial Policy being incorporated, but also other sectoral ministries, because “They are very diverse subjects.” As has been highlighted, it is a commitment of Pradales and Pedro Sánchez to facilitate its materialization. “That’s what we’re going to focus on between now and the end of the year,” he assured.
Social Security in 2025
Also this Wednesday, the calendar of all the matters pending transfer to Euskadi was approved since by 2025 there would still be around twenty powers to be transferred, “among others the block that affects the whole of the so-called Social Security and the Social Security economic regime“.
He lehendakari has stood outor “the good tone” of the meeting, which “has been fruitful, intense”, and in which it has delved into “very specific matters, some of complex management such as immigration.” “But I think that, above all, what there was was a collaboration between the two parties to address these issues,” he indicated.
During the meeting, Imanol Pradales handed Pedro Sánchez a document with the initiatives to be developed in matters such as promoting the Atlantic Macroregion, migration and the official status of Basque in the EU. The state and Basque governments have agreed “move forward decisively” to achieve the official status of Basque in the EU and, to this end, Pedro Sánchez’s Executive will study the constitution of a working group with the European Commission, which will include the Basque Executive.
Likewise, they have committed to promoting the creation of the Atlantic Macroregion and, with this objective, Bilbao will host a trilateral meeting in 2025 between the Secretaries of State for the EU of France, Spain and Portugal. Pradales, who has claimed to have his own immigration management capabilities to develop an “adequate strategy” on migration, has conveyed to Sánchez his concern about “the imbalances” that are being generated in the reception of unaccompanied foreign minors and has claimed that “extraordinary resources be granted to those who make the greatest effort.”