Governing Council approves working conditions agreement for prison staff
The Governing Council has today ratified the agreement reached by the Sectoral Bargaining Committee of the General Administration of the Basque Autonomous Community regarding the specific working hours and conditions of staff providing services in the Basque Prison Service. The agreement, which is backed by a budget of €2,745,900, covers the management of over 800 staff and the care of approximately 1,700 inmates across the three prisons.
The approval of this agreement, which will be in force for five years, represents “a step forward in the consolidation of the Basque Prison Model, as it improves working conditions for staff, guarantees adequate service provision, and reinforces a penitentiary system based on human rights, dignity, and social reintegration,” explained the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Human Rights, María Jesús San José.
Ertzaintza Employment Plan 2024–2028 ratified
The Governing Council has authorised the "Ertzaintza Employment Plan 2024–2028". This plan was approved in July of this year at the Ertzaintza Negotiating Table (Table 125) with the support of the ERNE, ESAN, and SIPE trade unions. Following approval by the Governing Council, the plan will be presented to the Basque Parliament.
As explained by the Cabinet Secretary for Security, Bingen Zupiria, “the main objective of the Ertzaintza Employment Plan is to fill 8,000 posts in the Ertzaintza with qualified personnel, as well as to sustain staffing levels over time to ensure the permanent improvement of the public service.” The plan is a strategic tool to ensure the efficiency, professionalism, and responsiveness of those working to maintain a fundamental pillar of self-government: security, which is key to citizens' well-being.
Cabinet Secretary Zupiria also reported on two other items approved by the Governing Council: Firstly, the approval of the extension of the agreement signed with the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) to ensure optimal security for users and to provide the best protection for university buildings and facilities, guaranteeing peaceful coexistence and the normal development of its activities. Secondly, the signing of a new collaboration agreement with the Basque Committee of the Red Cross regarding care for especially vulnerable social groups from a security perspective. This includes the elderly, migrants or refugees, and young people, with the aim of preventing possible threats to their safety.
€5.5 million allocated for linguistic reinforcement for international students
The Basque Government has today approved in the Governing Council the order regulating the call for subsidies to develop language reinforcement programmes.
A sum of €5,508,931 will be earmarked so that pupils who have recently joined state-subsidised schools (centros concertados), and who face communication difficulties due to a lack of knowledge of Basque or Spanish, can advance in their learning. The Spokesperson for the Basque Government, Maria Ubarretxena, stressed that “investment in language reinforcement has increased by 55% compared to the previous year.”
€1,000,000 for competitive communication projects in local districts
The Governing Council has sanctioned a grant of €1,000,000 to the company “Tokikom SL” to develop competitive communication projects in local districts (comarcas) during 2025. Specifically, the aim of this project is to “promote collaboration among local media, create a network between them, and reinforce their capacity to adapt to new digital environments in order to reach more citizens,” explained Ubarretxena.
Additionally, the Governing Council has approved aid worth €34,110 to “HIZKIRIA UTE” to develop the AZOKA.EUS initiative. The aim of the Azoka.eus initiative is to define and validate a model for the development and growth of a community of readers in Basque. This project aims to increase the visibility of Basque-language publishing, strengthen the sector, and support local stakeholders.
Over €400,000 for entities assisting people with addictions
Approval was also given today to allocate a total of €412,000 in 2026 to Fundación Gizakia, Cáritas Diocesanas de Bilbao, and the Comisión Ciudadana Anti-Sida de Bizkaia; organisations working in the field of care for people with addictions and substance dependencies.
As Ubarretxena explained, “the aim is to guarantee that people with addictions and in situations of severe social exclusion have access to specific actions, programmes, and services that provide shelter, health education, the promotion of healthy living conditions, prevention or rehabilitation, integration and improvement of personal capacities, and risk and harm reduction.”
The prevention of addictions and the promotion of healthy behaviours is one of the priorities of the Department of Health, which allocates €11.2 million in its 2026 budget to a structured professional network.
Basque Sustainable Mobility Plan ratified
Likewise, the Basque Sustainable Mobility Plan has been definitively approved by decree at the Governing Council. This plan is the main tool for developing the Basque Sustainable Mobility Law and fulfilling its objectives. These include advancing the integration of different modes of transport to improve efficiency based on sustainability criteria and guaranteeing universal accessibility.
Among other issues, it proposes the extension of traffic calming measures to medium-sized municipalities (over 25,000 inhabitants) in parallel to the Low Emission Zones (LEZs) in the major cities. It also proposes the creation of superblocks and traffic calming areas in municipalities with more than 15,000 inhabitants.
Approval of the Regulations of the Basque Cooperatives Act
Another issue approved by the Governing Council was the new Regulations of the Basque Cooperatives Act to promote the social economy. Ubarretxena highlighted that “Basque cooperativism now has a renewed legal instrument that responds to the current needs of cooperative societies.”
Among the main novelties of these regulations are the standardisation of key aspects of the corporate and financial framework, such as participation in cooperative activity, the cancellation of membership, the reimbursement of contributions, the allocation of losses, and the remuneration of administrators.
€190,000 for the new phase of the shared self-consumption project
Another point approved by the Governing Council was the granting of a €190,000 subsidy to the Bilbao Municipal Housing Local Autonomous Body (Viviendas Municipales de Bilbao) to advance the experimental project for installing solar panels and creating shared self-consumption communities in the Otxarkoaga neighbourhood of Bilbao.
This aid will enable the launch of the second phase of a pioneering project to promote a cleaner, more participatory, and accessible energy model for citizens. n the first phase, photovoltaic systems were installed in the buildings at Txotena 18–24 and Otxar Opengela (Pau Casals 16); this new intervention plans to provide a solar photovoltaic installation at the “El Chino” Shopping Centre, located at Zizeruena 12, one of the neighbourhood’s main commercial facilities.
Extension of agreement for UN Local2030 Secretariat HQ in Bilbao
Finally, the Governing Council has authorised the addendum that guarantees the continuity of the United Nations Local2030 Secretariat in Bilbao until 2028.
This extension reinforces the role of the Basque Country in the 2030 Agenda and maintains this international infrastructure in Bilbao. With this decision, Bilbao consolidates its position as the international headquarters of the UN Local2030 Secretariat. The secretariat has strengthened relations with cities and regions around the world, promoted innovation spaces around the 2030 Agenda, and contributed to projecting the Basque Country as a territory committed to sustainability and global cooperation.
