The Basque Government expects that, during the second quarter of 2023, senior staff from the UN will be working at the Basque headquarters of Local 2030

• Aid announced to improve competitiveness, market adaptation and sustainability of wine companies 

The spokesperson for the Basque Government and Minister for Culture and Language Policy, Bingen Zupiria, appeared at the usual press conference after the Governing Council, together with the Secretary General for Social Transition and Agenda 2030, Jonan Fernández. In turn, Fernández presented the 2021-2022 Compliance Report and the 2023 Work Plan of the Basque Agenda 2030 Priorities Programme, the Basque Government’s plan for the term of office in terms of interdepartmental and inter-institutional coordination and promotion of the commitment to the SDGs.

According to the 2021-2022 report, the degree of compliance with the forecasts has been high: of the 25 actions envisaged, 18 have a compliance rate of 80-100%; and seven have a compliance rate of 40-60%. In addition, 12 other actions, not included in the initial plan, have been promoted. The Secretary General of the Social Transition and 2030 Agenda has highlighted two relevant achievements in this period: on the one hand, the consolidation of the Basque 2030 Agenda Forum; and on the other hand, the location in the Basque Country of the world headquarters of the Secretariat of the United Nations Local Coalition 2030.

Referring to the 2023 Work Plan, Jonan Fernández pointed out that the first objective is to reinforce the four main axes of the Basque Priorities Programme of the 2030 Agenda: dissemination, shared governance, evaluation, and driving commitments; “giving special relevance, within the SDGs, to the energy-climate transition, the decarbonisation of the economy and renewable energies.” The Basque Government’s SDG work plan until the end of the term of office foresees 34 actions. 

In relation to the Local 2030 headquarters, Fernandez announced that the forecast is that during the second quarter of 2023, senior staff of the United Nations will already be working at the Basque headquarters of Local 2030. At present, the United Nations, the Spanish Government, the Basque Government and the Bilbao City Council are finalising the formalities for this purpose.

The Secretary General for Social Transition and Agenda 2030 remarked that the location of Local 2030 in the Basque Country is a responsibility that invites us to reinforce the efforts of Basque institutions in terms of localisation —doing more and better inwards— and international collaboration — sharing and exchanging more intensively outwards. Likewise, taking into account the fundamental role of sub-state governments in the fulfilment of the SDGs, Jonan Fernández assured that the Basque Government will continue to promote a more relevant role of sub-state governments in the governance of the 2030 Agenda at the international level.

AGREEMENTS OF THE GOVERNING COUNCIL

As usual, the spokesperson, Bingen Zupiria, provided information on the agreements of the Governing Council, including the following:

The Government has today approved an Order implementing aid for companies in the wine sector aimed at improving their competitiveness by financing tangible and intangible investments in wine processing facilities and infrastructure, as well as marketing structures and instruments in this sector. According to Zupiria, the aid, which comes from European agricultural funds, will cover between 25% and 50% of the expenses presented. In previous calls for proposals, the expenditure presented was around 10 million euros, so a similar figure is expected for this one.