The Basque Government commemorates Europe Day today by reaffirming its commitment to this project for the future

On the occasion of today's Europe Day, the Department of Economy and Finance, through the Directorate of Cohesion Policy and European Funds, joins in this commemoration by reaffirming its commitment to this project for the future focused on people, social cohesion, sustainability and integration.

To this end, it has published a leaflet highlighting that the Basque Country continues to work on building a European Union that promotes cultural diversity and inclusion, quality of life and well-being, defends universal human rights and peaceful coexistence, and promotes the model of sustainable human development. In this way, following the spirit of the people who, like Schuman, Monnet, Adenauer, De Gasperi and Spaak, sowed the seeds of Europeanism.

In this task shared with the European Union, the following co-funded cohesion policy programmes are currently underway in the Basque Country:

• The Basque Country ERDF 2021-2027 Programme, jointly prepared by the Provincial Councils of Araba, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa together with the team of the Vice-Ministry of Economy and European Funds, which will enable investments of more than 400 million euros to be undertaken in the Basque Country by the Basque Government and the Provincial Councils, 40% financed by the European Union.
• New programming period (2021-2027) of the European Social Fund Plus in the Basque Country, which includes actions for an amount of more than 197 million euros, of which 79 million euros will be provided by the European Union and is expected to help more than 90,000 people.

9 May 2023 is also the official start of the European Year of Skills, which aims to contribute to closing the skills gap and promoting lifelong learning.