The Government begins the negotiation period for the transfer of power with today's meeting in Madrid

• The central and Basque governments meet this afternoon in Madrid to negotiate the transfer of new competences to the Basque Country
• The government spokesman has assured that this first contact starts the deadline for the transfer of the three competences agreed for the next three months

The spokesperson for the Basque Government and Minister of Culture and Linguistic Policy, Bingen Zupiria, appeared at the usual press conference after the Governing Council meeting.  As usual, the spokesman provided information on other issues discussed and approved in the Governing Council meeting.

DATA GOVERNANCE STRATEGY

As the spokesman explained, the Governing Council today approved the Data Governance Strategy for the public sector of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, an initiative that seeks to advance the intelligent use of data in an institutionalised and transversal way to guide work processes and decision-making in the management of public policies and services. In Zupiria's words: “The absence of a global data governance model hinders the sharing and reuse of data between different organisations and sectors and this affects the potential for integrating data and processes. It is necessary to create a common framework in which knowledge, data and information are shared in an agile, fast, more efficient, reliable and secure way,” he explained. That is why the Government considers that the Data Governance Strategy approved today is a relevant step to provide the public sector with superior analytical and predictive capabilities to make data-driven decisions. 

GOVERNING COUNCIL AGREEMENTS

The Governing Council also approved the Order regulating the SENDOTU Program for the years 2023-2024, which provides a line of aid for financing through the granting of loans to be formalised by the Basque Finance Institute and other entities, for a total amount of 17,550,000 Euros.  The programme’s aim is to support and strengthen the economic development and competitiveness strategy of the Basque agricultural and food sector and the development of rural areas. “The aim is to boost the economic growth of the agricultural and food sector, which will help to increase their Gross Domestic Product and, in turn, generate employment and improve the quality of life in rural areas,” said Zupiria. Since its creation in 2015, more than 30 projects have been supported with an amount close to 29 million Euros, generating an induced investment of 82.7 million Euros.

The Department of Education has authorised spending more than5 million for the supply, delivery, installation and commissioning of 25 interactive classrooms for public vocational training centres. The Department of Education will create these 25 new interactive classrooms in 17 integrated vocational training centres in the Basque Country. The spokesman, Bingen Zupiria, pointed out that the new digital and interactive technologies have great potential to boost teamwork. “Ten years ago Basque Vocational Training began this task and has proven that the adaptation of classrooms to these forms and communication technologies has boosted the option to take advantage of this potential for training processes,” he said.

At the proposal of the Department of Culture and Language Policy, the Governing Council today approved the signing of an agreement between HABE and the Basque Language Institute of the University of the Basque Country. The objective is for both institutions to offer, in collaboration, university degree “Acquisition of the Basque language in adulthood”. It is an educational offer aimed at teachers of Basque for adults and for language teaching technicians and will be taught from the 2024-2025 academic year at the Eibar School of Engineering.

The Council has also approved financial aid for the Municipal Consumer Information Offices of the Basque Country. The budget is 1.6 million Euros for the 2024-2025 round, and this is the third consecutive increase in the budget.  The purpose of this aid is to promote and defend the rights and interests of consumers and users. “The Municipal Consumer Information Offices play an important role as a free service of information and guidance to consumers with the reception, processing and mediation of direct complaints, as well as the resolution of conflicts between consumers and businesses,” concluded the Minister.

Finally, asked about the meeting that will take place today in Madrid to negotiate the transfer of new competences to the Basque Country, the spokesman, Bingen Zupiria assured that from this first contact the deadline for the handover of three specific matters agreed for the next three months begins.