Pradales: "A budget to build the Basque Country of today and tomorrow. Euskadi Berria, a Country of the future for young people"

• Imanol Pradales presented "Euskadi Berria. Growing in well-being", the basis of the draft budget for 2025, which will amount to 15.7 billion euros and will prioritise the strengthening of public services, investments in future transformations and reinforcing the sense of community

The Lehendakari presented today in the Lehendakaritza the main lines of the draft budget for 2025, which will be approved tomorrow in the Governing Council. Imanol Pradales detailed the main aims that will guide the executive's actions under the umbrella of the "Euskadi Berria. Growing in well-being" project.

In his speech, Pradales summarised the ultimate aim of all the plans and initiatives included in this draft budget: to improve the quality of life of the citizens. To this end, "we will have 15.728 billion euros in 2025. The largest budget in our history," said Pradales.

Effort, discipline, sustainability and collaboration

The Lehendakari began by listing the keys to a public budget: collective effort, rigour, sustainability and collaboration. "The budget is the effort we have all made together. An effort that will lead to a fairer society and a more prosperous country. To grow in opportunities and leave no one behind," he said.

The second key mentioned by the Lehendakari is discipline in spending and investment. "A budget reveals to us that we have limits and we have to decide. It is not enough for everything and forces us to prioritise. It requires us to apply efficiency and effectiveness in spending and investment. Discipline should also be implemented in indebtedness, activating it for productive investment and not for current spending. Because, just as in our personal lives, it is not the same thing to borrow money for our children's education as it is to borrow it buy a top-of-the-range car.

The third key is the sustainability of the system. "We all know that we cannot mortgage our children's future with our decisions. The Basque government cannot do so either", warned Pradales.

The Lehendakari admitted that, although we are immersed in a positive economic cycle, "the resources of today are not guaranteed for tomorrow. We must take advantage of the current growth cycle to activate productive and transformative investments that prepare us for the future. Investments that expand our country's capacity to generate new sources of wealth and savings.

To carry out all this, according to the Lehendakari, collaboration between Basque institutions is essential. "It is essential that the institutions share the same vision. And that each one, from its own sphere of competence, contributes to this joint project".

Pillar one: strengthening public services

The Lehendakari described the most important issues that make up each of the pillars of the budget, placing Healthcare at the top of the list. Pradales said that it is planned to allocate more than 5 billion euros in this area, which will mean "an investment of 2,300 euros in health for each Basque man and woman".

Pradales stressed that "from day one we set ourselves the priority goal of having a leading public health system at European level. The best way to achieve this is hand in hand with professionals because they are the ones who best understand the reality. This is the premise for the creation of the Health Roundtable, whose mission is to reach a consensus on the bases for facing the challenges of the future. It involves all stakeholders, from parliamentary groups, trade unions, professional associations, universities and patient representatives. However, the Lehendakari has clarified that "together with this long-term vision, we must combine our work with day-to-day tasks, such as reducing waiting lists and strengthening primary care".

Improving the performance of our education system and maintaining the equity and social cohesion of our students is another priority goal of this draft budget.  

Facilitating access to housing is another of the great challenges that this government has set itself. "The response needs the contribution of multiple public and private initiatives to expand supply and limit prices, as well as the coordinated action of all public institutions," he added.

With regard to security, Pradales is committed to ensuring that people can feel free and safe on the streets of the Basque Country. The actions proposed by the Basque Government are: "expand preventive work, combat crime and criminals, strengthen actions against gender-based violence and respond to new security risks in the digital world".

No less important is ensuring social protection and care for the most vulnerable. To this end, 68 million euros have been earmarked to supplement the pensions of the elderly who need it most, and 400 million euros for the most vulnerable groups in our society.

Pillar two: investing in future transformations

Pradales highlighted the need for our country to be well prepared to face the challenges of the future. "We must make strategic commitments to industry, innovation and youth".

The Lehendakari insisted that the key for Europe to regain the leading role in the world that it is losing to the United States and China is to promote the industrial rebirth of the old continent. "The Basque Country has to be the driving force behind this rebirth", Pradales stated.

"We are going to focus our efforts on the 'Basque innovation beacons', in other words, on directing our resources to those areas that are strategic for the Basque Country and strengthening them," said the Lehendakari. In this sense, he has reaffirmed the Basque Government's firm commitment to Artificial Intelligence, to apply it to matters of social importance such as health, education or the Basque language, the generation of talent, knowledge and governance, among others.

Demographic challenges and a focus on youth and families

"Our goal is clear: we aspire to build a country of the future for young people," said Pradales. In relation to this challenge, he announced 330 million euros in aid to improve citizens’ work-life balance. This investment includes child allowances, childcare, scholarships, housing rental subsidies and job training programmes. In this respect, the Lehendakari said that "we will be failing as a society if we do not manage to offer good salaries and working conditions, options for professional development and facilities for work-life balance".

Pillar three: strengthening the sense of community

The Lehendakari ended his speech by recalling that all the aforementioned challenges only make real sense if there is a strong community behind them. "We want an open, balanced and fair community". Real and effective equal rights for men and women, culture, and collective values are essential tools for achieving these aims. Pradales stressed the importance of continuing to support our self-government, our identity, our culture, and especially the Basque language, because "our language is the ultimate expression of our culture and a jewel that sets us apart in the world".