The recently enacted Town Planning Standards decree will strengthen municipal autonomy while fostering the development of more sustainable and accessible housing

The Governing Council has officially approved the Town Planning Standards Decree today. New regulations aligned with the vision of a modern, inclusive and environmentally sustainable city.

Basque Minister Denis Itxaso stated: “Our goal is to create cities designed for people—where spaces are accessible, sustainable, and well-balanced. Above all, we are committed to municipal autonomy, recognising its vital role in understanding urban planning needs, addressing the evolving demands of cities, and responding effectively to challenges.”

This decree also seeks to establish a clearer and more precise definition of urban planning standards, eliminating ambiguities in the interpretation of technical terms and enhancing their practical implementation.

The key changes include:

• Regulation of building capacity on urban and developable land, setting legal limits to prevent disorderly development.
• Stricter criteria for the allocation of green spaces and public areas, ensuring a minimum of 5m² per inhabitant, with at least 50% designated as permeable green areas.
• It will permit the establishment of public facilities on land and within buildings designated for community use and public infrastructure.
• Enhancing parking planning and promoting sustainable mobility. It will allow up to 50% of parking spaces to be dedicated to bicycles, fostering a balance between private vehicles and alternative modes of transport, while respecting municipal autonomy in this decision.

The Mixed Transfers Commission will meet on 28 February.

Spokesperson Maria Ubarretxena has informed the Governing Council that the Mixed Transfers Commission will convene on Friday, 28 February. "At this meeting, the transfer of responsibilities for Work Permits for foreign nationals and Meteorology to the Basque Country will be signed," announced the Minister.

“Last Wednesday the Bilateral Political Sub-Commission between the State and the Basque Country met in Madrid, and those responsible from both governments finalised the agreement on these two matters,” explained the Basque Minister for Governance, Digital Services and Local Government, Maria Ubarretxena. “We are continuing to take new steps, and the Basque Country will soon have two new competencies.”

Agreement on the Office of Advance Decisions reached.

The Governing Council also approved an agreement that will allow notaries to electronically submit advance decisions (living wills) to the Basque Office of Advance Decisions, as well as to replace or revoke them.

According to the spokesperson, the purpose of this agreement, promoted by the Department of Health, is to enable notaries to securely transmit advance decisions to the Basque Office of Advance Decisions electronically.

The creation of the Basque Office of Advance Decisions in 2004 established the option for individuals to voluntarily register the granting, modification, substitution, and revocation of living will documents related to healthcare.

The Basque Country has registered approximately 62,000 advance decisions, with over 11,700 of them being recorded in 2024.

The registration rate in the Basque Country stands at 27.7 per 1,000 inhabitants, making it one of the highest in Spain, second only to Navarre. The national average is 11.5 per 1,000 inhabitants.

Health Information Centre

Osakidetza will allocate 1.35 million euros for the creation of the National Health Information Centre (ENDS) – Health Data Lake.

As Maria Ubarretxena has stated, this centre will enable data sharing with other health systems and facilitate the identification and improvement of disease diagnoses, as well as the prediction of health risk situations.

This initiative, promoted by the European Union, is financed through NextGenerationEU funds.

As the Basque Minister of Health has already explained, Osakidetza will also establish a Basque Health and Social Care Information Centre. The goal is to leverage information to enhance planning and research in this area, ultimately improving healthcare itself. Through this information centre, the Basque Country will implement its own strategy aligned with Europe, with the objective that the innovative solutions derived from data management will strengthen the public health system and benefit Basque Country residents.

Gamble Aware

Additionally, spokesperson Maria Ubarretxena has indicated that the Governing Council has approved a call for subsidies for non-profit organisations that work to raise awareness about responsible gambling.

In this regard, the Department of Security's Gambling and Entertainment Commission will allocate €100,000 to support the development of educational campaigns, prevention and assistance programmes, as well as awareness and outreach projects aimed at addressing addictive gambling behaviour.

EMAKUNDE will provide subsidies to promote equality plans in local authorities and companies, as well as to support initiatives focused on the prevention of violence against women. 

Finally, the Governing Council has approved several resolutions from EMAKUNDE - Basque Institute for Women - announcing subsidies and grants totalling 1.27 million euros for 2025.

One of the subsidies will be directed towards municipalities, neighbourhood groups, associations, and groups of municipalities in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, with a budget of 500,000 euros.

Emakunde will also provide subsidies totalling 400,000 euros to private organisations and companies to help them develop their first Equality Data and Report.

Among other programmes, grants totalling 300,000 euros will be awarded to non-profit organisations and associations that promote awareness and prevention programmes for violence against women. Additionally, 3 scholarships worth 70,000 euros will be provided.