Government Encourages Citizens to Express their Commitment to Equality on 8 March

To celebrate International Women’s Day on 8 March, the Basque Government today ratified, in an institutional statement, its commitment to driving policies of equality between women and men as a fundamental tool to progress towards a more equal society.

The Government spokesperson highlighted all the progress made in this area in the Basque Country in the last 20 years since the introduction of the Equality Act.

“However,” Maria Ubarretxena noted, “despite all the benefits that come with equality, we cannot ignore the fact that we are currently seeing a global resurgence of the far right that rejects equality between women and men, trivialises violence against women and belittles equality policies. Nor can we ignore that young people are the ones most exposed to these messages that spread principally on the internet and social media.” 

Reading the declaration, the spokesperson underlined how the Government believes it is necessary to remember that equality policies and feminism are about rights, freedom, well-being, solidarity, democracy, respect and equality of opportunities for everyone.  And that equality is a benefit for all of society.

“We therefore encourage citizens to express their commitment to equality publicly and actively every day, and to do so especially on 8 March, International Women’s Day.”

Legal Action Claiming €202m

The Basque Cabinet today agreed to lodge legal action claiming €202 million against 4 healthcare material suppliers for anti-competitive practices.

According to Spokesperson Ubarretxena, the companies Essity Spain, Laboratorios Hartmann, Paul Hartmann España and Laboratorios Indas have already been found by the Supreme Court to have formed a cartel to fix prices of certain absorbent products they distributed.

The sentence shows agreements to fix prices, commercial conditions and market share for manufacturing, marketing and distribution of absorbent products for serious adult incontinence.

Due to this anticompetitive practice, the Basque Government suffered damages in having to pay inflated prices during the period 1997-2014 on acquisitions of these products which were distributed through pharmacies.

The existence of the cartel, and the violation of the right to competition and participation of the aforementioned companies has been confirmed by the Courts.

Irun Overpass Agreement

This Tuesday, the Cabinet authorised the amendment of the agreement with the Irun Council and ADIF, the Spanish state-owned railway infrastructure manager, for the construction of an urban overpass.

The Government Spokesperson, Maria Ubarretxena, explained how this infrastructure project will connect the new Irun railway station passenger terminal (currently being built by ADIF) with the rest of the city.

The agreement establishes the basis for the design and execution of the works and the maintenance of the new overpass.

According to the spokesperson, the amendment of this agreement arises from the need to adapt to the new initiative to bring the Euskal Trenbide Sarea line closer to the ADIF tracks that run parallel. This integration of tracks will have the benefit of freeing up land for public use and the conservation of a number of railway buildings.

The total cost of the work will be €7.7 million plus VAT, which will be financed 22.22% by the Basque Government, 33% by ADIF and 44.45% by Irun Council.

Meanwhile the Cabinet has also authorised the Regional Minister for Sustainable Mobility to sign off, on the part of the Department, on the transfer to its public entity Euskal Trenbide Sarea, of the drafting of the detailed design and execution of the works for the Nudo de Arkuate branch of the Basque Y high-speed rail network, in the province of Álava.

This step, necessary after the transfer of these works from ADIF to the Basque Government, is the preliminary step before the Basque public entity puts the contract for detailed design out to tender. The infrastructure project consists of 10.7 kilometres of track and a budget of 146.33 million plus VAT for the drafting of the design and subsequent construction.

Etxebide-KZGuneak Collaboration

The Cabinet has also authorised the signing of an agreement with Urretxu Council with the aim of improving public information and support services for access to protected and social housing.

Maria Ubarretxena noted how the municipalities that sign up to these agreements will have access to the Etxebide system, “which allows them to consult the status of the files of persons registered in the municipality, and the score of their application. The information available is the same for citizens who can access it using their BAKQ identification card.”

The Spokesperson and Regional Minister for Governance, Digital Administration and Basque Self-Governance is studying how to extend assistance and support services for protected housing for citizens through the KZ Guneak IT training and support centres. As well as information, the electronic application for certain processes with Etxebide will also be facilitated.

Support for Municipalities to Revitalise the Rural Environment

The Cabinet has approved a call for grants for a total of €200,000 for the hosting of social events that revitalise the rural and coastal environments.

This programme is aimed at municipalities with populations under five thousand and they may receive up to €15,000.

€2.5m Budget Increase for Cooperation for Development Grants

The Cabinet has approved an increase of €2.5 million in the budget for the eLankidetza-Basque Agency for Cooperation and Solidarity. The sum will be allocated to grants for humanitarian actions and support for cooperation for development projects. The funds will serve to meet the needs of populations in humanitarian crises, to foster the empowerment of women, to protect those who defend human rights and for awareness campaigns in the Basque Country, among others.

Much of the work of eLankidetza is focused on calls aimed at Basque development NGOs who work together with organisations in impoverished countries for development, productive development, technology training and assistance and education for the social transformation in the Basque Country.

In the past year, €56.7 million has been granted to finance 176 solidarity initiatives in 42 countries. Most of these are in Central America, South America, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and the Basque Country.

€2.3m for Legal Professional Associations for the Free Legal Advice

Finally, Spokesperson Ubarretxena announced that the Department of Justice and Human Rights will this year provide €2.3 million in funding for the provision of the immediate free legal advice service for victims of violence against women, intrafamily violence and crimes against sexual freedom, children, adolescents and persons with disabilities who are victims of violence in Euskadi.

The Free Legal Assistance Act attributes responsibility for the free legal assistance service to the Legal Professional Associations who should continue to maintain staff on call for the provision of this service. In these processes, recognised victims, especially victims of gender-based violence, should be assisted by the same lawyer to duly ensure their right to a defence.