The Government of Spain's assessment of the meetings with the regional presidents is positive: institutional stability, dialogue and collaboration between public administrations

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, has begun the round of bilateral meetings with the regional presidents.

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Moncloa Palace, Madrid

The Chief Executive has received the Lehendakari (President of the Basque Government) Imanol Pradales; President of the Galician Government, Alfonso Rueda; and President of the Andalucian Government, Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla, at Moncloa Palace to learn first-hand about the needs and demands of each regional government and to convey the Government of Spain's desire to engage in dialogue in order to promote measures for the benefit of citizens and to strengthen the Welfare State.

In this sense, Pedro Sánchez stressed that the best formula for promoting investment in the territory is to approve the Budget, and he therefore emphasised the importance of constructive opposition in order to be able to process the accounts in a timely and appropriate manner.

After Pedro Sánchez's meetings with the three regional leaders, the Minister for Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory reported on the content of each meeting and highlighted the framework of co-governance in which each of the three bilateral meetings took place, in line with the Government of Spain's commitment to reaching consensus and institutional collaboration at all levels.

Fiscal and Financial Policy Council and Conference of Presidents

On this first day of the round of regional meetings, the President of the Government of Spain announced that the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council will be convened shortly to make progress on developing a new multilateral framework for regional financing that takes into account the singularities of each autonomous community.

"The Government of Spain is in favour of a new financing system based on multilateralism, but taking into account the singularities of the autonomous regions," highlighted the Minister for Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres, who appeared after each of the Chief Executive's bilateral meetings. "All the regional governments will have more funding next year, as a result of this model of multilateralism combined with the bilateralism set out in each statute of autonomy," Torres said.

Likewise, Minister Torres announced that, before the end of September, he will convene the Preparatory Commission for the Conference of Presidents with the regional ministers of the Presidency to coordinate and establish the agenda for the next meeting of the highest political body for cooperation between the Spanish State and the regional governments, to be held in Cantabria.

Commitment to self-government and the Basque agenda

In his meeting with the Lehendakari, the President of the Government of Spain underlined the commitment of the Executive to the model of self-government for the Basque Country, which has received 14 transfers of competences promoted by the Government of Spain since 2018, three of them in the current year 2024. Sánchez agreed with the Lehendakari on the shared desire to complete the pending transfers of powers, as set out in the Statute of Gernika.

The Chief Executive has undertaken to hold a meeting of the Bilateral Cooperation Commission with the Basque Country at the end of October to continue making progress in areas such as Maritime Rescue, coastal planning and management and other matters, in coordination with the ministries and government agencies, Minister Torres explained.

In terms of transport and infrastructures, Pedro Sánchez has conveyed to the Lehendakari the Government of Spain's commitment to speeding up railway infrastructures in the Basque Country, with special attention to the Navarre-Basque Country high-speed rail link. This line would be added to the two high-speed rail projects underway in the region, in which the Government of Spain is investing over 158 million euros, as well as the commitment to the local train network.

The President of the Government of Spain has highlighted the Government of Spain's investment effort in basic areas to ensure the functioning of the Welfare State. In this regard, Sánchez reiterated that over 1.593 billion euros in European funds have been earmarked for reindustrialisation and infrastructures in the Basque Country, as well as the more than 85 million euros for housing, the nearly 30 million euros for vocational training and the over 72 million euros for sustainable tourism.

Galicia: boosting investment and progress on coastal management

In his meeting with the President of the Galician Government, Alfonso Rueda, the President of the Government of Spain highlighted the Government of Spain's commitment to improving the lives of Galician citizens and specified that Galicia has received 53 billion euros from the financing system, which is 14.795 billion more than under the Rajoy Government; and 1.2 billion euros more than in 2023.

With regard to coastal management, Sánchez has expressed to the Galician President his willingness to apply the mechanisms to activate a bilateral commission for the transfer of competences. In terms of offshore wind power, the Chief Executive has told Rueda that the Government of Spain remains firmly committed to promoting renewable energies, as affirmed by Minister Torres.

Regional infrastructures and industry were one of the key themes for the event. In this regard, the President of the Government of Spain has shown the Government of Spain's willingness to engage in dialogue with the Galician Government regarding the management of the AP-9 and, at the same time, has defended the Executive's proposal for the Altri pulp industry to benefit from the Strategic Projects (PERTE) financed with European funds, of which Galicia has already received 3.391 billion euros.

Sánchez also praised housing as the Government of Spain's priority for the region, with an investment of over 526 million euros to construct 1,400 homes. The figures for education also demonstrate the Executive's commitment to Galicia, with over 52 million for Vocational Training and the creation of more than 3,400 new public childcare places for 0-3 year olds.

The Government of Spain's increased commitment to Andalusia

The meeting with the President of the Andalucian Government, Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla, focused on the Government of Spain's investments and commitments to the region, which this year will receive record funding of 28 billion euros, making this Executive the most committed to Andalusia in history.

On the issue of migration, the Chief Executive reminded the Andalusian President that he signed a Royal Decree to alleviate migratory pressure in Andalusia at the beginning of his presidency in 2018 and now this situation is also occurring in other autonomous regions. In this respect, Sánchez has expressed his commitment to providing the necessary funding, in a balanced way and together with the regional government, as this is a regional competence.

The President of the Government of Spain has highlighted the nearly 7 billion euros of European funds that Andalusia has received, as well as the 1.136 billion euros of investment in housing and the over 3.5 billion euros for promoting high-speed connections in the region, which means around 2 billion more investment in this area than during Rajoy's government.

At the press conference following the meeting, Minister Torres detailed other figures that reflect the Government of Spain's commitment to Andalusia, such as the 783 million euros for Dependency, the 246 million euros earmarked for water and irrigation works to deal with the drought, and the 43 million euros that will benefit more than 21,000 workers in the primary sector.

Upcoming bilateral meetings with the leaders of Cantabria, La Rioja and Asturias

The President of the Government of Spain will continue his round of bilateral meetings with the presidents of regional governments and cities on Friday 27 September at Moncloa Palace, where he will receive, in this order, the President of Cantabria, María José Sáenz de Buruaga (10am); the President of La Rioja, Gonzalo Capellán (12.30pm); and the President of the Principality of Asturias, Adrián Barbón (4pm).

Likewise, on Friday 4 October, the round of regional meetings will continue with the Chief Executive, who will receive, in this order, the President of the Region of Murcia (10am); the President of the Valencian Government, Carlos Mazón (12.30pm); and the President of the Government of Castille-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page (4pm).

Non official translation

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, greets the Basque Lehendakari, Imanol Pradales (Pool Moncloa/Fernando Calvo)

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