The Basque government resumes its activities this week with a focus on Osakidetza and transfers

The Basque government will resume its institutional activities on Thursday with the first government council after the August holidays and therefore an intense agenda of the new executive power led by Imanol Pradales with emphasis on the improvement of Osakidetza and awaiting transfers.

Traditionally, this first government council after the summer is held in the Miramar Palace in Donostia-San Sebastián.

It will be the starting point of an Executive PNV-PSE coalition that has an absolute majority and that has had a profound effect renewal of their positions after three consecutive terms under the leadership of Iñigo Urkullu.

Pradales was invested lehendakari on June 20. In July he had an intensive institutional agenda with meetings with political parties, unions, employers and professional associations to analyze the socio-economic situation and also received the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, in Ajuria Enea. In August there was hardly any media presence.

The political course in Lakua will therefore start strongly on the 29th, but the Basque Parliament will continue at half speed for most of September. The legislature stopped its activities on 30 June and for the time being the agenda for next month includes a meeting of the board of directors on the 3rd and the first plenary sessions of the XIIIth legislature on the 26th (ordinary) and the 27th (control).

Osakidetza, central to the agenda

The new Basque councillors are expected to explain the objectives of their departments to parliamentarians in September, although no date has been set yet. This year there will be no plenary meeting on General Policy due to the recent appointment of Pradales, who already explained his government programme to the House in June.

The search for solutions to improve healthcare in Osakidetza, one of the main problems for the Basques, has focused Pradales’ meetings with political and social actors, with whom he has also analysed issues such as housing, employment, industry, education or self-government.

As an example of this urgency to analyze Osakidetza, the Minister of Health Alberto Martínez called all officers involved on September 5 to one table on Basque public healthThe aim is that within a period of six months a great health pact.

Another priority of the Basque government concerns self-government. First of all, Pradales wants a new rhythm for negotiating with the Sánchez executive for the transfer of current transfers.

It will be in October that the Bilateral Commission for Permanent Cooperation between the State and the Basque Autonomous Community will meet to discuss the matters awaiting transfer to the Basque Executive.

New legal agreement

In parallel, efforts will be made to achieve a new legal agreement which contains elements such as bilaterality and the national recognition of the CAV.

This is based on the coalition agreement signed between the PNV and the PSE-EE, the main objectives of which are to conclude this pact before the end of 2025.

The two parties have committed to working towards the broadest possible agreement, first in the Basque institutions and then in the Cortes Generales, so that it can be ratified in Congress and the Senate before being ratified by Basque citizens.

Pedro Sánchez starts the new course on Monday

For his part, the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, will also return to work today and on Tuesday he will chair the first meeting of the Council of Ministers, which will mark the beginning of his political year.