The central Government and the Basque Executive have given the green light this Monday to the transfer to the Basque Country of powers in the area of agricultural insurance, so that the Basque Government will directly manage the aid for farmers to contract policies that cover their farms. Likewise, they have validated the transfer of the authorization of the centers for the recognition of psychophysical aptitudes for drivers.
The Minister of Governance, Digital Administration and Self-government, Maria Ubarretxena, detailed these agreements to the media after the meeting of the Joint Transfer Commission held with the Secretary of State for Territorial Policy, Miryam Álvarez.
"We are two steps closer to completing the Statute of Guernica," stated the Basque minister after formalizing both transfers in Madrid, in a meeting attended by the Minister of Finance and Financial Affairs, Noel d'Anjou, and the Minister of Food, Rural Development, Agriculture and Fisheries, Amaia Barredo.
Basque Management of Agricultural Insurance
Regarding the transfer of agricultural insurance, Ubarretxena stressed that it will allow the Euskadi Executive to directly assume the management of subsidies for farmers and ranchers to contract policies aimed at protecting their farms.
According to figures provided by the minister, in the last fiscal year, 2,535 policies were signed, covering a total area of 60,500 hectares, with an amount close to 2.8 million euros.
The Basque Government will begin to exercise these new functions starting January 1, 2028, from which date it will assume the cost of said aid: "We will do so in permanent contact with the professionals of the Basque agricultural and livestock sector, which will guarantee much closer attention and much more adapted to their own needs."
The adjustment foreseen in the quota derived from the assumption of these powers amounts to 17.3 million euros, as specified by Ubarretxena.
More Powers in Traffic and Road Safety
The second agreement reached this Monday refers to the expansion of functions in Traffic and Road Safety, which are added to those that the Basque Government has been exercising since 1982 and which have been progressively incorporated.
As of January 1, 2027, the Basque Administration will assume the authorization, inspection, and sanctioning regime of the centers where the psychotechnical exams necessary to obtain or renew a driver's license are carried out, as well as the centers for road safety awareness and re-education where courses are taught for point recovery.
The financing of these new tasks will be covered by the fees and rights that Euskadi will collect for the management of said centers.
Open negotiations on pending matters
Ubarretxena has recalled that there is less than a month and a half left until the bilateral meeting committed between the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the Lehendakari, Imanol Pradales. "The deadlines are tight and the pact obliges," she has pointed out.
In this context, she has indicated that the Basque Executive is immersed in the negotiation of some of the "most significant" matters still pending transfer, such as the scope of Social Security, the assumption of Fogasa, or an increase in the management capacity in the ports of Bilbao and Pasaia.
Regarding the transfer of Social Security, the minister has admitted the "complexity" it entails and has explained that, for now, they are focusing on the control and supervision of the collaborating mutual societies.
"One of the most valuable lessons in these two years that we have been negotiating with the State is that technical and administrative complexity is always overcome when there is political will and with a lot of work, tenacity, and effort on the part of the negotiating teams," she has concluded.
Source - https://www.democrata.es
