The Councilor for University, Industry, Energy, and Innovation, Jorge Paradela, highlighted in the Plenary Session of the Parliament that his department ranks as the second council of the Junta de Andalucía with the highest investment volume, by bringing together a total of 882 million euros, which will be directed to the areas under his responsibility: university, industry, energy, innovation, mines, and entrepreneurship.
During his appearance, Paradela clarified that the overall budget of the Council for the next fiscal year, including its agencies, will exceed 2,916 million. Of that amount, almost 2,286 million will come from self-financing, that is, they will be provided directly by the Junta de Andalucía.
As he explained in a press release, "this is an extremely important allocation, with 256 million more and an increase of 12.6% compared to this year's accounts," to then emphasize that "it also constitutes nearly 80% of the consolidated budget of this department." At the same time, he highlighted that the accounts will include 553 million in European Funds, which grow by 12%, with 60 additional million.
The Councilor for University and Industry reviewed the different competencies of his area and put the focus on universities, where funding for the Andalusian public system will reach 1,980 million after a projected increase of 187 million. These are the first budgets prepared after the entry into force of the University Law for Andalusia (LUPA), in which, he stressed, "the funding" for the community's public universities is protected.
In this regard, he specified that most of that amount corresponds to the funding model, which will have 1,925 million euros in own resources, with an increase of more than 137 million, which implies an advance of 7.6%. "This percentage is above the increase in the Junta's overall budget for 2027, which is 6%, which demonstrates the enormous budgetary effort that is devoted to the system," he said, adding that "this Government has been increasing year after year the resources of our universities."
Alongside the model, university financing includes 50 million in earmarked loans intended for extraordinary investments in infrastructures, equipment, and facilities. In the field of research, it has highlighted the allocation of 60 million euros for different calls for grants, as well as a sum of 25.5 million reserved for the IFMIF-DONES particle accelerator that is being built in Escúzar, in the province of Granada. Taken together, these resources add up to 127.5 million.
As for entrepreneurship, Paradela has detailed the allocation of 42 million to the Andalucía Emprende foundation, which depends on the Ministry of University and Industry, to support the creation of new business initiatives. In turn, the budget for industrial and mining activity exceeds 244 million, with an increase close to 50%, with the aim of strengthening the development of Andalusian industry.
Among the main developments, it has highlighted the launch of the Reindustrialization Fund, "with 40 million in own resources aimed at attracting large-scale industrial investments," it specified. It also mentioned the 42 million to complement the Regional Economic Incentives (IER) with the purpose of supporting projects from large industries, and the reservation of 100 million through the Just Transition Fund, which represents a 20.8% increase compared with the current fiscal year. This is added to by a hybrid financing system that combines direct incentives and repayable funds totaling 590 million, which will be managed through the TRADE Agency.
In the mining sector, the head of University and Industry has announced 40 million in incentives intended for the modernization and digitalization of the extractive industry. In the energy chapter, he has said that a global allocation of 282 million will be available to "continue to optimize as much as possible our renewable resources, while investment and employment are generated, at the same time as industrial sustainability is promoted, the energy efficiency of households and public entities, or the commitment to new clean technologies."