The lehendakari, Imanol Pradales, has expressed his displeasure at the "phase of desperation" in which the high-speed train project in the Basque Country finds itself, due to the "enormous delay" accumulated and because "the lack of connection reduces competitiveness". He has called for "the technical issues to be resolved now and for the homework to be done so that Euskadi is finally connected to high-speed rail because we cannot be the ugly duckling in this movie".
During his speech at a forum held in San Sebastián and organized by El Diario Vasco, Pradales stressed that the results of the surveys in Aralar, essential for deciding between the TAV connection alternatives between the Basque Country and Navarre (via Vitoria or Ezkio Itsaso), are still not available, and admitted that he does not even know "if all of them have already been carried out".
He pointed out that he hopes that, "let's see if it's true", these studies will be made public before the end of the year, as recently announced by the Secretary of State for Transport, José Antonio Santano. However, he lamented that "we do not have surveys and we still do not have the meeting between the three governments that will allow us to try to agree on the best solution", even though it had been agreed that, once the results were known, the Basque and Navarrese executives, along with the central government, should "participate in the solution that was going to be proposed".
The lehendakari reiterated that "we are already in a phase of desperation" due to the "enormous delay" and insisted on his concern about "the loss of competitiveness and international connectivity" resulting from continuing without a high-speed train. He denounced that the Basque Country lacks "connection to the north", with a "blockage" by the French State to the commitments made with the European Commission, and also lacks "peninsular connection".
In this regard, he warned that "the lack of high-speed connection reduces the competitiveness of this country, the lack of connectivity reduces the competitiveness of this country and this is what is happening to us for being the last in line in relation to high-speed rail". Therefore, he once again appealed to "resolve the technical issues now" and to adopt "the best decision". He demanded that "the homework be done so that Euskadi is finally connected to high-speed rail, because we cannot be the ugly duckling in this movie, as has unfortunately been happening for many years".
"An attractive country" for investment
On another level, Pradales has argued that "Euskadi continues to be an attractive country" for those looking to invest. As he explained, it "continues to attract the interest of investment funds, multinationals, entrepreneurs, and family offices" thanks to "environmental conditions that are improvable but attractive," a "much more attractive" tax system for business investment, and a scientific and technological ecosystem that is "much denser, more powerful, more dynamic, and more innovative" than in other areas of the State.
He added that the Basque economy is "internationalized and open" and that there is capacity to "accompany any investor with institutional proximity," in addition to having "renewed financial instruments available for business growth and investment and business rooting operations." "We are an attractive country," he reiterated, although he warned that one must "play the game better, perhaps, than has been played in other times."
The lehendakari recalled that, until 2011, Euskadi carried "a great burden" linked to ETA terrorism and "its impact in terms of image for attracting any type of interest, whether tourism or business, to this country." When asked about the entry of external capital into Basque companies in receivership such as Balenciaga, Astore, or Papresa, he explained that "Basque capital, like any capital, is interested in projects that may have a certain coherence with the strategies they have."
He pointed out that "dozens of examples could be cited of how Basque capital intervenes in other types of operations" and stressed that "the attraction of capital, whether foreign or from other parts of the State, or the involvement of Basque capital in restructuring operations or business growth operations are welcome, regardless of their origin."
Pradales highlighted that "the attraction of foreign investment is happening in Euskadi" and clarified that, although it usually "makes us very nervous," foreign investment is "diverse" and one cannot lump together those who "come to invest from scratch," those who already operate in the territory and want to "expand their capabilities," and those who "come to buy a Basque company and, in some way, the rooting is lost."
He highlighted that Greenfield and Brownfield investments have increased by 372% in the last two years, while foreign investment destined for the purchase of Basque companies has decreased in that period from almost 1,450 million euros to 100. In his opinion, Euskadi has received "much higher quality" foreign investment in the last two years than in previous stages and has announced that the arrival of new multinationals will be finalized, with "operations that may be more or less flashy in terms of volume".
Regarding Adegi's proposal for a national pact for competitive transformation inspired by the 1980s, he said he shared the reflection of the Gipuzkoan employers' association, although he qualified that he "keeps the spirit of the 80s, but with today's industry," the one that allows "creating the current wealth, employment, and well-being" of Euskadi.
He emphasized that the Government "has a great deal of dialogue" with the business community and is "totally open to seeing different proposals," and assured that the Executive is already "working along those lines." He explained that "in the first two years we have been focused on the urgent, but also laying the foundations for the country's transformation, which must continue to transform, especially with what is happening around the world."
Housing and Social Fund
In the final stretch of his speech, the lehendakari reviewed the measures promoted this legislature in housing matters, a field in which, he said, they are "in a phase of fruitful initiatives." He recalled that the Social Housing Fund is currently being designed, a public-private instrument that aims to mobilize 2,000 million euros to "have an instrument parallel to the Government's classic budgetary policy."
"I believe that all of this will eventually bear fruit," he stated, emphasizing that housing policies have "broadened the spectrum to not only cater to the most vulnerable classes, but also to the middle classes and those under 36 years of age, because, within the pillars of well-being, access to housing is a central element."
He concluded by arguing that "we must help people who want to develop a life project in this country to have access to it in a more agile, simpler, and at more reasonable prices."