Elkarrekin’s spokeswoman Podemos-IU, Miren Gorrotxategi, said this Friday that the counterproposal presented by the Basque Government “makes it quite difficult for them to sign an agreement” for the 2022 budgets.

At the end of the second negotiating meeting with the Minister of Economy and Finance, Pedo Azpiazu, at the Bilbao Stock Exchange, Gorrotxategi explained that the Basque Government has offered them modifications of items for 72 million euros and has “made it clear” that does not accept the three measures that for Elkarrekin they were “backbones of the country.”

Together We Can-IU presented at the first meeting a document with 23 budgetary measures totaling 500 million euros, among which there are three that qualify as “strategic”.

These are the recovery of the 4000 toilets whose contract has not been renewed after the end of the health alert, the pact to financially strengthen the public school to end the “scourge of segregation” and the creation of a public company of energy or the transformation of the EVE into an energy generating and trading company.

Although the Government has made it clear that it does not accept any of these three measures, Gorrotxategi has indicated that they do not close the door to continue negotiating.

“We will bring together the work teams to make a global assessment beyond what is not included and see the incidence of what is included (in the budgets by the Government) to see if it is enough or not”, has explained the parliamentary spokeswoman for the coalition.

DIRECT | Rating @MiGorrotxategi after finalizing the second meeting of negotiation of the Budgets of Euskadi. https://t.co/dJw24kkFqw

— We can/Ahal Dugu (@We canEuskadi_) November 19, 2021

For his part, the Minister of Economy and Finance, Pedro Azpiazu, has been satisfied that Elkarrekin Podemos-IU “does not close the door” to a consensus on budgetary matters.

Azpiazu has explained that Elkarrekin Podemos-IU has received an offer, estimated at 72 million, which, as indicated, covers the policies that this group had included in its approach. Specifically, the Government has offered 30 million euros in the field of Health, eight million in the environmental field, another eight million for investments in educational centers and one million for discounts on enrollment of 0-3 years. In Employment, it raises 4,350,000 euros and for social policies more than 15 million, among other measures.

On the other hand, as he has specified, they have not included the consolidation of the 4,000 toilets they requested, because Osakidetza has already announced the call for the 2018-2019 OPE, and they do not contemplate the creation of a public energy company.

Azpiazu has shown his satisfaction that Elkarrekin Podemos-IU “does not close the door” and believes that the offer of the Basque Government “covers their demands and turns them into realities to be implemented in 2022”.