Agreement In The Quadripartite Of The Government Of Aragon

The four parties that make up the Government of Aragon, PSOE, Podemos, Chunta Aragonesista (CHA) and Partido Aragonés (PAR), have reached this Monday, November 8, a political agreement to approve the Budget Bill of the Autonomous Community by 2022.

It has occurred after the approval of the spending ceiling last week, in the Cortes of Aragon, reaching the second highest figure in history, exceeding 6,000 million euros. The forecast of the regional Executive is to approve in the coming days, in an extraordinary Governing Council, the budget bill of Aragon for 2022.

In the meeting held this Monday, it has also been agreed to prioritize and promote measures that are part of the government agreement “to continue advancing in the economic and social development of the Aragonese community in the second part of the legislature,” they have pointed out from the Presidency of the Government of Aragon.

As they have detailed, in a first block of measures, those that have to do with the defense of the interests of the Aragonese and self-government are included. Specifically, the quadripartite has been marked as a priority for the second part of the legislature, a “fair” regional financing, according to the real cost of services, and the bilateral economic-financial agreement included in the Statute of Autonomy.

They also want to reform the Statute to suppress the surveys of the members of the Autonomous Courts and the Government of Aragon. Likewise, PSOE, Podemos, CHA and PAR will continue to deepen self-government “after revealing itself as one of the most effective tools to design the present and future” of the autonomous community, the aforementioned sources have wielded.

DEPOPULATION

The regional government has indicated that the fight against depopulation, linked to the demand for fair regional financing that guarantees the sufficiency of resources, will continue to “permeate” the action of the Executive, with measures such as the promotion of the territorial cohesion fund, the map road passenger transport concession and the Extraordinary Plan for investments in highways 2023-2025, with a planned investment of 540 million euros and action in 11 strategic routes of Aragonese roads.

Rural trade and multi-service programs and tourism investments are also part of the cross-cutting policies against depopulation, as well as the approval of just transition agreements for areas affected by decarbonization.

In a second block, the quadripartite will continue to work for economic recovery based on a consolidated production model around sectors such as logistics, renewable energy, agri-food, the digital economy, sustainable mobility, tourism, the pharmaceutical sector, the circular economy and culture.

Along these lines, a new logistics plan for Aragon is being finalized that will allow companies to continue setting up in the territory thanks to its strategic location and the potential of the autonomous community.

The railway highway between Zaragoza and Algeciras, the expansion of the Teruel airport, the Cantabrian-Mediterranean corridor and the reopening of the Canfranc international line are priority infrastructures for the quadripartite, the Government has confirmed.

ENERGY COMMUNITIES

The commitment to energy communities so that the development of renewables has an impact on citizens and territories, the promotion of self-consumption, electric mobility, the commitment to hydrogen, the reversal of hydroelectric concessions that expire for public management with benefit direct to the affected sub-basins, a new climate change law and policies to advance energy efficiency also constitute the list of priorities for the coming months.

In addition, the regional Executive will continue to promote Vocational Training as one of the fundamental policies and, specifically, by digital FP, in addition to continuing to help with public calls for the digitization of the Aragonese industry and SMEs.

“Without a doubt, the management of European funds will be one of the challenges that the Aragonese Government faces in the coming months with the aim of transforming the autonomous community and accelerating reforms hand in hand with public-private collaboration”, they have sustained from the Presidency.

They have added that in order to achieve a “green, social and digital” Aragon, the regional Executive “will continue to consolidate public services and advance in equal opportunities for Aragonese”, with initiatives such as the housing law, the reform of norms that prevent shared custody for abusive parents or the inclusion of concepts such as vicarious violence and measures that protect women victims of gender violence and their children, as well as the development of a new Mental Health Plan until 2026 that includes an expansion of staff ratios.