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This past Friday, May 16, Basque MEP from the Popular Party, Javier Zarzalejos, warned of what he described as a \u201cslide into decline\u201d currently affecting the Basque economy. At a press conference held in Bilbao alongside the President of the Basque PP, Javier de Andr\u00e9s, Zarzalejos called for an immediate response to what he described as a loss of dynamism and lamented that the Basque Country is failing to take advantage of its competitive edges, such as self-government and the economic agreement (Concierto Econ\u00f3mico).<\/p>\n
In his view, a year after the European elections, the Basque Country has worsened in nearly all areas that were at the heart of the campaign debate. \u201cThe issues we pointed out back then have not only remained unaddressed, but have actually worsened: the loss of industrial weight, setbacks in innovation, a stagnant education system, brain drain among the youth, and ineffective management of the migration challenge,\u201d he stated. Zarzalejos also warned of the lack of a clear policy in response to the rise in irregular immigration and criticized the Basque Government\u2019s passivity in defining an effective integration model.<\/p>\n
He also referred to the delay in the arrival of the High-Speed Train (AVE) to the Basque Country as another example of \u201clack of political ambition and institutional leadership.\u201d He deemed it \u201cunacceptable\u201d that the Basque Y rail network still has no clear timeline. \u201cWe are also losing competitiveness in key infrastructure that impacts economic development and connection with Europe,\u201d he emphasized.<\/p>\n
For his part, the President of the Basque PP, Javier de Andr\u00e9s, endorsed Zarzalejos\u2019s analysis and warned of the exhaustion of the current economic model. According to De Andr\u00e9s, the Basque Government has lost its way and is unable to implement a solid strategy to encourage investment, reactivate the business fabric, and tackle demographic and social challenges with effective and bold policies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This past Friday, May 16, Basque MEP from the Popular Party, Javier Zarzalejos, warned of what he described as a \u201cslide into decline\u201d currently affecting the Basque economy. At a press conference held in Bilbao alongside the President of the Basque PP, Javier de Andr\u00e9s, Zarzalejos called for an immediate response to what he described…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-events"],"yoast_head":"\n