This Friday, the central and Basque governments closed the transfers to the Basque Country of the Cercanías railway service and the homologation and equalization of university degrees.
Both powers, along with the migrant reception system, are part of the agreement between PSOE and PNV so that the nationalists would support the investiture of Pedro Sánchez.
The agreement has been adopted within the technical presentation at a meeting held this afternoon and must be ratified by the Joint Transfer Commission in the near future.
The Minister of Public Governance and Self-Government, Olatz Garamendi, stated at a press conference that it has been an “intense” process, especially in the last few hours, because the objective has been to reach “an agreement to offer services in the best conditions.” ”.
In the case of Cercanías "there were voices that took it for granted for a long time", but work has been done to ensure that it arrives in the Basque Country in "satisfactory conditions" and with the possibility of "improving quality standards", he indicated.
“We could have closed the agreement and taken the photo a long time ago but it would be practically empty to offer a service of excellence,” he concluded.
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The agreement includes the management by the Basque Government of the Cercanías services already existing in Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa.
In addition, new ones may be declared between Bilbao and Karrantza, in Bizkaia, as well as between Araia and Vitoria and between Vitoria and Manzanos Ribera Baja.
The establishment of commuter services in Álava, a territory that lacks them, would be carried out on the current railway route, which will allow “better connections” in the Alava plain and in the Cuadrilla de Añana.
The agreement also mentions the transfers of the access lines to the Port of Bilbao that in the future will be replaced by the Southern Railway Bypass.
This transfer will be effective once the Bilbao Southern Railway Bypass is completed and put into service.
The functions assumed by the Basque autonomous community include the regulation, planning, management, coordination and inspection of services, as well as tariff power, train schedules and frequencies.
The economic valuation has been carried out using the Economic Agreement methodology, as explained by Garamendi, who has detailed that the total annual cost at the associated state level amounts to 92.7 million euros.
With this economic valuation, Euskadi will be the one to compensate Renfe for the deficit incurred in the provision of commuter services, given that they are subject to public service obligations.
The cost that must be incurred if the Basque Country foresees an improvement in quality standards or services is excluded from the compensation, a cost that will be charged to the Community Budgets, the Basque Government explained in a statement.
The agreement includes the implementation of ADIF's infrastructure investment plan that includes a total of 100 actions for an approximate value of 400 million euros, Garamendi indicated.
With the agreement reached this Friday, only the transfer of immigrant reception would remain pending.
In this sense, Garamendi has announced that the technical presentation will meet next Monday to analyze this issue, which he hopes will be finalized "shortly."
The Government delegate, Denis Itxaso, has pointed out on the social network
He has insisted that “hurry is not a good advisor,” since agreements need “all the legal, technical and economic solvency, and that sometimes requires time.”
“Loyalty and rigor in negotiations is essential to reach this type of agreement,” he concluded.