The government delegate in Navarre, José Luis Arasti, today presented the fifth edition of “Complying”, the accountability report of the central executive in the Foral Community corresponding to the year 2022. A report that aims to provide citizens with necessary and transparent information on compliance with the legislative commitments made.
Arasti has pointed out that 2022 has been an “intense, complex” year that the Government of Spain has faced with the will to “allocate all the resources that are necessary to protect families and companies, to the social majority of our country.” He added that the goal is to “advance and protect” in a context marked by the consequences of the war in Ukraine.
“The response that the Spanish Government is giving differs greatly from that offered by the Popular Party to the financial crisis of a decade ago: we support the middle class and working people, and we do so by preserving our productive fabric from the undesirable effects of the war,” said the government delegate in Navarre.
Arasti has also assured that the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan is already having a “remarkable” impact in Navarre “with policies and calls that are allowing us to modernize our productive fabric and advance the ecological transition, social and territorial cohesion and equality.”
“Fulfilling” commitments
The report refers to the measures of dynamisation and economic impetus put in place. Among them, the 27.3 million euros in the framework of the Destination Tourism Sustainability Plans, the 4.6 million euros destined for the digitalization and modernization of public administrations, and the Digital Kit program that, in its three calls, already reaches 835 Navarre SMEs.
In the social cohesion chapter, the Minimum Vital Income reaches 18,809 people in the Foral Community and is linked to inclusion itineraries, with the implementation of three pilot projects. In addition, 29.9 million have been allocated for active employment policies; 5.9 million to promote schooling in the first cycle of Early Childhood Education; or 15.2 million for the training of employed and unemployed workers, and for qualification and requalification in eleven strategic sectors.
For the fight against gender violence, Navarre has received 1.6 million, of which 700,000 euros have been transferred to local entities and the rest corresponds to the Plan “Spain protects you” for the creation of a 24-hour comprehensive care center for victims of sexual violence.
In terms of housing, the 6.9 million for the construction of affordable rental social housing in Pamplona/Iruña, Tudela, Aranguren and Estella/Lizarra stand out, as well as the 23.8 million for rehabilitation in residential environments and public buildings.
Regarding territorial cohesion and infrastructure development, Arasti has indicated that 12.1 million euros have been allocated within the UNICO program for the extension of broadband to all Navarre municipalities. In addition, he recalled the historical execution of investment, amounting to more than 60 million euros, in the works of the High Performance Train, and the departure of another 15 million euros allocated to the conversion of the N-121-A into a 2+1 track.
The government delegate has also highlighted initiatives related to ecological transition, environmental protection and support for innovation. He stressed that Navarre is being a community of reference in terms of the execution of aid in this area. In fact, it has received an additional 12.2 million euros for self-consumption and storage programs.
Resources have also been allocated to finance energy efficiency and circular economy projects in tourism companies (3.7 million); to unique clean energy projects in demographically challenging municipalities (20.5 million); or to the implementation of low-emission zones in metropolitan areas (12.5 million).
In terms of innovation, 7.1 million stands out for the acquisition of high-technology equipment within the INVEAT Plan of the National Health System.
Finally, in the chapter on the promotion of culture, sport and protection of heritage, 4,547 applications for the Young Cultural Voucher have been received. In addition, 1.9 million have been allocated for cultural activities and 1.7 million have been allocated to the City of Pamplona for the creation of a laboratory and meeting space for companies in the sector of the creative and digital industries with special attention to animation and video games.
The Response to the Ukrainian War
As for the successive plans to deal with the consequences of the war in Ukraine, Arasti has pointed out that 6,745 people have benefited from the gratuitousness of the multi-travel subscriptions of Renfe in medium distance. And, to date, 1.9 million euros have been granted to the Foral Community to finance the discount on collective public passenger transport.
In addition, 6,960 Navarre students awarded scholarships by the Government of Spain have benefited from the additional aid of 400 euros; a measure to which 2.6 million euros have been allocated. While 2.8 million have been allocated to the beef, sheep and goat meat sectors, and another 3.7 million to the dairy sector.
In addition, another EUR 1.4 million has been allocated to Navarre to finance various measures aimed at people who have arrived displaced from Ukraine, including direct economic aid to beneficiaries of the temporary protection regime.
European funds
The government delegate recalled that, as of November 30, 2022, 519 million euros have been allocated to Navarre from the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism. Of these, 395 have been assigned to the Provincial Government for the areas of its competence such as housing, sustainable mobility, promotion of renewables, education, renovation of public buildings, or social inclusion and services, and the rest, 124 million are executed directly by the State. In addition, and as of December 14, an additional $147.9 million has been allocated from the OBJECTIVE-EU funds.