The Basque Government launches an industrial shield of EUR 1047 million to deal with the consequences of the war in the Middle East
The package responds to the demands of the Basque industrialist in a context of growing geopolitical uncertainty and will be structured around four main axes: protection of employment, financial support for SMEs, diversification of SMEs and energy autonomy.
The Basque Government has launched a package of measures called the industrial shieldof the Basque Country , amounting to EUR 1074 million, in order to alleviate the impact on the Basque economy of the uncertainty caused by the conflict in the Middle East.
The announcementwas made at the press conference following the Governing Council by the spokeswoman for the Basque Government, Maria Ubarretxena; the Economic, Labour and Employment Adviser, Mikel Torres; the Finance and Finance Adviser, Noël d'Anjou; and the Industry, Energy Transition and Sustainability Adviser of the Basque Government, Mikel Jauregi.
Four main axes
In a context of increasing geopolitical uncertainty, the package of measures responds to the demands of the Basque industrial sector.
It will be organised around four major axes, the firstfocusing on the protection of persons and employment, with EUR 105 million, mainly earmarked for recruitment promotion programmes (EUR 100 million), supplements for workers in ERTEs, vocational retraining and support for the social economy.
The second axis provides for EUR 450 million in financial support for small and medium-sized enterprises through a line of loans to cover liquidity and circulation needs, a programme which extends until 2026 and which will have funding of between EUR 100,000 and 1.5 million for businesses and between EUR 30 and 120 000 for self-employed people.
Thirdly, the Basque Government will strengthen the transformation and diversification of the business fabric with EUR 277 million, 51.4% more than in 2025. The aid will be aimed at promoting R & D, digitisation, decarbonisation and opening up to new markets.
Finally, the Basque Government will allocate EUR 215 million to improving energy autonomy through investments in renewable energies, hydrogen infrastructure and measures to reduce the electricity bill. Among the proposals is to reduce electricity VAT from 21% to 5% for households and reduce energy costs for businesses.
In their speech to the media, the Basque advisers stress the need to act quickly in order to maintain Basque industrial activity, given the current international situation.
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