The Basque Government begins the new political course on Thursday

The Basque Government will hold its first Governing Council atthe Miramar Palacein San Sebastián on Thursday, 27 August, as usual after the summer break.

In September, the Basque Parliament will hold a plenary session on general policy, which willhave to address issues such as housing and health, self-government, the economy and taxation, which will mark the beginning and evolution of the political year.

As far as housing is concerned, the Basque Country will continue to be designated as tense areas in order to limit the price of rent and will have to approve a social housing fund of EUR 2 billion to build 10 000 housing units.

In the area of health, the challenge will be to reduce waiting lists after Osakidetza has reached an agreement with doctors, although other health teams have warned that they will also call for improvements.

With regard to self-government, Pedro Sánchez committed himself to the PNV to complete the Statute before 2025, but negotiations are stalled, especially in the management of matters relating to Social Security and the ports of Bilbao and Pasaia.

In economic terms, the Basque Country has maintained economic growth of 1.9% and is expected to grow by 1.7% next year, although the budgets of the Members of Parliament of Álava and Gipuzkoa are pending approval.

It will also be necessary to agree on the tax reform proposed by Bizkaia in June, which includes the introduction of tax deductions for the recruitment of professionals and expenditure on private insurance and gymnasiums.

Elections in 2027

Operations on Tubos Reunidos and Azkoyen andsecurity   will also be put on the table in the coming months, as will the new pending laws , such as the "regulatory highway", which reduces the administrative processing times of strategic projects to a maximum of six months.

Politics in the Basque Country will also be conditioned by the political situation in Madrid. The Spanish Government will present the general budgets of the State — probably before 30 September — and will have to negotiate with the PNV and EH Bildu.

The elections will also play a leading role, both in the possibility of a general election in 2027 and in the municipal and presidential elections in May.