Chivite will appear in Parliament on Wednesday in connection with the stoppage of works in Belate

The President of Navarre, Maria Chivite, will appear before the Navarre Parliament on Wednesday to report on the state of the work on the unfolding of the tunnels in Belate, which is currently completely paralysed .

The Bureau of Parliament has set for that day the meeting requested as a matter of urgency by various opposition groups and the Foral Government will meet on Monday with its government partners to discuss the crisis in the project, following a meeting with EH Bildu last week.

The paralysis of the works is due to the fact that the Government of Navarre has not yet been able to find a legal way out to pay an extra EUR 8.5 million to the UTE (temporary union of companies) formed by Acciona and Oses Construcciones, a legal principle that allows the administration to pay for works already carried out without a formal contract.

The paralysis of the works is due to the fact that the Government of Navarre has not yet been able to find a legal way out to cover the extra cost of EUR 8.5 million to the UTE (temporary union of companies) formed by Acciona and Osés Construcción, since the Legal Counsel of the Executive refused to make the payment under the figure of "improper enrichment", a legal principle that allows the administration to pay for works already carried out without a formal contract.

The government, which was aware of this unfavourable legal report last week, warned that "all scenarios remain open" regarding the payment and future of the work.

Origin of the conflict

In connection with this conflict, the Board of Spokespersons met on Monday and the political parties expressed their positions: Geroa Bai's spokesman, Pablo Azcona , explained that the department informed them in July that they wanted to do so through unfair enrichment, before which they requested a legal report to ensure that path.

EH Bildu's Mikel Zabaleta has confirmed that they, too, learned of this intention in July: "You cannot compromise the works, nor can you pay a single euro that is not endorsed and is public, and from there it is up to the government to find the right way and, if necessary, to establish the corresponding responsibilities."

The representative of the PSN, Ainhoa Unzu, has stressed that the priority is the continuation of the work through a formula that guarantees the legality of payments: "Not a euro has been paid that is not guaranteed by the legal services".

In conclusion, Javier Esparzaof UPN has criticized the situation and said that the feeling of his group is that this is "a strategy for companies to charge more" and that the government "has participated in it".