ELA: "We should not ask for European funds, because they are a trap for governments' policies to stand up"
- The ELA trade union explained the conditions established by the European Commission for the provision of funds through the Next Generation programme: "The condition that there is a reform and a budgetary policy that remains austerity cannot be taken for granted. The unions that are in favour of changing the model, the social and political organisations, must reject that logic. It is appropriate to declare the withdrawal of conditions and the modification of the priorities for the allocation of funds. But this is not possible in the current framework, so we must not abandon this logic and ask for funds, which are a trap for governments' policies to stand up until at least 2026".
The European Commission presented the Next Generation programme in September, in which it will contribute EUR 672,500 million (360,000 in loans and 312,500 in the form of transfers that should not be returned). Most of the transfers (EUR 72 billion) to be received by the Spanish State will be channelled through this mechanism. However, the ELA trade union warned that "many conditions must be met in order to receive the funds".
Destination of funds: Beneficiaries will be large companies and multinationals
States cannot allocate their funds to health, education or social benefits. The European Commission has identified seven areas, of which 57% will go to digitisation and to the policies of the European Green Pact. ELA has denounced that the pact, even if it is "green in name", does not mean a "social and ecological transformation" of the Basque and Navarro economic model. The beneficiaries will be large companies and multinationals. But not to make new projects, but to fund those who are already underway or are about to start."
The union is part of this "logic" of the list of projects submitted by the Basque Government to Madrid: "Urkullu plans to reach a total of EUR 10,228 of European funds in the period 2020-2024, the Basque Government has reported. These include several TAV projects (2.712 million) and large companies such as Iberdrola or Petronor (2 billion). In the serious situation we are experiencing, public resources cannot be allowed to be used for private projects and models that are not related to the ecological and fair transition should be promoted.
Austerity reforms to countries
ELA explained that the Budgetary Stability Pact is to be suspended in 2021, but that projects should take into account the recommendations of the 2019 and 2020 European Semester: "This means that the Spanish State must 'maintain' support for the pension system and the labour market and develop fiscal policies that allow balanced budgets to be reached in the medium term, always thinking of cutting public services".
ELA believes tax reform is the way forward
The union has warned that European funds will not solve the drop in revenue in the peninsular Basque Country. "That's why tax reform needs to be tackled to improve revenue; companies have to pay more for Income Tax, Capital and Wealth."
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