Imanol Pradales: “We will work to have the Basque Country declared an ‘industrial acceleration area’.”
The Lehendakari, Imanol Pradales, has announced that the Basque Government will work to ensure that Euskadi is declared an ‘industrial acceleration area’ through two different avenues. First, from Brussels, through collaboration at different levels and by forging industrial alliances, as the Basque Government has been promoting in recent months. Secondly, in Madrid, where Euskadi will request that the declaration of ‘industrial acceleration area’ be included on the bilateral agenda with the Spanish government, as the proposal officially presented by the European Commission regarding the Industrial Acceleration Act envisages that each Member State will define which areas will be designated as acceleration areas.
“We are fully aligned with this Act,” Pradales stated. He explained that the Basque Government’s industrial plan and administrative simplification strategy move in the same direction as the proposal led by the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission and Commissioner responsible for the Industrial Strategy, Stéphane Séjourné. “We believe that Euskadi meets the requirements to be considered one of the areas expected to drive the momentum of European reindustrialisation: we have manufacturing capacity, a technological and research ecosystem, and leading companies in the selected sectors,” he said.
In the Lehendakari’s view, “there is no time to lose” in advancing reindustrialisation, and the Industrial Acceleration Act proposes very interesting elements to provide the decisive boost that European industry needs in key areas such as streamlining and simplifying regulations — in other words, reducing bureaucracy to facilitate industrial projects; the creation of industrial acceleration areas; and the prioritisation of European products (“Made in Europe”) and decarbonisation projects. It also promotes key strategic sectors such as automotive, energy, chemicals and digital technology, among others.
Since the beginning of his term in office, Imanol Pradales has advocated the need for Europe to review its industrial policy and also to include regions, territories and stateless nations such as Euskadi, which he has consistently said are key to guaranteeing Europe’s political and strategic autonomy at this decisive moment. According to the Lehendakari, these territories and sub-state realities should have their own voice and the capacity to co-participate in decisions, investments and the governance of Europe’s resurgence. “Euskadi can and must play its part in Europe’s industrial future; it must be one of the European industrial acceleration areas, which will help strengthen our country’s industrial projects and employment,” the Lehendakari argued.
Imanol Pradales is in Brussels on his third trip to the heart of European policymaking. Since early this morning, the Lehendakari has been holding meetings with EU regulators, politicians and experts to gain first-hand insight into and discuss the main issues shaping the future of the European Union.
During the morning, he took part in the dialogue ‘European Policy Centre Strategic Dialogue: EU industry in an era of security and competitiveness’. The event focused on the strategic debate on the impact of the new geopolitical context on European industrial policy, with particular attention to security and defence as drivers of this policy; competitiveness and strategic autonomy; multilevel governance and the role of regions; and the Multiannual Financial Framework 2028–2034. The meeting follows on from the momentum generated by the Fit for the Future event held in Bilbao last February, which resulted in the ‘Bilbao Declaration’.
The Lehendakari also attended and took part in the event ‘Power Regions of Europe – Round Table Summit 2026: For a modern Cohesion Policy 2028+’. In the afternoon, he will meet with the Prime Minister of Belgium, Bart De Wever.
