Sánchez and the Lehendakari will meet on July 15 to advance the transfer of Social Security.

A week after the plenary session scheduled in Congress for Pedro Sánchez to explain the corruption scandals surrounding the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party), the Prime Minister will meet with the Basque Basque President to discuss the pending transfers to the Basque Country . This was announced on Tuesday by Imanol Pradales from Vitoria, setting the Bilateral Commission for July 15th, where, among other issues, the transfer of management of the Social Security economic regime and passive employment policies will be discussed.

The string of reports in recent weeks, affecting, among others, José Luis Ábalos and Santos Cerdán, the last two Socialist Secretaries of Organization, have no impact on the regional government's roadmap. Nor, given its characteristic two-headedness, has it influenced the PNV's roadmap, which has limited itself to calling for greater "transparency" when dealing with the alleged bribery scheme that originated in 2015 in Navarre, according to the Civil Guard's investigations.

Since then, Pradales, after stating that the Spanish legislature was entering "another phase," revealed last Friday that his cabinet is conducting an "exhaustive analysis" of public contracts awarded by the Basque government over the past ten years. This phase affects the coalition governments, also between nationalists and the Basque Socialist Party (PSE), led by Íñigo Urkullu. "I hope and pray that there is nothing," he said today in a lengthy press conference where he praised his work and that of his councilors in his first year in office.

When asked whether the growing instability could affect the transfer schedule established at the last Bilateral Commission, held in November of last year, the Lehendakari acknowledged that we are in "decisive weeks" without a concrete answer regarding the continuity of the current government, which has relied on the decisions made by Pedro Sánchez's partners. "I am not one of the partners [...] Ask the PNV," he said at another point.

Pradales is looking to and giving utmost importance to the mid-July meeting, where he will negotiate with Sánchez on outstanding issues such as the development of the Atlantic Macroregion, the official status of the Basque language, and matters he attempted to discuss at the Conference of Presidents held in Barcelona : a comprehensive solution to the migration problem and investment in electricity grids in the region following the blackout. When that event ended without an agreement, following Ayuso's snub to the Basque president , he relied on the bilateral relationship that he has managed to impose with the Spanish Government on the advancement of the "Basque agenda."

In it, the transfer related to Social Security, which Sánchez agreed upon with the PNV (Basque Nationalist Party) to gain their support during the investiture session, is marked in red. In this regard, according to the Basque president, the first block will be discussed on July 15th. This affects contributory and non-contributory employment benefits and the State Public Employment Service (SEPE) as such, and on which the teams from the Basque Government, the Ministry of Employment and Social Economy, and the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration have been working. "There is a political agreement," the Basque president recalled.