Overview
- Five major Basque business groups—Confebask, the Círculo de Empresarios Vascos, AFM, ASLE and Elkargi—issued a joint declaration urging a 'Pacto de país' for competitive transformation.
- The declaration warns that the factors that built Basque prosperity are no longer enough and lists key threats as technological change, shortages of skilled professionals, high absenteeism, rising global competition and lower investment.
- Signatories framed the pact as a depoliticized, beyond‑cycle agreement that must involve institutions, political parties, unions, schools and the wider public to secure the welfare model.
- The three Basque Chambers of Commerce and the Mondragón cooperative publicly said they share the concern, broadening the appeal beyond the original signatories.
- No political commitment or concrete policy package has been announced yet, but likely policy areas include workforce training, industrial innovation and measures to reduce absenteeism and improve housing for workers.