Overview

• The Basque Executive has formally asked Madrid to declassify the Port of Pasaia as a "general interest" facility so Euskadi can assume its ownership and management.
• Regional officials frame the change as a competitiveness push designed to elevate Pasaia into Spain’s top tier of ports.
• PSE-EE leaders warn that shedding "general interest" status could reduce competitiveness and threaten jobs, with José Ignacio Asensio questioning why Bilbao is not treated the same.
• For Bilbao, the Basque Government seeks regulatory adjustments to strengthen co-management rather than a declassification.
• The port proposal sits within a 10-point transfer package under negotiation with the central government through year-end, led by María Ubarretxena with minister Ángel Víctor Torres, with any port transfer entailing assets, staff and resources.