Propuestas de la Junta de Castilla y León para la Conferencia de Presidentes

May 23, 2025

Castilla y León |
Consejería de la Presidencia

The President’s Office of the Junta, Luis Miguel González Gago, has sent to the Ministry of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory what their proposals for the agenda will be for the upcoming Conference of Presidents, which will be held on June 6 in Barcelona. These proposals will be discussed among the autonomous communities and the Minister in the Preparatory Committee on Wednesday, May 28, a meeting from which a final and consensual agenda will emerge.

González Gago has conveyed what topics the Junta de Castilla y León proposes to include on this agenda, in coherence with the concerns expressed by the citizens of Castilla y León in recent months, and which, at the same time, are of national interest as they manifest equally in all autonomous communities. In this sense, the councilor emphasized that «it is very important to reach agreements within the Conference of Presidents, the highest multilateral cooperation body, to address the common challenges facing society as a whole and the most important political issues, and it is equally important that these agreements can subsequently be put into practice.»

The first proposal is to seek an agreement on essential strategic energy, railway, transportation, and telecommunications infrastructures and services. The Junta de Castilla y León understands that it is essential for the State and the autonomous communities to reach consensus on the future of these infrastructures, taking into account, especially, the successive national crises that have occurred in recent months and weeks, such as the blackout, problems with railway infrastructures and their reflection in the deterioration of the quality of services provided by RENFE, or mobile coverage cuts. This is also compounded by the elimination of bus stops or the reduction in train frequencies by the Government of Spain. In these sectors, coordination between administrations is vital to ensure the continuity and security of services, as well as to be able to respond effectively to possible crises or future emergencies. Likewise, administrations must seek the best way to adapt to technological and environmental challenges to ensure the proper functioning of these sectors, without causing unnecessary harm to the population of any territory.

On the other hand, Castilla y León will also propose to continue the debate on a new model of regional financing that is fair to all autonomous communities, and that truly takes into account the particularities of each territory. This point was already included in the agenda of the last Conference of Presidents at the end of last year, but since then the Government of Spain has not made any tangible progress. For this reason, the Junta de Castilla y León believes it is necessary to revive this debate and reiterate its proposals to advance cohesion among autonomous communities, including the state of advances to the autonomous communities and local entities. Additionally, and specifically, the Junta will call for a debate on the forgiveness of debt to autonomous communities: a forgiveness to which the Junta opposes in the terms proposed by the Government of Spain for representing a mutualization of debt among all Spaniards, not guaranteeing equality among citizens of different autonomous communities. This issue was not addressed at the last Conference of Presidents, yet it was transferred to the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council chaired by the Minister of Finance.

The Junta de Castilla y León will also propose the need to address during the Conference of Presidents the control of national borders and immigration as exclusive competencies of the State, especially in light of the concerns raised by the announcement of the transfer of competences in these matters to certain autonomous communities.

Finally, the regional administration will once again highlight the need to address the problems arising from the shortage of healthcare personnel (doctors and nurses), especially in certain specialties.

In addition to these topics proposed by the Junta de Castilla y León, the Government of Spain has already put forward two proposals on behalf of the State: education and housing.

The regional government considers these proposals acceptable. The Junta believes it is important to discuss the current situation of the Spanish education system and its adaptation to the new regulatory framework that regulates both the university system, through the LOSU, and vocational training, through the Organic Law of 2022. In addition, the Junta de Castilla y León has requested to address, within this point on the agenda, the model of free education from 0 to 3 years, financed 100% by the regional administration, and will convey to the Government of Spain the need for them to also collaborate in financing, as this educational segment is mandatory.

On the other hand, regarding housing, the Junta believes that coordination between the different competent administrations is crucial to ensure equitable access to decent housing and to address challenges such as rising prices or the shortage of real estate offerings. Therefore, the regional government deems it appropriate to reach agreements in this regard within the Conference of Presidents. In any case, the Junta de Castilla y León will propose to specifically include the issue of housing occupations within this point, with the aim of advancing in the legal security of property owners and protecting their right to property.

González Gago hopes for receptivity from the Ministry and the rest of the autonomous communities towards the proposals put forward by the Junta de Castilla y León, and has reiterated his desire for the Conference of Presidents to be a space for dialogue and consensus, where effective commitments are achieved that truly improve the lives of citizens and strengthen collaboration between administrations.