The Junta de Andalucía foresees the creation of 68,000 jobs in the autonomous community in the next year 2023, a year for which its Budget project increases its amounts of real investments and capital transfers to 5,469 million euros. The Andalusian accounts for next year similarly foresee the injection of 6,016 million euros to support the Andalusian productive fabric.
Those 6,016 million are broken down into 890 million for economic and industrial revitalization, 899 million for R+D+i and digitization989 million for Employment and Self-Employment, 2,631 million for Agriculture, 448 million for water and coastline, and another 477 million for Housing, Urban Planning and Territory Development.
Policies to support the productive fabric grow by 1,552.9 million with respect to the last approved budget -34.7% more-, which makes an amount of 6,016 million, which represents 13.1% of the Budget.
Items allocated to R&D&I grew by 418 million euros, 87%, to industry they increased by 361 million, which represents a 175% increasethe items for transport infrastructure grow by 418 million with respect to the last approved budget, those for agriculture 212 and those for water and coastline 90 million.
envelope
These are data that the Minister of Economy, Finance and European Funds, Carolina España, has broken down this Friday at the press conference at the Palacio de San Telmo after the extraordinary meeting of the Governing Council in which the bill has been approved of Budgets of the Autonomous Community for 2023, whose envelope amounts to 45,603.8 million euroswhich represents an increase of 5,199.6 million, a 12.9%with respect to the last approved budget, which was for 2021 and which had to be extended for the 2022 financial year.
Together with the Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Blue Economy and spokesperson for the Andalusian Government, Ramón Fernández-Pacheco, the Minister stressed at the press conference that chapters 6 and 7 of the Budget, of real investments and capital transfers, amount to a total amount of 5,469 million euros, which represents “an 83% increase in relation to the previous Budget”, of 2021, as highlighted to highlight that, in the previous Andalusian accounts, the investment budget “did not reach 3,000 million”.
Employment
“Investments when they are executed are job creation”, has defended the Minister of the Treasury, who has recalled that this draft Budget is based on the estimate of a real growth of the Andalusian economy in 2023 of 1.9% of GDP, a forecast that has the endorsement of the Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (AIReF), as underlined.
To questions from the journalists, the head of the Treasury has specified that the Board foresees the creation of 68,000 jobs in 2023, and has highlighted that by 2022 the Andalusian Government contemplated the creation of some 113,000 jobs for a growth forecast of 7 percent of the Andalusian economy.
Carolina Spain has highlighted that, according to the Active Population Survey (EPA) for the third quarter of the year, known this Thursday, Andalusia accumulates job creation in year-on-year terms of 133,000 jobs, “more than expected in the Budgets”, according to has highlighted.
Recovery
In this line, he has defended that “Andalusia is closer to recovering the levels of before the pandemic than the national whole” in terms of economic growth, since “it has accumulated growth over the last three years that is higher than the Spanish average, and also a better behavior of its labor market, which allows it to face the new challenges posed by this uncertain scenario with determination and confidence”, he added.
The counselor has also specified that the Budget project for 2023 provides for an increase of 394 positions in the general administration -mainly in Justice, as a result of the opening of new courts-, in addition to the 1,794 teaching positions derived from “multiple programs co-financed with European funds” and the consolidation of Vocational Training (VT) positions, and another 544 structural positions for health professionals.
Priorities
The minister has defended that the Budget prioritizes the “reinforcement of the public services essential” and the “maximum use of European funds to generate employment and attract investment.” The counselor insisted: “They are the most social budgets in history despite having lowered taxes.” And this argument abounded when asked about lines red in the accounts: “We are not going to raise taxes. Nor to lower social spending.
Thus, the 2023 budget for health increases by 10.8% compared to the extension of 2021, until reaching 13,837.5 million euros, which is equivalent to 7.4% of Andalusian GDP.
On the other hand, the budget Education grows by 1,126.7 million euros (15.3%) compared to 2022, up to 8,524.3 million. In addition, regarding educational and technological infrastructures, public investment grows by 500 million euros in the 2022-2023 academic year, up to 592.5 million.
Carolina Spain: “There are red lines. We are not going to raise taxes. Nor to lower social spending”
The budget of the agency Social services and Dependency of Andalusia (Assda) will amount to 1,760.1 million in 2023, 12.2% more with respect to the 2021 extended budget.
“Social spending” as a whole -health, education, dependency and social services, housing policy, employment policies and culture- exceeds 27,700 million euros, which represents the 60.7% of the Budget.
Increase
Taking into account only the 2,163.5 million euros of increase over which the Board “can freely dispose” -the rest, up to the almost 5,200 million in which the budgets are increased, is “conditional financing”-, 48.1% will go to health, 26.5% to education and 7.3% to social services. The remaining 18.1% is divided between “interest on the inherited debt” (6%), the Ministry of Public Works (2.7%), Justice and Local Administration (2.6%), University, Research and Innovation (2.6%).
On the other hand, the endowments of the Municipal Cooperation Plan (PCM), the aggregate of all the transfers from the budget of the Board to the municipalities, once the own financing of these administrations and which are the Participations in State Revenues (the PIE) are excluded, are increased until they reach 2,044.9 million euros, 79.21% more -904 million euros more- compared to 2018, as highlighted by the Board.
Participation in Taxes of the Autonomous Community (patrick), the unconditional financing received by the municipalities from the Board, will amount to 520 million of euros.
On the other hand, to questions from journalists, the counselor has detailed that the budget of the Andalusian instrumental public sector will rise by two percent in 2023 to 289 million.
European funds
Similarly, the accounts contemplate income of 4,921.5 million in resources from the European Union, to which must be added 567.9 million co-financing with own resources.
In total there are 5,489.4 million euros of European funds, of which 2,430.9 are from the 2014-20 framework and 695.3 million from the new 21-27 framework, in relation to the structural funds, in addition to 1,267 million from the Mechanism for Recovery and Resilience and 1,093.5 million from ‘React EU’, which make up the ‘Next Generation’ funds.
These funds will be used for projects linked to agriculture (15.9%), economic and industrial revitalization (12.8%), education (12.8%), health (12%)transport infrastructure (10.5%) and R&D&I and Digitization (10.5%), mainly, but also others related to sustainable development (5.7%), employment and entrepreneurship (4.4%) , water (4.3%), and social policies (3.8%).
“Hand outstretched” to the opposition
At the same press conference, the spokesperson, Ramón Fernández-Pacheco, defended that these Budgets seek to ensure that Andalusia “continues along the path of leadership that he has undertaken”, and in this line he has defended that “there are no reasons to say ‘no’ to these accounts” that are “attached to the reality that Andalusian families live”.
He added that the Executive wants to “count on the parliamentary groups” for the approval of these bills even “unanimously” in the Chamber, in which the PP-A has an absolute majority, and will offer “hand outstretched until the last second” to the opposition, guaranteeing that “all the positive measures” that they can propose with amendments to the Budget “will be welcome”.
Source: www.eleconomista.es
