Negotiations between the central Government and the Basque regional administration over competency transfers have reached a standstill, forcing Sánchez and Pradales to postpone their high-level meeting until after the summer. What was supposed to be a signing ceremony in July has now become a future meeting whose date has yet to be determined.

The competencies dividing Madrid and Vitoria

The Basque Councillor for Governance, Digital Administration and Self-Government, María Ubarretxena, met with ministerial officials in Madrid this Thursday to continue negotiations, according to lavanguardia.com. However, the session concluded without reaching any agreement.

On the table are several competencies related to Social Security, although with an important caveat: this is not about pension management, which remains under central control. The issues at stake are:

• Contributory family benefits
• Disability benefits
• Management of collaborative mutual societies
• Competencies over ports

Ubarretxena had already warned this week that she saw it as "very complicated" to reach a deal because "positions are very far apart". Events have proven her right.

A missed deadline: from July to September

Both governments had set July as the deadline to close the transfers and allow the two leaders to ratify the agreements at an official meeting. That roadmap has collapsed. The inability to reach consensus has led to postponing the Bilateral Cooperation Commission, the institutional body jointly chaired by Pradales and Sánchez, until after the summer period.

Both executives have committed to continuing work in the coming weeks so that the next meeting of this bilateral commission "results in an agenda with political content that materialises in new agreements". So far, no specific date for that meeting has been announced.

The Basque Government maintains a dialogue-friendly stance

The Vitoria administration has reaffirmed its "willingness and commitment" to maintain a constructive and dialogue-based approach in the negotiations. The message is clear: Lakua does not want the summer failure to be interpreted as abandonment of the process, but as a necessary postponement to allow the distances to narrow.

These delays in substantive negotiations between governments are not uncommon when the issues at stake affect social benefits or infrastructure. The technical and political complexity of transferring Social Security services usually requires time for consensuses that avoid later conflicts in providing those services to citizens.

What to expect in autumn?

The question everyone is asking is whether the return after summer will bring more clarity or simply postpone decisions once again. The "very far apart" positions that Ubarretxena mentioned do not usually close overnight just because the calendar changes.