The vice president of Government of Aragon and Councilor of Presidency, Economy and Justice, Mar Vaqueroannounced this Monday in the Institutional Commission of the Parliament that the Regional Executive plans to invest one billion euros in technology during this legislature. “Technology is the strategic line of the government. We must rely on it because it serves to retain and attract talent. Aware of its importance and following the 2024 forecasts, our department will have made an investment of more than 200 million euros in technology by the end of the legislature. In addition, in all departments as a whole, we will be more than one billion euros that we will allocate to boosting technology,” he assured.
Vaquero stressed that the objective is not only that investments arrive, but also that these have “a community impact“. That is to say, that its implementation influences “in the social servicesin education and employment”. The number two of the DGA has pointed out that Aragon “is better than it was fourteen months ago“However, without falling into conformism. In this sense, he considers that the Government is committed to sustainability to ensure competitiveness and productivity. “We are aware that it is necessary to work to avoid the imbalance and that all opportunities to reach the whole territory,” he said.
The analysis not only has to do with economic development, but also with the rest of the matters, “working to influence other factors, such as the tax reductionwhich leads to greater investment and an improvement in the social services“. “We give importance to employment and training, where we are dedicating many programs to align academic profiles to the market need,” he added.
“The innovation, technology o digitalization” are some of the “levers” of the Department. “We have enormous potential. We have developed an energy plan that will be taken to public exhibition before the end of the year and we are working on an energy law that will take up what is established in the decree, for which we will ask for collaboration from all of the parliamentary groups and we will do it with guarantee of legality“continued the vice-president. There are other commitments, such as “internationalization, innovation, simplification and the social dialogue“, which in his opinion guarantees “certainty y stabilityin addition to sustainability.
For Vaquero, there is a political change, economic y social “reflecting the growth and welfare as seen in all departments”. And this, he says, also explains the improvement in the data: “they are crushing and show how we have refocused policy and that we are better off.” The latest estimates of the Airef (Independent Authority of Fiscal Responsibility) give for the third quarter another increase in the Aragonese economy, “which will rise by 3.5% year-on-year” because Aragon, he defended, “creates employment, has more workersless unemployment and more affiliations to the social security“. This “is evidenced by the fact that there are 171 more companies than in 2023 and industrial production has increased by 5,9% while exports grew by 3.9%”.
Vaquero alluded to the 36.4 billion euros in investments that have come to the Community during 2024. “It is an investment that represents almost eight times our budget,” said the minister, who recalled that this amount is not only coming from foreign capital, but also from Aragonese and Spanish companies such as the Costa Group, Saica o Inditex. Finally, with respect to the implementation and progress of the data centers, the vice-president has expressed her intention to “continue to demand that the ministry develop infrastructures for the access and transport of this energy” in view of the possibility that the government of Spain “diminish or limit the leadership” in this sector. “We need to make that competitive advantage a reality and we hope to have everyone’s support,” he concluded.