In his opinion, the figures are beginning to show signs that the recovery "has begun" and, specifically, he alluded to the data regarding economic activity, exports, industrial production, tourism and employment.

In turn, Markel Olano, the Chairman of Gipuzkoa Provincial Council, pointed out at the General Policy Plenary Session that "the half-yearly economic figures for Gipuzkoa have shown year-on-year growth of 0.2%".

Olano stressed that "Gipuzkoa imports were up 22.9% to June, figures close to the growth of the Basque Country, which can be considered as a build-up to the start of a cycle of greater activity from the second half of the year. This enables us to be moderately optimistic about this".

The Araba provincial councillor, Xabier Agirre, also stressed that Araba had reacted to the economic crisis with its own measures "aimed fundamentally to offset the impact of the economic downturn on families and our companies".

"Three years of Nationalist government in Araba has meant, among other things, the consolidation of social policies, increased territorial balance, the start of the process to diversity our industrial structure, based on innovation, and positioning Araba on the path to recovery, as can be seen from some economic indicators," he added.