Pamplona, 16 September 2026 — Javier Remírez, first deputy president and spokesperson for the Government of Navarra, dismissed recent disagreements with coalition partner Geroa Bai over the duplication of the Belate tunnel as a “simple anecdote” and put them in the context of the pre-election campaign. He said the government would first set out the facts in the Parliament of Navarra .
The controversy was triggered by objections from Geroa Bai following a meeting with president María Chivite. Party representatives said they had come away from the meeting “more concerned”. President Chivite and other members of the government disputed this account. Remírez, who said he attended the meeting, stressed that the information had been presented transparently. He said the atmosphere of the meeting had not been as Geroa Bai had portrayed it.
The issue concerns a change to the project for work on the Belate Tunnel and the accounting for it. A Legal advisory opinion According to people involved, the Government of Navarra’s legal advisory opinion does not support the method proposed by the executive. An additional amount of 8.3 million euros, which the Government says is needed to continue the works, is under discussion. Remírez characterised the debate as primarily a technical, legal and administrative matter; it was not a decision of a purely political nature.
Remírez stressed that the communication channel between the parties in government remained open. Out of respect for the Parliament of Navarra, details would be explained there first. He also recalled that the doubling of the Belate Tunnel had begun under the current executive and was to be completed by it. There must be no interruptions or periods of inactivity.
In recent days, Geroa Bai had described developments as “very worrying” and called for explanations at the highest level. Representatives of the Socialists of Navarra publicly indicated that the Government was seeking a solution offering maximum legal certainty. Politically, therefore, it is not so much the need for the infrastructure project that is in question as the handling of the additional costs and procedural certainty.
The Government of Navarra intends to explain in the announced parliamentary debate on what basis the project change can be settled and how the project’s timetable and financing will be secured. No predictions have yet been made about whether the coalition partners will draw broader political consequences from this. So far, statements have generally suggested that the dispute can be resolved internally.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).