The Government delegate in the Canary Islands, Anselmo Pestana, has today presented the data relating to the Canary Islands of the fifth edition of "Complying", the report of accountability of the action of the Government of Spain in the whole of 2022.
At a press conference at the headquarters of the Government Delegation in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Anselmo Pestana has highlighted how the commitment of the central executive to the territory and citizenship of the Canary Islands has been strengthened in recent months, particularly in terms of support for economic dynamization and social cohesion, as well as to face the recovery of La Palma after the 2021 volcanic eruption.
“The figures that we are putting on the table today are the balance sheet and the materialization of a commitment led by President Pedro Sánchez, and a Government that is very aware of the needs of the Canaries and Canaries, particularly those who have been affected by some of the last emergencies that we have had to face, both sanitary and volcanic, without forgetting the economic difficulties arising from the conflict in Ukraine,” says Anselmo Pestana.
“It is a commitment that has been put to the test by all the complications we have gone through in recent years and in which the Government of Spain has always been working to leave no one behind. The specific needs of the Canary Islands will continue to be very present also in this year 2023 for this Government,” he adds.
European funds and economic boost
The Canary Islands has been the recipient of 1,602 million euros from the European Recovery and Resilience Mechanism, of which 1,338 million euros correspond to the deployment of investments of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan of direct management by the Autonomous Community, to which is added 629.9 million euros allocated in OBJECTIVE-EU funds. In total, 2,231.9 million euros of Next Generation funds.
The Canary Islands have also been allocated 53.9 million euros corresponding to the extraordinary call for proposals for the Destination Tourism Sustainability Plans 2022 program, financed entirely with the Next Generation funds (almost 2 million euros in regular calls for Los Llanos de Aridane, in La Palma), and 30 million euros in grants for the financing of tourism resilience for extra-island territories, within the framework of Component 14 of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.
The Canary Islands received 4,990.6 million euros in account deliveries, last year authorizing 898.8 million euros in credit operations to the Autonomous Community, and allocating 169.9 million euros to compensate the Archipelago for the damage caused by the implementation in 2017 of the System of Immediate Supply of Information in VAT, of which 146.6 were for the Autonomous Government and 23.3 for Local Entities.
The Government allocated 21 million euros last year in support of agricultural production within the framework of the Programme of Specific Options for Remoteness and Insularity (POSEI), and the Government Delegation in the Canary Islands granted about 80.78 million euros in subsidies for the transport of industrial, agricultural and banana goods in the Archipelago, which represents an increase of more than 21% compared to 2021.
To boost and boost the economy through digitalization, the Government of Spain granted the Cabildo de Gran Canaria 2.7 million euros for the creation of a digital ecosystem within the audiovisual sector, as well as 2,035 Canary SMEs benefited last year from the aid of the Digital Kit Program.
To this is added the 6.9 million euros for the transformation and modernization of the commercial sector in the Canary Islands, of which 4.3 million correspond to the financing of both projects for commercial areas of the City of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, of Gáldar (Gran Canaria) and of Adeje (Tenerife).
The central government also allocated 11.2 million euros in the investment “Digital transformation and modernization of the Autonomous Communities” of Component 11 of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan and 4.2 million euros for the modernization and digitalization of Local Entities.
In addition, the Executive granted 10.4 million euros to the Cabildo de El Hierro (project “El Hierro en Red”) and the Cabildo de Fuerteventura (project “Fuerteventura Open i-Island”) to enhance the use of ICT in the development of island territories.
Transportation and social cohesion
Throughout 2022, the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda transferred a total of 410 million euros to the Government of the Canary Islands for road actions within the framework of the agreements signed in 2006 and 2018, signing on 29 December a second addendum with an increase in the total amount of the last agreement to 1,473 million euros in time until 2027.
A cooperation protocol was also signed with the Canary Islands to strengthen the transitional aid for collective public transport of the Archipelago and, thus, to raise to 50% the discount on subscriptions and multi-travel titles during 2022, also awarding 4.2 million euros for the management of the service of the maritime line of public interest between the Peninsula and the Canary Islands, and 25.8 million euros for the construction of a dock in Puerto del Rosario (Fuerteventura).
The General State Budgets for 2023 approved last year include 75 million euros in subsidies for the maritime transport of residents and 427 million euros for regular air traffic.
In addition, there are already 62,821 people (27,782 households) in the Canary Islands who benefit from the Minimum Vital Income implemented by the Government of Spain, which has also allocated 9.9 million euros to the Archipelago within the territorial distribution of the “Family Protection and Child Poverty Care Program”, to which is added 98.7 million euros in care and dependency policies (56.8 million euros correspond to the “Dependency Shock Plan”).
A total of 146.2 million euros have been allocated to active employment policies for the citizens of the Canary Islands, with 42 million euros again approved for the development of the Integrated Employment Plan of the Canary Islands (PIEC), and with 20.5 million euros for the execution of investment projects within the framework of Component 23 “New public policies for a dynamic, resilient and inclusive labour market”.
A total of 18.3 million euros from the “State Housing Plan 2022-2025” have been allocated in grants for the rental of vulnerable groups, to increase the public housing stock and for the promotion of housing rehabilitation in 2022; almost 23 million euros have been dedicated to the construction of affordable rental social housing within the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, and 10.6 million euros have been allocated to the youth rental bond.
In the field of education, 3.6 million euros have been distributed for the Canary Islands for the financing of textbooks and teaching materials, as well as 2.4 million euros have been approved for the training in digital skills of children and adolescents in vulnerable situations (almost 2 million euros additional for support and guidance units for vulnerable students), with 19.6 million euros being allocated to promote schooling in the first cycle of Early Childhood Education with the creation of 1,293 public and free places.
In VET, 17.8 million euros have been allocated to the Canaries for the promotion of the “Plan for the Modernization of Vocational Training” and 53.3 million euros in the field of Vocational Training for Employment, selecting three Canarian centres for the State network of centres of excellence in VET, to which 3 million euros will be allocated to promote innovative ecosystems, new methodologies and latest technologies.
A total of 10.6 million euros have been allocated to the Canaries for the fight against Gender Violence, among which are the 5.9 million euros directly allocated to the Autonomous Community within the framework of the State Pact, and also highlighting the work of the Government Delegation for the extension of the collaboration of the Local Police in the protection of victims, with more than 80% of the Canarian municipal terms covered by this protection network.
Ecological transition and response to the war crisis in Ukraine
In the area of ecological transition, EUR 9.8 million has been allocated to waste management and the circular economy; EUR 11 million for clean energy; EUR 17 million for self-consumption and residual storage; EUR 41.3 million for low-emission areas; EUR 16.5 million for energy efficiency and circular economy in tourism companies; EUR 65.5 million for irrigation modernisation; and EUR 14 million for the subsidy of desalination and water extraction for agricultural irrigation.
In the second half of 2022, the transfer of functions and services from the General Administration of the State to the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands in the field of coastal management was definitively approved through Royal Decree 713/2022, of 30 August.
The Canarian primary sector receives 2.8 million grants from the Government of Spain to alleviate the economic consequences of the war in Ukraine, while 50,354 people are included as beneficiaries of the 200 euros of aid for families with less income and heritage, in addition to 14.2 million euros to finance 30% of the discount on public transport and the additional 400 euros that will be allocated to 47,836 student scholarships in the Canary Islands.
Recovery of La Palma Island
The Government, which created last year the Special Commissioner for the Reconstruction of the island of La Palma, has mobilized more than 415 million euros for the reconstruction of La Palma after the eruption of the volcano, as well as has allocated 7.7 million euros for the tourist recovery plan, also allocating 38.5 million euros for repair works or infrastructure reconstruction to the municipalities of Tazacorte, El Paso and Los Llanos de Aridane, and to the Island Council of La Palma.
In addition, the construction of a new road between Puerto Naos and the junction with the LP-215 road in Tazacorte has been started, which will allow the road connection to be restored on the western side of La Palma, with a conventional road section of 3.9 kilometers in length and an investment of approximately 38 million euros, of which approximately 11 million have been executed as of December 23, 2022.
The Government Delegation in the Canary Islands has processed 30 million grants for some 500 people affected by the eruption of the volcano due to the loss of their home, and in total more than 20,000 people, including families, workers, companies and farmers, are beneficiaries of some of the grants provided to face the volcanic emergency in La Palma.
In addition, the Government of Spain recently approved Royal Decree-Law 20/2022, of December 27, which extends tax benefits and other measures to continue helping affected companies and citizens to face the exceptional situation caused by the volcanic eruption registered on the island of La Palma a year ago.
The regulation, among other measures, maintains the moratorium on mortgage and non-mortgage loans for the affected persons who have applied for it, extends the status of beneficiaries of the aid for material damage in the habitual dwelling to the usufructuary persons, allowing access to the aid for widowed women, and also extends the tax benefits in the IBI and the IAE to the areas where gas measurements prevent the affected persons from returning home or reopening their businesses.
Another of the measures agreed at the Council of Ministers at the end of last December affects the files of temporary employment regulation arising from the situations of force majeure caused by the volcanic eruption, again providing for the extension of the extraordinary measures already planned to alleviate this situation until 30 June 2023, and it is established that self-employed workers who received the extraordinary cessation benefit on 31 December 2022 may continue to receive it.
It has also reduced by 20% the net return that serves as the basis for calculating the income tax in the case of taxpayers who carry out economic, business or professional activities in La Palma, and a 60% deduction in the Income Tax in the case of natural persons.
In 2022, the projects that culminate in the distribution of the 63 million euros of the Extraordinary Employment and Training Plan for La Palma approved at the end of 2021 by the Government of Spain to face the consequences of the emergency due to the volcano were also launched.
And a General State Budget for 2023 was approved that has a forecast of 136 million euros budgeted for the island of La Palma.