The Canary Islands have received an investment of some 2.4 billion euros of European funds within the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR) launched by the Government of Spain for the relaunch of the economy after the Covid-19 pandemic, from which more than 25,500 beneficiaries in the Archipelago have benefited.
Of the 2,372 million euros counted until November 30, 2024, 727 million euros correspond to calls and tenders directly managed by the General Administration of the State and 1,645 million euros correspond to funds allocated at the different sectoral conferences to the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands.
“It is a priority for the Government of Spain to maintain the good performance of the economy, a sustainable economy that also promotes social justice. For this, the recovery plan launched after the pandemic with European funds has played a very important role. It has been so important that today we no longer talk about relaunching the economy, but directly about consolidating a growth of our GDP above the large European economies,” says the government delegate in the Canary Islands, Anselmo Pestana.
“Our archipelago is among those priorities for the Government of Spain and an example of this is the increase in the financing of the Canary Islands, not only in terms of the direct management of the State, but also and fundamentally in the distribution of funds to the regional administration,” he adds.
In 2025, in fact, the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands will receive the largest deliveries on account of its history with 6,594 million euros, 8.6% more than in 2024, receiving a total of 7,524 million euros including the liquidation of 2023, since the Archipelago will also receive 2,785 million euros of European cohesion funds in the Multiannual Financial Framework of the European Union 2021-2027, 14.3% more than in the previous period.
Execution of the General State Administration
From these funds of the PRTR for the Canary Islands, the State Administration has directly managed the investment of 5 million euros for adaptation and improvement of infrastructures in Canarian ports, as well as the distribution of 44.5 million euros for sustainable and digital mobility projects in Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and Tenerife.
In terms of energy diversification, EUR 106 million has been allocated for the promotion of deep geothermal surveys in La Palma, Tenerife and Gran Canaria, as well as EUR 45.4 million for marine renewable energy projects, such as the upgrading of the support grid in the north PLOCAN test bench, which has received EUR 20 million.
Also of direct management of the State have been the 79 million euros destined to 9 projects for efficiency, digitalization and sustainability of irrigation through agreements signed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, through the State Mercantile Society of Agrarian Infrastructures (Seiasa).
These projects include EUR 24.4 million for the project in the north-east of Lanzarote (Tinajo and Teguise), EUR 13.25 million for the project in the south central area of Fuerteventura (Tuineje and Pájara), and EUR 11.23 million for three projects in La Palma.
In addition, the two PERTE calls for the urban water cycle were awarded by the projects of the Joint Water Company of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife (8.8 million euros) and the Digital Island project for water balances, optimization of resources and reserves of the Canary Islands (8.4 million euros).
With regard to trade, the General Administration of the State has directly managed the distribution of 5.1 million euros for the support programme for markets and businesses in urban and rural areas and 1.7 million euros for aid to strengthen commercial activity in tourist areas.
The funds of the PRTR of the Government of Spain have also reached the islands of La Gomera and El Hierro through the direct management of the State, with, among others, projects of modernization and improvement of the irrigation network of the Gulf, worth 3.9 million euros, the rehabilitation of public buildings of Herrano worth 1.3 million euros, and a project of renewable energy in Gomero soil worth 2.7 million euros.
The bulk of European funds channeled to the Canary Islands through the Spanish Government’s PRTR have been managed by the Autonomous Community, among them the 38.5 million euros to install high-tech equipment in 9 hospitals of the Canary Health Service (SCS), the 24.8 million euros of the PERTE Salud de Vanguardia, the 41.7 million euros of the PERTE Social Economy or the 116.5 million euros to execute Tourist Sustainability Plans in Destination.
Economic management for social progress
The good employment data of the Spanish economy are also recorded in the Canary Islands, which closed 2024 with 940,689 affiliations to Social Security, 127,702 more than those registered in December 2018, counting on 1 January 2025 with 309,854 indefinite contracts, 217% more than the 97,627 of 2019, last year prior to the labor reform that was not marked by external factors in the labor market, as was the pandemic.
In addition, the average pension has increased in the Canary Islands around 300 euros per month to reach 1,335 euros compared to 1,036 euros received on average in 2018 and 76,503 people benefited from the Minimum Vital Income in December 2024, having registered 107,605 recipients since June 2020.
The Canary Islands is also the second Autonomous Community with the highest percentage of incidence (21.5%) of the increase in the interprofessional minimum wage approved by the Government of Spain in recent years (only two tenths exceeded by Extremadura), an increase from which 174,900 workers have benefited. As of November 30, 2024, the Archipelago also registered 43,386 beneficiaries of the electric social bond.