The president of the Balearic Government, Marga Prohens, met this Friday with the president of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, in the round that the leader of the national Executive is making with the leaders of the different autonomous communities. Prohens, who from the beginning was in favor of meeting with Sánchez, has asked for “respect” for the regional presidents of the PP who have agreed to meet with him, while justifying the sit-in by Isabel Díaz Ayuso. The Madrid president considers that these appointments go “against the interests of Spain”, that Sánchez has defamed her and that the central Executive, “using all the powers of the State”, has been subjecting her “to a smear campaign for five years”.
In a press conference held after the meeting, Prohens defended both positions: “We must respect the decision of each president, knowing his particular reality, not only that of his region, but also, in the case of Ayuso, his own. [en referencia a que la pareja de Ayuso, Alberto González Amador, confesó por escrito a la Fiscalía su evasión de impuestos]. We are also ordinary representatives of the State in our territories and for me it is an opportunity to come here [a Moncloa] to present the demands of the Balearic citizens. Also being able to tell the President of the Government the issues that we reject outright, such as the fiscal independence of Catalonia. Now, we have to be able to put ourselves in Ayuso’s shoes. He receives an all-out confrontation from the Government of Spain. Asking respect for the rest of the presidents who have different situations, I express my respect for Ayuso’s decision.”
Prohens, who has presented the “Balearic agenda” to Sánchez after meeting in recent days with representatives of civil society from the Islands, has asked the leader of the national Executive to convene the conference of presidents. Among other issues, to debate the reform of the regional financing system, which “has expired for ten years.” The president recalled that the Islands are “one of the only three communities that are net contributors to the system, the second contributor per capita, only behind Madrid.” She has also reiterated her opposition to the pact between ERC and the PSOE for the unique financing of Catalonia: “It breaks this common fund and I am not willing to let the citizens of the Balearic Islands pay. “We don’t want to be more than anyone, but I’m not going to allow myself to be less.”
Expand the REB
Prohens reminded Sánchez of the particularities of the Islands, such as the increase in population or the insularity factor. Precisely, one of the measures designed to alleviate this insularity, the Special Regime of the Balearic Islands (REB), has been another topic of debate. “We have to start negotiating it because, although it came into force two years ago, it is only valid for six years,” he said.
The president has demanded the permanence of the REB beyond 2028, “without completion horizons, with a review clause that does not prevent its continuity while its update is negotiated.” He has also proposed to Sánchez – and says that he views it favorably – “using the REB to achieve greater involvement of the Government of Spain in the process of transforming the Balearic economic model.”
“I have asked you to extend the special regime to a special regime for innovation,” he said. For example, with corporate tax credits. “He has accepted this measure to be able to study it. We are a tourist community and we are proud of it, but we must move towards a transformation of our economy that involves reindustrialization through a commitment to innovation,” he added.
The housing problem
Another of the main issues has been housing, whose prices are out of control in the Islands. Prohens has asked to update the residence compensation of public employees of the General State Administration – such as police officers, civil guards, Justice or Social Security officials. “It hasn’t been updated in 18 years. It is necessary to guarantee the templates. We have discussed that the Government of Spain can build housing for these officials,” he said.
Furthermore, Prohens, who rejects applying the price limitation established by the State Housing Law because “it would only serve to contract supply”, assures that the Government proposes the transfer of public land for housing at an affordable price and that it shares with the Government. the need to promote housing at a limited price and to modify the Urban Leases Law (LAU) to “protect owners and encourage long-term rentals.”
Both governments have also reached an agreement on transport: “We demand new road and rail agreements for sustainable mobility. The president has expressed to me his willingness to start a technical commission to address both the review of the highway agreement and the liquidation of the previous agreement and, above all, to work on a new railway agreement.”
In immigration matters, Prohens has insisted to Sánchez that “the Balearic Islands cannot accept more migrant minors.” “It is not a question of solidarity, it is a question of capacity. To date, nearly 4,000 migrants have arrived so far this year. More than 400, unaccompanied minors. We have an overcrowding of 850% of the child care system in the Insular Councils. “We must address a change in Spain’s immigration policy and reestablish relations with Algeria.”
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