Government backs travel discounts for immigrants

THE extending of the resident discounts for air and sea transport to non European Union immigrants is the objective of a proposal presented by the Partido Popular (PP) to the Balearic parliament. Its approval could benefit between 60'000 and 70'000 residents. The discounts are for air and sea travel between the islands and between the islands and the Peninsula. Yesterday, Carme Feliu, PP deputy, said that this proposal will bring to an end the campaign started in November by the Balearic Minister of Immigration, Encarna Pastor, who echoed the demands made by the associations for foreign residents and passed on the need for this reform to the central Government's delegate, Ramon Socias. Feliu explained that the PP was demanding this measure because it is a question of “social justice” and to rectify a “serious discrimination” in defence of “equal opportunities” because only non-EU foreign residents were excluded from these discounts. The Balearic Moroccan immigrants organisation, “Al Maghreb”, yesterday celebrated the PP's proposal to press the national Government to make modifications to the law so that nonEU foreign residents can benefit from these discounts. However, the secretary of “Al Maghreb”, Mustafa Boulharrak, said that it was a shame that the PP's proposal made no reference to the reserving of part of the Balearic Government's budget to subsidise these discounts while the law is being changed.