Finance

Clash over 2021 investment in the Balearics

State investment below national average

Aina Calvo, the Spanish government's delegate in the Balearics. | Delegación del Gobierno

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma30/10/2020 12:29

State investment for the Balearics in 2021 has caused friction between the Balearic government and the Spanish government's delegate in the Balearics, Aina Calvo. The Balearic finance minister, Rosario Sánchez, Calvo's predecessor, has described treatment of the islands as "unfair", and on Thursday she said that the Spanish government was in breach of the REB special economic regime for the Balearics. "The REB is not being fulfilled, and it will be necessary to see how it is improved."

Calvo responded by saying that the Spanish government was "not breaking any law". "Expectations may be being violated, but not laws." She added that the Spanish government is aware of the REB demand, but that "it is a long-term project".

Sánchez explained that direct investment will amount to 201 million euros, to which will be added 133 million euros of European funds. Even with this additional amount, she said, the Balearics will again be below the national average, with an investment of 291 euros per inhabitant. The Spanish average is 348 euros.

The global investment, Sánchez stressed, is insufficient. "It is an error to persist in not making state investment in the Balearics." She welcomed European funds through agreements on housing, railways and tourism but insisted that the Balearics should be receiving more money in order to "improve the situation in the Balearics and promote recovery, as we have been the region most harmed".

Calvo acknowledged that direct investment will be 201 million euros, but she also referred to 507.9 million euros of other direct and indirect investment. This latter amount, she stated, will be added to the 2,887 million euros through the regional financing system, giving an increased total spending of 3,394 million.