SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Sep 2 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Canary Islands Governing Council approved this Thursday the spending ceiling for the 2022 regional budgets for a total of 8,919 million in non-financial spending, 5% more than the initial budget for this year.
This has been advanced at a press conference by the Vice President and Minister of Finance, Román Rodríguez, who has commented that it is almost 446 million more income that the Government plans to collect and despite the “uncertainty” of the evolution of the pandemic and inflation, which “can distort” public accounts.
In the most “pessimistic” projection, Rodríguez pointed out, the Canarian economy will grow next year above 11% and the sources of financing for the Executive will be, among others, regional financing, amounting to 5,422 million – 2% less -, more than 1,500 million in tax revenues, 572 million in European funds and more than 200 million that are going to be fought in the General State Budgets based on the judicial decisions of the highway agreement.
He has also pointed out that this will be the third budget followed without fiscal rules to be able to adapt to the economic “catastrophe” of the pandemic, although the Government does not renounce financial sustainability, because “after the pandemic life continues” and the provision of services must be guaranteed.
However, he clarified that in 2022 there will be “no Covid fund”, which allowed 586 million to reach the Canary Islands from the State in 2020 and another 626 million in 2021.
However, Rodríguez has commented that the next regional accounts will serve to continue propping up the economic recovery, job creation and public services, and especially stressed that investments “are going to grow” thanks to European funds.
The vice president has also valued that the relationship with the State is “positive” in economic and budgetary aspects, giving as an example that for the first time in the PGE of 2021 all the REF programs and state investment were above the average, apart from direct aid, with a total of 1,144 million – 16% when the Canarian population does not reach 5% -.
