SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, July 6. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Housing of the Government of the Canary Islands has closed today Wednesday with the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda the transfer of a first amount of 5,044,282 euros of European funds to the Autonomous Community to put into practice the digitization of companies dedicated to providing passenger and merchandise transport services on the islands.
These funds, which are included in the EU’s Next Generation Recovery and Resilience mechanism, will be used to support small and medium-sized companies, as well as the self-employed, in the freight and passenger transport sector.
During the National Transport Conference held this morning between the Ministry and the autonomous communities, it was agreed to distribute these funds with which to promote digitization in those companies that, due to their size or habitual activity, do not have sufficient means to give the leap in their modernization.
Once the funds are received, the General Directorate of Regional Transport will publish a call for free participation so that interested companies and freelancers request aid from the Government of the Canary Islands. Depending on the type of action, the number of employees and the number of vehicles, SMEs and the self-employed may be eligible for aid ranging from 600 to 12,000 euros.
These grants will be used so that SMEs and the self-employed can digitize, among other services, the management of electronic control documents, the implementation of smart tachographs, the implementation of SAE (Operation Assistance System) systems or the implementation of applications for claims by electronic means.
This digitization aid program is scheduled to last until June 2024, so there will be new contributions of European funds for SMEs and the self-employed in the Archipelago.
On the other hand, this National Conference also explained the scope of the aid measures approved in Royal Decree Law 11/2022 to deal with the economic consequences of the war in Ukraine. The Ministry proposes a 30% reduction in transport subscriptions for regular road passenger transport operators, for which a global item for all of Spain of 200 million is established, which will be distributed among the entities managing these services.
In the case of the Canary Islands, it is the local and supra-municipal entities (councils, municipalities and associations) that manage public passenger transport by road in the archipelago, without the Ministry having yet set the criteria for the distribution of funds.
