SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, December 1 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Minister of Finance and Foreign Action of the Government of the Canary Islands, Matilde Asián, has ruled out that there will be an enlargement of European Union (EU) countries in the short term but has recognized that the demands of other special geographic areas such as islands, sparsely populated territories or mountainous areas.
In response to a question from the Joint Group in the parliamentary committee, he acknowledged that work is being done on the incorporation of several Eastern countries, something noted in the last ‘Granada Declaration’ and already included in the approval of the 2023 package that affects up to a dozen countries, including Ukraine.
He pointed out that the incorporation will not be “immediate”, giving as an example that Turkey, which is a “strategic partner” of the EU but has negotiations “stalled” and in that sense, has said that the cohesion funds until 2027 are “fully guaranteed.” “We don’t have any kind of problem there,” she added.
Asián has pointed out that in mid-December there will be a meeting of the Council of State to begin evaluating the “post-2027” scenario, and along these lines she has been in favor of continuing to maintain the strategy of the ORs to achieve “differentiated and special treatment ” in the allocation of funds.
However, he has recognized that “it is increasingly difficult” to assert before the European Commission the different characteristics of the ORs and hopes that the Canary Islands will not be included in the group of special geographical areas.
The spokesman for the Joint Group, Raúl Acosta (AHI), has commented that the enlargement of the EU will “accelerate”, especially in the case of Ukraine, which will affect the distribution of cohesion funds, hence he hopes that progress be made in the negotiation so that there are guaranteed resources from 2027 given that if it is compared to the new Canary countries it will “look bad in the photo.”
