Santa Cruz de Tenerife 17 Feb. (Europa Press) –
The Deputy Director of European Funds Management of the Canary Islands Government, Pilar Almeida, stated on Monday that the purchasing agreement with the RR7 company for one million masks that were not received did not involve the utilisation of European funds.
During her appearance before the Investigation Commission of the Parliament of the Canary Islands, she indicated that “there is no expenditure” of European funds related to that agreement nor is there a corresponding statement from the Canary Health Service (SCS).
“We did not receive any expenditure statement from the SCS; we are unaware of this, it lacks a file, and it was not included in the SCS expenditure statements,” she remarked.
Almeida failed to clarify the reason behind the ongoing investigation by the European Prosecutor’s Office of the EU.
“It is standard procedure, as indicated from minute one, but that does not imply that all subsidies are encompassed,” she stated, while noting that the European Prosecutor’s Office has not requested “anything” from her department.
Almeida acknowledged that in the initial stages of the pandemic, there were challenges regarding shortages and difficulties in procuring materials from suppliers.
Both CC and PP expressed their bewilderment at this “great mystery” and the ensuing confusion, considering there are resolutions signed by the General Director of Economic Resources of the SCS, Ana María Pérez, linking that agreement with community resources.
She explained that to engage with European funds—whether FEDER, European Social Funds, or React-EU—programmes are established with goals such as developing the productive fabric, supporting local corporation expenses, or improving sanitary infrastructure.
She further added that during the pandemic, “emergency contracts funded by European resources were included” for the first time, which amounted to nearly 37 million euros, while ordinarily, contracts were certified across various axes for a total of 270 million.
Almeida conceded that if it were ultimately proven that the RR7 agreement was financed with European funds, the Autonomous Community would be required to reimburse the sum to the European Commission.
She also mentioned that contracts for management solutions, a company associated with the ‘Koldo Case’, are financed through European funds for 10.9 million, although these have been “discarded” with the withdrawal of preventive funding once judicial proceedings were initiated.
In any case, she noted that the contract was fulfilled from an administrative standpoint, with masks delivered and payment made upon receipt, while those that were not approved by the prevention services were not compensated.
