The President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, announced on Friday efforts to unblock the agreement for establishing the National Centre for Volcanology (CNV). Speaking in La Palma, Clavijo responded to the local Cabildo’s accusations that the Spanish Government had stalled the project’s initiation, altered the agreement’s content, and reduced the budget by 42%, from the initial €5 million to €2.9 million. He emphasised that the agreement must be formalised by the end of the year to prevent losing the allocated funds.
Clavijo revealed that the Canary Islands Government had requested a technical report on the proposal sent by the State. This report was reportedly shared with Ángel Víctor Torres, the Minister for Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory. The Canary Islands Government believes the draft agreement fails to respect prior commitments, and Clavijo noted that the project is “diluting compared to the initial model.” He asserted that the CNV should follow the framework of other scientific institutions based in the islands, such as the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands.
Despite the ongoing negotiations with various administrations, Clavijo indicated that discussions were continuing through drafts and emails. He further announced Torres’ commitment to reassess the proposal. A virtual meeting is set for next week involving representatives from the Canary Islands Government, the Cabildos of La Palma and Tenerife, as well as other ministries.
The controversy surrounding the CNV also evoked a response from the Cabildo of Tenerife, which expressed support for La Palma’s position regarding the centre. Both institutions are advocating for the project to retain its shared base in the islands and preserve its original ambition. According to La Palma’s Cabildo, the Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities has been stalling the collaboration agreement due to unilateral changes in each draft, which impact both the budget and the planned model for the centre in the Canary Islands.
