SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 25 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Commission for the Promotion of the Popular Initiative Law of the Canary Islands Volcano Law, constituted in La Palma by victims of the 2021 eruption in Cumbre Vieja, has asked the Canary Islands Parliament to allow the continuation of the processing of this proposal, once this April 24 has registered the changes requested by the Advisory Council in its mandatory report.
Now the Board of Parliament should authorize the beginning of the collection of signatures, at least 15,000, an essential requirement for the Chamber to submit this proposal for debate and approval, with which it is intended to provide the Archipelago with legislation that guarantees the rights of affected by volcanic catastrophes.
This citizen commission, as a result of the report of the Advisory Committee -which has only objected to some aspects of the proposed articulated text because the Autonomous Community could exceed its powers- has had to suppress issues that have to do with tax matters, the creation of the Consortium of Reconstruction of the island and valuation of assets in case of expropriation.
For the promoters of this law, “the most important thing is that this legislative initiative continues” although they clarify that they will not renounce the issues now withdrawn, but will raise them with the parliamentary groups once the bill is being processed in the Parliament, so that they seek the legal reserve for such claims.
Except for those issues indicated, on April 19, the Advisory Council endorsed the articles presented by the promoting commission as being in accordance with Law 10/1986, of December 11, on the Popular Legislative Initiative.
For this promoting commission, its text is “ambitious, since it includes all the aspects that those affected by the eruption need to be able to recover their expectations for the future, and for this reason it is essential that this Volcanoes Law be approved in the Canary Islands”, both for its application to the affected population on La Palma as well as for future emergencies of this type on this island or on any other with active volcanism.
On March 30, the commission registered the initiative before the autonomous Chamber, an act in which all parliamentary groups promised to collaborate so that the law is approved and enters into force. The intention of this group of people affected by the eruption in the Aridane Valley is for this to happen this year, given its urgency for the thousands of people who still suffer the consequences of this natural disaster, 19 months after the eruption began and 16 after it was terminated.
It must be borne in mind that the need for legislation against volcanic catastrophes was expressly defended by the Common’s Deputy, Rafael Yanes, when he stated that same day that “a specific legal framework may be necessary -a law on volcanoes- to to be able to quickly protect the rights of the affected population, guarantee their socioeconomic recovery and the reconstruction of their properties according to the real value of what was lost, all while respecting environmental values”.
