SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, September 21 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Popular Group MEP Gabriel Mato predicted this Thursday a “very rosy future” for the Canary Islands if the set of European funds to which it has access is used “effectively” and “swiftly.”
In a video intervention during the last session of the ‘Conecta Conference. Canarias-Europa’ organized by the Parliament of the Canary Islands has pointed out that there is a “large amount of money” available to invest such as the 1,789 million committed to the Posei until 2027, almost 2,000 million from the Feder program or almost 1,500 million from the Next Generation.
Along these lines, he has pointed out that if the deployment of these resources is successful, it could “help solve” the water problems of the islands or lay “the first stone” to ensure energy self-sufficiency, which will be a “relief to the pockets” of companies and citizens.
He has raised the same in the case of the primary sector, where the “competitiveness” of farmers, more food sovereignty and that there are “affordable” consumer prices must be guaranteed and cases such as that of the potato, which is seen “astronomical prices.”
Mato has pointed out that the EU has a “very profound impact” on the lives of citizens and in the specific case of the Canary Islands, its status as an outermost region (ORP) “gives opportunities” that we must know how to “take advantage of” to compete on equal terms. conditions.
Thus, he has pointed out that European funds must also serve to diversify the economy without ‘demonizing’ tourism — “it is not bad” — and in that sense, he sees a “huge potential” for the development of renewable energies.
Here he pointed out that we must take advantage of the time that has been given to the islands to adapt thanks to the ‘moratoriums’ achieved in ’emissions trading’ and that they have been exempt from the use of bifuels for aviation.
Furthermore, he commented that cohesion is not only the investment of economic resources but also “seeking common answers to common problems” such as irregular immigration, with “massive arrivals in a few days” especially in Lampedusa and the Canary Islands.
“There are European funds but it gives the impression that the Canary Islands must face it alone,” he noted, stressing that irregular immigration “is a European problem” and can only be resolved through a “cohesive response” and criticizing that the Spanish Government has changed his attitude on Western Sahara “and has not explained it.”
