SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 14th March (EUROPA PRESS) –
Casimiro Curbelo, the spokesperson for the Parliamentary Group of the Socialist Group of La Gomera (ASG), expressed his disappointment on Thursday over the decisive nature of early elections in Catalonia which led the Spanish government to opt not to present a draft general budget for this year. According to Curbelo, “the Canary Islands stand to suffer the most” as a result.
Curbelo made these remarks on the final day of the ‘Debate on the State of Canarian Nationality’, where he called for unity to bolster efforts towards meeting the challenges faced by the islands.
Admitting that this decision by the government puts the Canary Islands at a “disadvantageous” position, Curbelo highlighted the uncertainty it creates in meeting the commitments outlined in the ‘Canary agenda’, as well as in other budget areas of interest to the archipelago, such as those relating to road infrastructure, the primary sector, or the combat against poverty and social exclusion.
To address this situation, he urged for the initiation of bilateral negotiations to address the demands of the islands without having to wait until 2025. He cautioned that the current financing system, which results in the Canary Islands being “underfinanced”, places them “at a significant disadvantage in achieving parity with the rest of the national territory”, a point he labelled as “another reason to be concerned about the lack of budgets for 2024”.
Emphasising the need for unity of purpose, he called for promptness and capability to forge connections with the state to enable the islands to “face the future of the Canary Islands.”
Within this context of unity, he once again advocated for a collective approach involving institutions and social stakeholders to enhance productivity, reform public administration, and drive changes in the economic model to facilitate improved wealth redistribution.
