The Coalición Canaria candidate for the European Parliament, Carlos Alonso, has presented to the local committees of the metropolitan area of Tenerife the main proposals the nationalist party will bring in its election manifesto.
During the event, Alonso was joined by the National General Secretary of Coalición Canaria, Fernando Clavijo; the Insular General Secretary of CC Tenerife, Francisco Linares; the Organizational Secretary of CC Tenerife, Rosa Dávila; CC Deputy in the Congress of Deputies, Cristina Valido; the General Secretary of CC La Laguna, Fran Hernández, and the Mayor of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, José Manuel Bermúdez.
The Meeting Room of the Ferial Recinto in Santa Cruz de Tenerife was too small to accommodate the candidate and the main leaders of Coalición Canaria on the island. Alonso explained the main measures the nationalist party intends to fight for in the new European Parliament arising from the upcoming elections on 9th June. In this sense, Carlos Alonso emphasized that “we are touring town by town, island by island, so that the Canarian accent reaches Brussels”.
Alonso reiterated one of the main measures he will take to Europe and wants to achieve “is a Residence Law so that people can have a place to live”.
The candidate for the European elections recalled that “just as we achieved the Banana OCM and the Permanent Statute, we will achieve a Residence Law to mitigate the impact of population growth on the islands”.
To achieve this, he pointed out that the population in the islands has grown by more than 570,000 people in the last quarter-century, hence the need to establish measures to limit the impact of population growth “with an increase in taxation —non-retroactive— on new residents”, or with fiscal burdens on the “acquisition of second homes by non-residents”. To achieve this goal, Alonso trusts that “EU law considers the singularities of the Canary Islands“.
Additionally, the candidate for the European elections referred to the need to diversify the economy as a way to boost our economic growth, “by betting on talent, innovation, the blue economy, the audiovisual industry, and the aerospace sector”. For Carlos Alonso, “Canarias has the opportunity to turn remoteness into a growth and competitiveness opportunity”, also promoting the growth of its nearby environment.
Alonso also wanted to highlight the historical efforts made by Coalición Canaria to compensate for our remoteness, citing the primary sector as an example. In this line, he stated that Canarias faces new challenges, referring to climate change, “which is why we must defend specific measures to protect the transition of traditional sectors such as agriculture or fishing, or address realities such as water or energy crises”.
Carlos Alonso assures that we must ensure that the island’s population “can live here, without destroying anything, and have a future” / LP / DLP
He also stated that “we will ask for an increase in the allocation of the POSEI“, to support the productive sectors, offsetting the cost increases recorded since 2006, with better coordination of REA aid to achieve greater self-sufficiency. In the fisheries section, “we will request aid for the improvement of marketing”, also increasing the capacity of our fishing fleet, participating in fishing agreements and removing quota limitations for our artisanal fishermen.
Another issue part of the pillars supporting Coalición Canaria’s electoral manifesto is the section dedicated to irregular migration. To address this reality in the islands, Carlos Alonso has highlighted the need to demand “an adapted application of the European Migration and Asylum Pact” with sufficient funds to cover humanitarian and material needs along the Atlantic route.
He also mentioned the proposal to hold an International Conference “to address the root causes of migration problems, from the origin”. Likewise, he believes that Canarias should become “a platform for training and professional development for countries in our region”, generating more development opportunities on-site on the West African coast.
Coalición Canaria’s candidate for the European Elections expressed gratitude for the party’s significant commitment to these elections, choosing the island council presidents of Lanzarote as the lead candidates., La Palma and FuerteventuraOswaldo BetancortSergio RodríguezLola García, respectively. Carlos Alonso has conveyed that with his candidacy, “they have a defender of what each island and each municipality wants and needs.”
On the other hand, the general secretary of Coalición Canaria and President of the Government, Fernando Clavijo, highlighted that “there are 22 days left until June 9, and we have a lot at stake. Years ago, we were lucky to have Isidoro Sánchez in the EU and we achieved many things. Now, in this Europe of 27, in a complicated context, the only one who will speak about the needs of the Canary Islands in the EU will be Carlos Alonso.”
Furthermore, Clavijo stated that “no one from the PSOE or the PP has been concerned about the matters of the Canary Islands. That is why we need a man who knows the European institutions from the inside, and that is Carlos Alonso, because if someone knows the problems of the 8 islands, it is him.”
The General Secretary of CC in Tenerife and Mayor of La Orotava, Francisco Linares, recalled that “they all gave us up for dead, but they don’t kill us because we carry the eight stars in our hearts. We will achieve our objectives if we hit the streets and we are all united.”
“We have to mobilise for Carlos Alonso, who is giving his all for the Canary Islands at 100%. We have to go door-to-door, because while others use artificial intelligence, we are moved by the heart, talking to people,” highlighted the leader of the nationalists from Tenerife.
According to Rosa Dávila, Secretary of Organisation of CC in Tenerife and President of the Council, stressed that “we have secured funding for trains in Tenerife and in less than a year we managed to reduce the unemployment rate. We need Carlos Alonso in Europe to make it known that Tenerife needs to set limits on population growth.’
Everyone highlighted the preparation and dedication of Carlos Alonso, like CC Deputy in Congress, Cristina Valido, who stated that Carlos Alonso “is not afraid of anything. None of the other candidates running know Brussels like Carlos does. He is the only one who knows how to work in a team, lend a hand, work tirelessly and who is committed to the most complex causes.”
According to Fran Hernández, General Secretary of CC in La Laguna and nationalist spokesperson in the City Council, it is a priority “for us to mobilise and support our candidate for the European Parliament, because Carlos Alonso deserves it, as he is a person who has given everything for our political formation.” “We are going to give our all for Carlos Alonso and for the European elections,” Hernández advanced.
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The Mayor of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, José Manuel Bermúdez, who was the first to speak and thank for the “great event” held this afternoon in the Fairground, stressed that in Europe, “fundamental aspects for the Canary Islands are being addressed, such as the migration crisis, aid for the primary sector, and one essential aspect, which is the population growth, and the only one making proposals is Carlos Alonso.”
