Redaccion
Fernando Clavijo elevates the proposals of the archipelago in the areas of housing, connectivity, primary sector, energy transition, tourism, and migration to the Vice President for Cohesion and Reforms.
The President asks Fitto to build the new normative and financial framework for the outermost regions «respecting the previous one» and incorporating specific aids to face the new challenges of the EU.
Canarias has sent a document to Brussels with its specific demands, area by area, for the renewal of the RUP Strategy. President Fernando Clavijo thus fulfills the commitment made with the Vice President for Cohesion and Reforms of the European Commission, Raffaele Fitto, who on April 8th invited Canarias to actively participate in the review of the policies that the EU applies to mitigate the remoteness and insularity of the nine outermost regions.
During the meeting held in Reunion, Fitto announced to Clavijo his intention to carry out a profound update of the RUP status based on five fundamental pillars: defense, water, energy, economic competitiveness, and housing. The Vice President of the European Commission then guaranteed his willingness to «join forces and work together for the future of the outermost regions,» a predisposition to dialogue that the head of the regional government appreciates in the letter accompanying Canarias’ proposals for this review of the RUP strategy.
«We welcome your personal commitment to the ambitious update of the European Commission’s Strategy for our regions in a historical context of significant threats, new priorities, and strategic goal-setting,» Fernando Clavijo conveys to Raffaele Fitto. In his letter, he thanks the European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms for his «spirit of collaboration» and the «opportunity» granted to Canarias «to share our proposals and contributions to serve as a basis, among others, for the preparatory work on the development of the renewed strategy.»
Clavijo hopes that this new RUP strategy from Brussels «is built on the previous one» and recovers elements that he considers «essential» such as the Outermost Regions Forum and the European Neighbourhood Policy approach. In his opinion, the reform of the financial and legislative framework of the EU with the RUP «cannot be a new starting point that changes the successful cooperation instruments. «New priorities cannot be pursued at the expense of traditional policies,» indicates the head of the Canarian Government.
To directly convey this position, Fernando Clavijo also asks Raffaele Fitto for a new meeting before the high-level institutional meeting that Ursula Von der Leyen’s team member intends to organize in Brussels at the end of September. «I reiterate our absolute willingness to work in a coordinated manner over the next few months,» indicates the president with the aim of maintaining a direct line with the European Commission in the design of the new RUP strategy.
Taxation and Housing
The document with Canarias’ demands for the review of the RUP status in the EU has been prepared after the consultation raised by the president to all departments of the regional government to collect proposals area by area. As a result of this internal work, the text sent to the Vice President of the European Commission contains specific requests in the areas of housing, connectivity, primary sector, energy transition, tourism, and migration, among many other policies.
As a starting point, the Canarian Executive demands that the new RUP strategy maintains and updates the specific aids to the RUP based on the cohesion policy as a basic element of the EU. «The outermost regions need constant support manifested through additional allocations provided for in the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF) to compensate for the outermost region. Their maintenance and financial updating are fundamental,» indicates the proposal submitted to Fitto.
Canarias requests that the Commission reintroduce in the future period the automatic eligibility criterion of the RUP for all cohesion policy funds as the most disadvantaged regions, regardless of their income level, in accordance with Article 349 of the European Treaty which establishes the possibility of adopting specific measures to set the conditions for accessing the Funds.
In terms of taxation, the regional government advocates for maintaining the exceptions for the RUP currently recognized, exceptions that allow the archipelago to have Brussels’ approval for State aid provided for in its Economic and Fiscal Regime (REF).
Another highlighted issue in the demands raised to the EU is housing. The European Vice President for Cohesion and Reforms has included it among his priorities for the new RUP strategy, and President Fernando Clavijo wants to seize this «window of opportunity» for Brussels to allow the modulation of the purchase of housing by foreigners in the archipelago.
In this sense, he reminds Fitto that they suffer from a structural housing emergency, «aggravated by specific factors that accumulate in the outermost region,» justifying «specific treatment in the future Affordable Housing European Plan, with differentiated financial and regulatory measures and tools.» For Canarias, Article 349 of the European Treaty «justifies and allows the adoption of emergency measures, proposing specific and proportionate exceptions, perhaps temporary and spatially limited, regarding access to housing.»
Also, the Canarian Government asks Brussels to use the RUP as a «field of experimentation to test pilot actions» for future strategies of «poverty alleviation» and «affordable housing.» It proposes measures such as «the establishment of an extraordinary fund that can finance public promotion, land acquisition, affordable rentals, and housing rehabilitation, taking into account structural cost overruns.» It also suggests «testing measures against speculation in tourist areas, including limitations on purchases by non-residents.»
Prioritized Sectors
The defense of the primary sector also plays a prioritized role in the RUP strategy that Canarias proposes to the European Vice President for Cohesion and Reforms. The regional government demands the maintenance and updating of the Specific Options for Remote and Insular Regions (POSEI) Program to «guarantee food sovereignty for the population and to ensure the protection of the landscape and nature.»
«For the POSEI to remain an effective tool, a regular increase in the budget must be ensured, with an annual revaluation to ensure the increase in needs and the effects of inflation,» indicates the document submitted to Fitto.
Canarias also demands a review of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) considering it has been ineffective in promoting the assessment of marine resources in the outermost regions. «The special structural situation of the RUP deserves a differentiated treatment in the allocation of European resources,» it requests, considering the establishment of a POSEI for fisheries and aquaculture necessary.
Connectivity is another prioritized issue for the islands in the new RUP strategy. A review of the application of emission taxes in air and maritime transport from the outermost regions is demanded, taking into account the «harmful collateral effects» they cause in the archipelago.
The document submitted to Fitto also requires that railway projects in the archipelago receive funding through the Connecting Europe Mechanism, as it is considered a «strategic bet for sustainable mobility» that will contribute to decarbonization, reducing urban congestion, and achieving the objectives of the European Green Deal.
In terms of energy transition, the demands raised to the EU advocate for taking advantage of the update of the EU strategy for the RUP to incorporate the structural specificities and differential needs of the outermost regions within the framework of the European Green Deal and the climate and energy transition. It proposes a specific regulatory framework for energy storage in the islands or an adapted price signal to the reality of the insular electrical system. It also requests the recognition of geothermal energy as a priority technology for non-interconnected islands and contemplates a differentiated treatment in eligibility, remuneration, deadlines, and financial support.
The submitted text to the European Commission also requests that the new RUP strategy integrate the approach of «regenerative tourism,» promoting «initiatives that allow tourism to actively contribute to the restoration of natural and cultural ecosystems.» Canarias also advocates for the EU to support the diversification of the tourist offer «promoting high added value products» linked to local culture, nature, science, and lifestyle.
Migration and Great Neighbourhood
As the southern border of Europe, Canarias also demands from Brussels the «recognition and strengthening of the role of the RUP» in managing migratory flows, thus requiring «the provision of specific, adequate funds and adaptively applied in the RUP, flexibilizing common rules and establishing more realistic indicators.»
Clavijo asks Brussels to regionalize the funds provided in the European Pact on Asylum and Migration that will start to be applied next year. «The differentiated recognition of the outermost regions in access to the AMIF is essential, resulting in its regionalization,» indicates the document submitted to the European Commission.
Likewise, the Canarian Government once again asks the EU for a strengthening of cooperation policies with the African countries of origin and transit of the deadly Atlantic migratory route, a strategy that must be added to «the deployment of Frontex and the support of the European Asylum Agency on the northwestern African coast to address border control and surveillance issues.»
Canarias’ demands for the review of the RUP status also include specific treatment by Brussels for unaccompanied migrant minors, a claim that President Clavijo has also reiterated in all meetings held over the past year and a half with EU representatives.
Finally, the document sent to Fitto requests a Great Neighbourhood strategy that takes advantage of the presence of the nine European outermost regions in the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean, the Atlantic, and South America. «The notion of the outermost European border is necessary to address the challenges, issues, and opportunities posed by the presence of these European territories in each of the respective spaces,» indicates.
Canarias also defends the continuity of the INTERREG programs as the main financial instrument for the regional integration of the RUP in their nearby environment.
