President Armengol of the Balearics (left) with Spain's finance minister, Maria Jesús Montero

President Armengol with Spain's finance minister, Maria Jesús Montero. | Efe (Cati Cladera)

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterPalma24/11/2021 11:39
TW
0

On Tuesday, there was a meeting of eight regional presidents in Santiago de Compostela (Galicia). These were the presidents of Aragon, Asturias, Cantabria, Castile and León, Castile-La Mancha, Extremadura, La Rioja and Galicia. The purpose of the meeting was to adopt a common position in respect of the regional financing system. This is under review, and these eight regions want a new system to take into account depopulation. In other words, they want an improved financing arrangement to tackle this problem.

Their stance is the total opposite to that of the Balearics. The finance minister, Rosario Sánchez, argues that the new financing model should factor in overpopulation in order that there is a guarantee that regions which grow the most can provide services to all their citizens.

The Balearics argument also calls for the floating population to be taken into account. Tourists should therefore be a consideration for the financing system, as facilities and services for the resident population also apply to tourists - hospitals, water-treatment plants, roads, among others.