The president of the Nationalist Parliamentary Group (CCa), David Toledo Niz, has spoken in Parliament to ask President Clavijo about the roadmap set before the State and before Europe to ensure that the Canary Islands have a Residency Law.
Toledo pointed out that “the Canary Islands cannot continue at this rate of growth”, and pointed out that “it is unacceptable that we are feeling somewhat uncomfortable in the land in which we live, that there is no decent housing at reasonable prices and that the rate of population growth in Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria and Tenerife is unsustainable in certain areas, so it must be controlled”.
In this sense, the president of the nationalist group stated that he was aware of the difficulties before Europe in establishing these limits, while giving as an example that “within its borders there are exceptions such as Malta, the Alland Islands, Denmark or Amsterdam”. “All have control mechanisms, some with incentives or tax levies, others with temporary limitations to buy a home or to keep it empty,” added David Toledo.
Toledo clarified that it is time to make a revision of the existing framework, and pointed out that “our OR condition should allow us to move forward so that the State and Europe understand the reasons for modulating the legislation and that it responds to the general interest of protecting the territory and the people who live here”.
In this line, the president of the Canarian Coalition Group encouraged President Clavijo to continue exploring the promotion of this Law, “despite the difficulties that may be encountered along the way”. And he gave as an example the capacity of the President of the Canary Islands to overcome adversities in issues of great importance for the islands such as the 75% resident discount; the free Guaguas and trams; the 60% IRPF discount for La Palma, or the modification of article 35 of the Immigration Law.
For his part, the President of the Government of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, pointed out that “we have embarked on this path because we cannot continue with this rate of growth”. Clavijo recalled the usefulness of the conclusions of the demographic challenge commission held in Parliament, and pointed out that this is one of the issues that the strategic prospecting office will address.
He also explained that the Government has commissioned the legal analysis of the proposal to a law firm to study the viability of the initiative, to which he added that there are already precedents both in the local Spanish sphere and in some places in the European Union. “There are precedents, there are legal reports, there is political will, now it is time for unity and a lot of work,” concluded Fernando Clavijo.
