The president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Oswaldo Betancort, appeared this Thursday in the Plenary Session of the Corporation to report on the situation of the file relating to the Integrated Action Plan (Plan EDIL) of Lanzarote and La Graciosa, submitted to the call for FEDER 2021–2027 funds, at the request of the Socialist Group.
During his speech, Betancort detailed the administrative process of the file, emphasizing that the Cabildo applied for the call on February 27, 2025, after the approval of the island's Urban Agenda, an essential requirement to be eligible for these European funds.
The president recalled that, following the requests for correction made in March 2025 by the Directorate-General for European Funds, these were addressed "in due time and form" by the institution's technical services. However, on October 1, 2025, the Ministry of Finance issued a provisional resolution of inadmissibility of the proposal, a decision against which the Cabildo filed allegations on October 16.
Betancort explained that the inadmission was based on an alleged breach of the beneficiary typology, an interpretation that the Cabildo considers "not in accordance with the law nor sufficiently motivated." In this regard, he defended that the island institution complies with the requirements established in the regulations, as it is a recognized supramunicipal local entity and, furthermore, covered by the regime of large cities.
The allegations were dismissed on December 22, 2025, and the final resolution, notified on January 27, 2026, confirmed the inadmissibility, closing the ordinary administrative route. Faced with this situation, the Cabildo requested a report from its Legal Counsel, which recommended filing a prior request to the Ministry before resorting to judicial action.
Following this criterion, the Corporation filed said request on March 27, 2026, with the aim of having the resolution reviewed and the candidacy admitted or the proceedings reverted for a new assessment. To date, no express response has been received from the Ministry.
Contentious-administrative appeal
Oswaldo Betancort stressed that the Cabildo "has acted at all times within legal deadlines, following technical and legal criteria", and confirmed that work is already underway in the preparation of an administrative-judicial appeal.
The president explained that “we wanted to exhaust the administrative route by first filing, last March 27, the prior requirement to the Directorate General of European Funds of the Ministry of Finance. After a month without receiving a response, we have another month to file the contentious-administrative appeal.” “We are on time and the Cabildo will exhaust all avenues until the end in defense of access to EDIL funds,” Betancort stressed.
In response to the criticisms of the Socialist Group, Betancort rejected that there had been inaction on the part of the Cabildo and defended that “action has been taken with diligence in all phases of the procedure: presentation, correction, allegations, and activation of the administrative and judicial route”.
The president also asked for rigor when addressing the amount of funds, recalling that it is a competitive call at the state level, and not previously granted funding. Finally Betancort pointed out that "this Governing group will continue to defend the interests of Lanzarote and La Graciosa until the end", emphasizing that European funds must be managed as a strategic priority "with seriousness and without political confrontation".
