It is known by all your lordships that the specificities and singularities that concur in the territory of the Canary Islands, in the eight Canary Islands, are based, on the one hand, on the assumption, by the public authorities as guiding principles of their policy, of solidarity, enshrined in article 138 of the Constitution, and in the wording of the third additional provision, ensuring effective particular attention to the specific circumstances of ultraperipherality and insularity and double insularity, also recognized in the last modification operated in 2008 in our statute of autonomy.
And, on the other hand, in the concession, from the point of view of European law, of a regime —known to all— special in the European Union, which implies an exception, so that the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands is the only Spanish region whose structural, social and economic characteristics have been included in the primary law of the European Union, precisely differentiating them from the rest of the autonomous communities that make up the Spanish State, being the only region that has the qualification of outermost and, in addition, an Economic and Fiscal Regime in force since historical times in the archipelago. This, as is well known, is recognized in the Constitution itself, to which must be added, as I explained, that, within the primary European law, we have in the Canary Islands a special integration regime that is included in provisions such as articles 107.3, section A, 349 and 355.1 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
The above is included in the Senate's Journal of Sessions of March 1, 2023, when I had the honor of defending the motion by which the Government of Spain was urged to analyze the possibility of declaring Public Service Obligation (PSO) on the air lines connecting the Canary Islands with the rest of the State. In addition, I added that, of these circumstances and factors that are listed in article 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, we believe that the one that has the greatest impact on the greater structural weakness of the Canary Islands, due to its condition as a fragmented and remote island territory, affecting its economic and social development, is probably connectivity, both inter-island and with the rest of the world, very particularly with the rest of our Spanish territory.
I then stated that, in April 2020, the National Commission of Markets and Competition prepared a report in which it gave a series of recommendations in view of the certain fact that there had been an increase in prices of flights between the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands and the peninsular territory, from, precisely, the moment in which there was an increase in the resident discount to 75 percent, so that, as we are told in the report, this increase in the average price of tickets could have an effect, and is having it, discouraging demand among non-resident citizens, with the obvious impact on national tourism to the detriment of the economy of these islands.
Guaranteeing tourist and citizen accessibility
What was the motion about? It is about making decisions on connectivity and transport, not leaving it to chance that in certain circumstances the economistic conveniences of the airlines undermine the effective connection between territories of the same country, since the lack of accessibility is the most generating and most important element of economic, social and territorial segregation.
What for? First, to guarantee tourist accessibility, but also to guarantee that of citizens living in the Canary Islands with the rest of the national territory, which is an essential condition for us, for the eight Canary Islands, for our economic and social development.
Preventing what? Abusive prices or the unjustified increase of these that, de facto, generates a perverse effect precisely on transport bonuses, and this, apart from the precepts that I have already mentioned, under the protection, in this case, of Regulation 1008/2008, of the European Parliament and of the Council on common rules for the operation of air services in the Union.
Possibility of establishing maximum reference prices
I clarified that it is here where the Public Service Obligation in transport and, consequently, the possibility of establishing maximum reference prices, as well as guaranteeing a provision of regular services in terms of continuity, regularity and minimum capacity, is conceived and revealed as one of the tools, I would say, most powerful to be used by the State in order to achieve the effective cohesion of territories not properly connected to the transport network.
I also explained that I believe that we are at the ideal time because there are two circumstances. The first, that the Canary Islands held the presidency of the Conference of Presidents of the ORs as of the date, and will hold it until November, the month in which it will hand over the baton; and the second, that the Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union was approaching in the second semester of this year 2023. Hence, the Socialist Party, the senators of the Canary Islands, and the Socialist Group in this Senate, felt that it was the time to present the motion that I went on to read literally:
"The Committee on Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda urges the Government to, prior to the relevant consultations, analyze the possibility of carrying out a pilot experience of declaration of public service obligations, both from the point of view of compatibility with the Community regulatory framework and of the effect of said obligations on the market and on users in the air connection of the Canary Islands with the rest of the national territory that best allows to analyze its effects on ticket prices and on the connectivity of residents and visitors of the islands and thus allows to draw valid conclusions for possible subsequent actions."
Such obligations would aim to continue guaranteeing connectivity in adequate terms of continuity, regularity, price and minimum capacity. This is the motion that we humbly submitted to the rest of the political forces represented in this Senate. It was approved.
Therefore, I can only ask the president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Oswaldo Betancort, of the Canarian Coalition, and the Popular Party in the Canary Islands, to get off the ship of unfounded alarmism and be more rigorous in their approaches.
