life goes our way
Casimiro Curbelo
President of the Cabildo of La Gomera and spokesperson for ASG in the Parliament of the Canary Islands
A few years ago a movie became famous in which a character was trapped in time, living the same day over and over again. Despite being a comedy, the story very well presented the desperation of a human being condemned to endure the same day every day, forever.
Bridging the gap between imagination and reality, something very similar happens to the Canary Islands. We live trapped in an infinite loop in which over and over again we are condemned to explain the same things. Because those who live on the continent are often unaware of the special conditions and limitations suffered in an outermost and fragmented territory like ours.
Few people know that the distance between El Hierro and Lanzarote, about 450 kilometers in a straight line, is almost equal to that between Madrid and Barcelona, more than that from the capital of Spain to Vigo or double that from Bilbao. The enormous difference is that in the peninsular territory, citizens can travel in their vehicles or on the large national railway network and here in the Islands we have to jump over the sea in planes or cross it in boats.
Again and again we have to explain what we are in this land that today celebrates its first forty years of freedom and autonomy. We have to reason that the special fiscal conditions of the islands are not privileges, but a way, always insufficient, to try to equalize the living conditions of European citizens who live on this land with those who live on the Continent. And once you know the reality of Spain, you realize that there are many other places that, without suffering the limitations and cost overruns that affect the Archipelago, enjoy very unique conditions.
Providing health services in a territory made up of islands is very difficult and very expensive. And it condemns some citizens to having a worse health network than that of others who live closer to large hospital infrastructures. The same happens with Education. And with Vocational Training. And, in general, with everything that refers to services and opportunities. We are condemned to explain all this over and over again, as if we were trapped in time. That is why we usually bring European politicians to these islands, as happened a few days ago in La Palma, so that they are aware of the distance and the difficulties.
Right now we face a new threat. The European Union wants to impose new taxation on aviation kerosene. In the best interpretation, it is a tax that aims to reduce the number of flights and, therefore, the pollution that air traffic undoubtedly produces. And that good end is, however, a terrible threat for a territory like ours and for any outermost region of Europe condemned to dependence on its air connectivity. Fewer flights or more expensive flights are two edges of a sword that points straight to our hearts.
It is not, as some say, about avoiding our responsibility in the fight against global warming. We have a lot to say and do in this area: increase the production of renewable energy, invest in electric vehicles... What cannot be asked of an elite athlete for the same effort as a person who suffers from a mobility limitation. It's not fair. The Canary Islands depend almost absolutely on their tourism sector. And we already saw during the pandemic how our GDP sank, when our visitors disappeared, and the effects it had on the poverty of the islands.
The Government of the Canary Islands has obtained an extension for the Canary Islands in the application of the new tax system until 2030. It is an achievement, but it is not enough. First, because eight years go by in the blink of an eye. But, also, because this exception does not cover flights from the Canary Islands with third countries. That is, tourist traffic.
Raising the price of flights by an amount that we still do not know could be devastating for the Canary Islands' ability to compete. There are tourist destinations in Spain that do not depend exclusively, like these Islands, on air connections. And there are others, outside the European Union, that will not apply these taxes to their airlines' planes but will, most likely, take the opportunity to lower their prices and attract as many customers as possible.
All this is a risk that we cannot take, because our lives depend on it.
