Parliament will debate on Tuesday the ban on non-residents buying homes

PalmThe Balearic Parliament will debate next Tuesday the consideration of a landmark proposal from MÉS per Mallorca: a law to prohibit non-residents from buying homes in the Balearic Islands. The party's spokesperson, Lluís Apesteguia, defended the proposal at a press conference. "We must prioritize homes for living, for those who want to build their lives there, and not for those who want to speculate," he said. The eco-sovereignists are not giving up on this measure, although it is difficult to implement. Firstly, because housing is a matter for the central government. Secondly, because this prohibition clashes with European regulations, as they currently stand. explain the ARA Baleares.

However, Apesteguia asserted that his proposal is within the bounds of legality and meets the requirements of the European Union (EU), based on jurisprudence that has previously permitted this type of extraordinary limitation. In any case, if approved, the bill would then need to be submitted to the Congress of Deputies for ratification. The deputy insisted that the proposal focuses on residents and does not discriminate based on ethnicity or origin, nor on the intended use of the property purchased. Apesteguia stated that there are currently more than 100,000 vacant homes and 120,000 second homes across the Canary Islands, representing 50% of the total. In this regard, he argued that his bill is groundbreaking, as it is "the first of its kind in Spain," and the Canary Islands and Catalonia have already expressed interest. "We want to know what the other groups think, whether they believe that the homes should be allocated to investment funds, or whether they are brave and capable of saying that the homes in the Balearic Islands should be prioritized for the people who live in the Islands," he said.

"It cannot be fulfilled"

The PP spokesperson, Sebastià Sagreras, has already announced that his group will vote against the proposal, because the pro-independence parties know that their proposal "cannot be implemented," as they only envision this possibility for the outermost regions. Meanwhile, the deputy spokesperson for the Socialist parliamentary group, Marc Pons, distinguished between his party's "willingness" to implement such measures and the "real possibilities" of doing so. "Europe imposes limitations on us, and we must take that into account," he stated. For her part, the Vox spokesperson, Manuela Cañadas, considered the proposal "demagogic" and an attempt to resolve the problems "caused" by the left. The plenary session next Tuesday will also include a debate on a bill proposed by Unides Podem that calls for an increase in the property transfer tax for large landowners.