Galmés will approve the limitation of vehicles in Mallorca without Vox

PalmThe president of the Consell de Mallorca, Llorenç Galmés, has called an extraordinary plenary session next Friday to approve the law regulating vehicle flow on the island. The Popular Party plans to approve the measure without Vox, which has strongly opposed it. For now, it already has the support of MÉS per Mallorca, which has given a "welcome" to the PP for a rule that the left had proposed. The PSIB has also shown itself in favour of the initiative, although it has not guaranteed its support until the text is analysed. Once it moves forward, the text must be sent to Parliament for it to be processed and given final approval.

The regulation incorporates several novelties: on the one hand, temporary workers would be excluded from the car entry limitation, along with residents and vehicle owners who pay taxes in Mallorca. On the other hand, rental vehicles owned by individuals or legal entities residing in Mallorca are exempt. Furthermore, shipping companies will be responsible for managing authorizations and collecting fees. Galmés highlighted the visits of members of the insular institution to Ibiza, where the limitation is already in force and this year resulted in 35,000 fewer vehicles entering the island. According to the latest load study, 400,000 cars entered Mallorca last year through the port. Nevertheless, the president of the Council admitted that it will be "impossible" for the regulation to come into force this summer. In a press conference, he asked for support from "all parties": "This is a state issue and a unanimous call from all Mallorcans".

The spokesperson for MÉS per Mallorca, Lluís Apesteguia, explained at a press conference in Parliament that two years ago the ecosovereignists presented a bill in the same vein to Parliament, which the PP voted against. The spokesperson for the ecosovereignist party in the Council, Catalina Inés Perelló, "welcomed the PP to MÉS's proposals". On the other hand, the spokesperson for the PSIB, Catalina Cladera, lamented the "lost time" by the PP to promote the regulation.

For their part, the spokesperson for Vox in Parliament, Manuela Cañadas, reaffirmed her opposition to the measure. "It is unconstitutional," she said, insisting that "there is free movement of Spanish citizens throughout all communities".

Numerous exceptions

The proposed regulation by the Council establishes the control of entry and stay in Mallorca for motor vehicles through an entry quota. Therefore, anyone wishing to bring a vehicle to the island will have to pay a fee to enter, until the maximum limit of vehicles set by the Council is reached.

However, there are numerous exceptions to this rule. Residents of Mallorca and vehicle owners who pay taxes in the Balearic Islands will be exempt from the limitation. Also foreigners who have bought a house on the island, but in this case only one car for each. Rental vehicles owned by individuals or legal entities residing in Mallorca are also exempt.

Vehicles of residents in Formentera, Menorca and Eivissa who prove the need to travel to Mallorca for work or medical reasons will also be excluded from the regulation. Also vehicles owned by residents of Mallorca who are temporarily outside the island and prove the need to enter it for medical or family circumstances. Likewise, vehicles for people with reduced mobility, official cars, vehicles for the transport of goods and merchandise, tractors and excavators.