The Island Commission approves airport co-management in the Balearic Islands with the abstention of PP and PSOE
The Joint Commission on Insularity of Congress and the Senate gives the green light to a motion to move towards the co-governance of the airports of the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands, with the support of MÉS and the PNB and the abstention of the PP and the PSOE
PalmaThe Mixed Commission on Insularity of the Congress and the Senate approved this Tuesday a motion in favor of airport co-management for the Balearic and Canary Islands, an initiative defended by the deputy of MÉS per Mallorca, Vicenç Vidal, which went ahead with the favorable votes of MÉS and the PNB, the abstention of the PP and the PSOE, and the rejection of Vox.
The proposal, initially promoted by representatives from Ibiza and Formentera in the Senate and by a regionalist senator from La Gomera, called for advancing towards a model of airport co-governance that allows for effective participation of regional governments and island institutions in strategic decision-making regarding airports of general interest.
The approved text proposes that the autonomous communities and island councils can intervene in matters such as airport planning, connectivity, air routes, and fees set by Aena. It also calls for establishing consultation mechanisms for decisions that directly affect the mobility and economy of island territories.
After the vote, Vidal heavily criticized the PSOE and the PP for their abstention. The eco-sovereignist deputy called both parties "cowards" and "sold out to the discourse of the president of Aena," Maurici Lucena. In the case of the socialists, the group justified their position by arguing that the proposal is "unconstitutional," while the popular party opted not to vote against it despite publicly defending airport co-management in the Balearic Parliament.
For Vidal, this contradiction evidences "a pathetic double political discourse depending on the institutional sphere." The MÉS deputy lamented that "airport centralism remains intact despite the consensus of civil society in the Balearic Islands" and defended that the initiative is "necessary to guarantee territorial cohesion and equal opportunities."
The parliamentarian also stated that a future approval of the proposal in the Congress of Deputies could represent "a great opportunity to compensate for a historical injustice" towards island territories, traditionally distanced from decision-making centers regarding airport infrastructure.