The People's Party (PP), Vox, and Coalition for Mallorca have approved a motion in the plenary session of the Consell de Mallorca (Island Council) demanding a ban on people wearing burkas or niqabs entering the institution's buildings. The PP presented the initiative, which received 18 votes in favor from the councilors of the three parties, compared to 13 votes against from the Socialist Party of the Balearic Islands (PSIB) and Més for Mallorca. PP member Maria Garrido defended the proposal, emphasizing that in Spain, equality and human dignity "are not slogans," but rather "constitutional mandates." She indicated that this debate "went beyond a garment," arguing that it raised the question of whether, "in a democratic society, it is acceptable for a woman to walk down the street without a face covering."

The Consell de Mallorca, together with representatives of MÉS por Mallorca, El Pi, Vox and the PP, have signed a joint initiative for to demand that the state government approve a new highway agreement which would allow investment of up to 350 million euros in the island's road infrastructure. The PSOE is the only group not participating in the request.

Airbnb has removed the listing for the tourist apartment rented by the PSIB (Socialist Party of the Balearic Islands) from its website to highlight the existence of illegal rentals in Palma. The Tourism Department of the Consell de Mallorca (Island Council of Mallorca) reportedly requested the removal of the listing after a press conference held this Monday at the property by the Secretary General of the PSIB in Palma, Iago Negueruela.

The debate on the reopening of the old Bóquer road (Road 77) revealed a strong confrontation within the Pollença governing coalition, formed by MÉS per Pollença and the PSOE, during a municipal plenary session marked by political tension and angry intervention from the public. The proposal to bring the official recovery of a section of Road 77 to a plenary session, promoted by the Socialist Party, met with direct opposition from MÉS per Pollença, the coalition partner, which announced its intention to vote against it and demanded that the procedure be halted to allow for a broader debate on the consequences. The tension was not limited to the political benches. Several members of the public intervened, even without being given the floor, directly addressing the mayor and councilors with a level of aggression that nearly led to the suspension of the plenary session. Some attendees, opposed to the reopening, even presented independent studies to argue that the item should be removed from the agenda.

The PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) proposed on Wednesday a ban on tourist rentals of single-family homes and, furthermore, the revocation of licenses already granted. The general secretary of the Palma socialists, Iago Negueruela, presented this measure at a press conference prior to the plenary session of the institution, which will take place this Thursday and which, among other issues, will vote on the matter. Vox's language audit in public libraries.

The Balearic Islands will approach their record fiscal deficit of the last decade in 2025. These are the calculations of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which forecasts that the difference between what the Islands contribute and what they receive will be €570.4 million. This deficit was only surpassed in 2020, the year of the pandemic, when the balance was €579.5 million. On the eve of the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council (CPFF), where the Spanish government will explain its proposed reform of the financing system, the Ministry warns that the Islands are among the territories most disadvantaged by the current distribution.

Ciutadella and Maó, the two largest municipalities in Menorca, are resisting the right-wing offensive that has swept through the other town halls and the island's own Consell (council), where the former Vox councilor plays a key role. A year and a half before the next elections, both municipalities maintain progressive majorities, a trend only partially shared with Es Mercadal, where the nationalist Joan Manel Palliser (Entesa de la Izquierda) governs with the strategic support of the local PP (People's Party), a support that is not questioned within the government itself. The formula is working, and not even the earthquake caused by the recent criminal conviction of the former PP leader, Tóbal Pons, has shaken it. Stripped of his first deputy mayor position, Pons remains part of the government, while the opposition PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) has already changed its spokesperson.

The Catalan government is once again criticizing Catalonia's unique financing system, although one A similar agreement applied to the Islands would benefit them.The Catalan Ministry of Finance's initial reaction to ERC president Oriol Junqueras' announcement of an agreement with the Spanish government was to criticize the fact that it was negotiated bilaterally. "Its content is unknown, beyond the brief glimpses offered by one of the parties involved in the meeting," sources from the department stated, referring to ERC: "A party that doesn't even govern in its own region." In this regard, they have already indicated that they have requested a meeting of the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council to "discuss the necessary reform of the financing system."

The plenary session of the Council of Mallorca approved on Thursday a motion to launch a study on burying the ring road, after the PSOE's initiative received the support of MÉS per Mallorca and the PP – Vox voted against it. According to the PSOE, the objective of a initiatives such as burying the railway The aim of the ring road project is to reconnect the neighborhoods outside the ring road with the center of Palma and create a large green belt with new public services and facilities. Socialist councilor Joan Ferrer defended "the need to promote a feasibility study" for burying the ring road to overcome "the urban divide" affecting neighborhoods such as Son Gotleu, Nou Llevant, La Soledad, Son Malferit, and El Rafal Vell, which are separated by this road. The Socialists emphasized that "burying the road would allow the freed-up area to be transformed into a large green corridor with public spaces, facilities, and routes for pedestrians and cyclists." To carry out this project, Ferrer called for institutional cooperation and state and European funding. The approval of the motion by the island council initiates the process for commissioning the preliminary study. Furthermore, the initiative will also be debated in the Palma City Council plenary session at the end of the month. The study will have to analyze the technical, urban planning, environmental, and economic aspects of the project, as well as the proposed implementation phases. The People's Party (PP) has supported the initiative, although it abstained on one point, indicating that the undergrounding project "will focus on the urban connection of the neighborhoods of Nou Llevant, La Soledad, Son Malferit, Son Gotleu, and El Rafal Vell." Sources within the PP indicate that the governing team intends for the study to determine the best route for burying the railway.

What can María Guardiola's Extremadura PP teach Marga Prohens's Balearic Islands PP? The elections in this region have kicked off the new electoral cycle, which will continue in the coming months in Aragon, Castile and León, and Andalusia, and will set the tone for the government's final year and a half. "An absolute majority for Guardiola would have been epic," admits a source within the Balearic government, who emphasizes that such a result would have, incidentally, "undermined" the morale of "the others," a veiled reference to Vox. Prohens, in his tweet congratulating Guardiola, also avoided explicitly mentioning Santiago Abascal's party.Which has more than doubled its results. This is the first lesson the elections have taught the Balearic PP: however large the majority party may be, it cannot get rid of the far right. It is a concern that, as explained by ARA Baleares, has been worrying the president for months.

The judge of the National Court investigating the hydrocarbons case has summoned Marc Pons, from Menorca, and Juan Ignacio Díaz Bidart, former chiefs of staff to ex-ministers Teresa Ribera and Reyes Maroto, respectively, to testify as witnesses on January 28. This is stated in a court order, to which Europa Press had access, from Judge Santiago Pedraz. The judge has also summoned businessman Claudio Rivas, whom investigators consider the alleged leader of the hydrocarbons network linked to the company Villafuel, to appear on the same day as a suspect. Furthermore, the judge summoned businessman Víctor de Aldama again as a defendant on January 29. On January 30, the businesswomen Carmen Pano, who claims to have delivered 90,000 euros at the PSOE headquarters on Ferraz Street, and her daughter, Leonor González, will testify. Judge Pedraz has summoned the Director General of Energy Policy and Mines, Manuel García, and Manuel Salles, a company administrator, to testify as witnesses on the 29th. On the 30th, it will be Álvaro Gallego's turn; he may be linked to €108,500 withdrawn in cash, according to investigators.

The Extremadura elections served as the first test of the new electoral cycle and provided a gauge of the various parties' prospects. The Balearic Islands' president, Marga Prohens, applauded the victory of the PP candidate, María Guardiola, who gained one seat compared to 2023, but fell short of an absolute majority. "An undeniable defeat for Sánchez's policies," said the Balearic leader, who conveniently omitted from her message the significant increase in Vox's representation, which rose from 5 seats to 11 and will further complicate governance.

The presentation of the Gold Medals, which the Palma City Council holds every December 31st, is at risk after Vox and the PP broke the political consensus. The far-right party submitted a motion to the plenary session to award a medal to the Palma 47 Infantry Regiment, which received the PP's support. Thus, for the first time, a recipient has been announced without prior agreement among all parties to ensure the award ceremony proceeds.

The Balearic Islands will contribute €408.51 million in 2026 as a solidarity quota to other autonomous communities, according to calculations by the Government of the Balearic Islands, as reported by the Balearic Government.Latest News and confirmed in the Balearic Islands Regional Government (ARA Baleares). According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, this is the difference between what the Islands contribute and what they receive through the three existing funds within the regional financing system.

Transport Minister Óscar Puente offered the government his support on Monday to expand the rail network in Mallorca. He stated that rail is "the Spanish government's biggest commitment" because it is the "most sustainable" mode of transport and the Balearic Islands cannot "be left behind." He made this statement during the presentation of Palma's seafront promenade. Meanwhile, Palma's mayor, Jaime Martínez, reiterated the People's Party's (PP) opposition to the tram project planned by the previous government, but asked the minister if the €200 million that had been allocated could be used for other infrastructure. During the visit to the seafront promenade renovation, President Marga Prohens took the opportunity to ask Puente to unblock the new rail agreement. Both officials discussed the status of rail projects in the archipelago, such as those in Llucmajor and Alcúdia. According to EFE, the president also demanded that the minister pay the outstanding road agreements to the island councils and explore the possibility of moving forward with airport co-management. She also asked the Secretary of State for Transport and Sustainable Mobility, José Antonio Santano, to guarantee the continuation of free public transport through 2026 and to ensure payment of the outstanding amount from 2025.

The Socialist councilors of Mallorca have demanded measures from the Government to address the housing crisis. They did so during the councilors' assembly of the Socialist Federation of Mallorca (FSM) held in Lloseta this Saturday.

President Marga Prohens will formally request, by letter, that the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, demand that the European Union deploy the European Border Protection Agency (Frontex) to the islands with "all necessary means." This announcement was made this Friday by the spokesperson for the Spanish Government, Antoni Costa, following the controversy that has erupted in recent days. While the Spanish government representative, Alfonso Rodríguez, and the Ministry of the Interior asserted that Frontex is already intervening on the migratory route in the islands, a representative of the agency denied this.

Frontex acts or not in the Balearic IslandsWhere has the migration wave surged this year? Just over 24 hours ago, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) denied the government delegation's claims to the islands and asserted that it has no agents deployed in the archipelago. It also stated that the Spanish government has not requested assistance in that territory. However, the Ministry of the Interior maintains that in November 2024 it requested air reinforcements for Frontex, specifically on the southern border of the Balearic Islands, to improve the detection of small boats. Furthermore, it insists that this reinforcement became effective especially starting last February. The People's Party (PP) has asked Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska to clarify why there are such discrepancies in the accounts.