The National Police arrested a businessman from Mallorca this Friday who tried to bribe the Director General of Coasts and Littoral, María Joaquina Ferrer. The man, who went to the high-ranking official's office to resolve a matter of permits linked to his businesses, gave her a box of chocolates. Ferrer's surprise was immense when, upon opening it to offer them to some workers, it was full of banknotes: in total, there were 20,000 euros.

The historic port of Sanitja, which housed the ancient Roman city of Sanisera, north of Mercadal, is on the verge of the boatless season. Not a single one of the forty that were still there until this winter. Costes has evicted them for failing to regularize the users' association and the legal status of the five jetties that were used in this protected area, which had already led to the opening of several sanctioning proceedings by the state administration.

The news, first reported by ARA Balears, about the Govern's authorization to demolish Pedro J. Ramírez's illegal pool took the case's complainant, Jaume Sastre, by surprise. "My lawyer is traveling and I don't know if they've notified us. Obviously, when I read it, I was happy because it's been many years of struggle, and it's one more step," he admits.

The government of Pedro Sánchez has decided to take Law 3/2025 on the protection and management of the Valencian coast to the Constitutional Court. This law, like the one prepared by the central government, aims to create a framework to protect irregular buildings and economic activities within the public maritime-terrestrial domain. Bars, small restaurants, and shacks that violate the national Coastal Law are included in the register of constructions that the regulations consider to be of "cultural interest." under the pretext of protecting heritageAccording to the Valencian regional government, the objective of the regulation is "to guarantee legal certainty and the continuity of existing economic activities, including constructions that, without prejudice to compliance with sector-specific regulations, are considered to be of cultural interest." The government of Marga Prohens The standard has been finalized and is ready to be approved as a bill. and process it in Parliament, but sources within the Executive assure that this will not happen until after Easter.

Near the Baleària ferry terminal in the port of Palma, where thousands of tourists disembark in Mallorca each year, white tents with heavy police presence are visible at the entrance. These facilities house only adult male migrants arriving on the island's shore for 24, or sometimes 48, hours before they travel to the Spanish mainland. Minors go directly to Son Tous, and women with children go to Red Cross facilities. "There's no one here; everyone leaves very quickly," says a worker guiding the media through the different areas. Since these facilities opened in November 2015, 472 people have passed through Mallorca; 555 through the port of Ibiza; and 90 through Formentera.

The Directorate General for Coasts and the Sea of ​​the Ministry for Ecological Transition has declared the proceedings for the delimitation of the public maritime-terrestrial domain affecting the coastal stretch of Es Comú de Muro, between Casetes dels Capellans and Playa de Muro, to have expired. These proceedings aimed to resolve a long-standing controversy: determining the legality of having three beachfront restaurants and some twenty summer homes occupying this area of ​​high natural value. According to the interpretation of some experts and environmentalists, these buildings were constructed on the dune system, and according to the Coastal Law, these ecosystems must be preserved in their entirety, regardless of their distance from the sea. The Directorate's decision requires the proceedings to be restarted, and in the meantime, it leaves the possibility of keeping the restaurants open, as well as the future of the homes built decades ago, completely uncertain. The procedure that the Ministry has now declared lapsed was formally initiated in January 2021, but after two years without the Coastal Authority determining which areas are public domain and which are not, the law requires the declaration of the lapsed nature of all actions. According to the resolution, the Ministry is retaining the procedures already carried out and leaving the door open to the possible initiation of a new procedure in the future. Those concerned may appeal the declaration of lapsed nature: individuals have one month to appeal through administrative channels or two months to appeal through contentious-administrative channels before the National Court; public administrations may also file a contentious-administrative appeal within two months. A unique core in a highly sensitive environment

Les Casetes dels Capellans is a unique and traditional coastal village located between Can Picafort and Playa de Muro, known for its small, historic buildings and for housing three restaurants directly on the sand. It is an enclave with a long history of debate regarding its inclusion in the public maritime-terrestrial domain. If included, it would be subject to a permitting process and, therefore, limited timeframes, as it would become part of the territory controlled by the State. The site is located on the edge of a dune system of great environmental value, very close to the Albufera Natural Park and within the Es Comú de Muro area, a zone of high ecological sensitivity. Impact on houses and restaurants

The coastal demarcation project aimed to definitively establish the line separating the public maritime-terrestrial domain from municipally or privately owned land. The initial proposal included 22-23 houses in the village center and the terraces of the three restaurants, with potential repercussions for their continued existence and conditions of use. Residents and the Muro Town Council submitted thousands of objections, arguing that the area is communal property with a long-standing tradition and that its inclusion within the public domain did not accurately reflect its historical and social reality. During the summer of 2023, given the lack of response from the Coastal Authority to their requests for terrace permits, the restaurants opted to place tables and chairs "at their own risk," arguing that the expiration of the permit application meant that Capellans was no longer considered part of the public domain.

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The owners of a building in Cala Llamp (Andratx) will have to cover part of their swimming pool and open their private terrace to the public because the courts have confirmed they cannot use public land without the appropriate permit. This ruling comes from the Supreme Court, which confirms that a homeowners' association "cannot hold an administrative concession for occupying public maritime-terrestrial land." The decision upholds the ruling of the National Court, which dismissed the application submitted by the Cala Llamp community, an area completely disfigured by rampant development in recent years.

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At the end of July 2022, the State Directorate General for Coastal Affairs rejected the request of the owners of the El Bungalow restaurant, located on the front line of Ciutat Jardí beach in Palma, seeking a concession and legalizing its location, as the establishment is located on public land without a permit. The highest coastal authority gave the owners six months to demolish the building, which occupies more than 400 square meters on the rocks of Ciutat Jardí without authorization.

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A new episode of incivility is rocking the Balearic Sea. Olympic windsurfer Nacho Baltasar has denounced, in a video posted on social media, the presence of boats and ships just meters from the coast, sailing at high speed and recklessly. In the video, the Mallorcan is diving in the Portopetro area, just a short distance from the surface, when a boat speeds over him. Several jet skis pass by up to three times.

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