Canary Islands takes housing crisis to Brussels

The Canary Islands took one of its most sensitive social debates to Brussels this Tuesday: the shortage of housing in a scarce and fragmented territory under intense pressure from tourism. Following the offensive that the regional government has been pursuing since the start of the current legislature, President Fernando Clavijo conveyed to European Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas the need for the forthcoming EU Sustainable Tourism Strategy, expected in autumn, to open the door to limiting house purchases by non-residents in territories under severe tourism and residential pressure.

EU recognition for outermost regions

The request forms part of a broader political offensive to secure concrete measures from the European Union recognising the unique status of the outermost regions (ORs), which cannot be treated as mainland territories. Their territorial fragility, external dependency, demographic pressure and the weight of tourism require bespoke tools. The regional president proposed that the future European tourism strategy should expressly include the possibility of adopting restrictions that protect local people’s access to housing in a market increasingly strained by tourist appeal, foreign investment and the scarcity of available land.

Clavijo also noted that this proposal has already been adopted by the Spanish state, strengthening the Canary Islands’ position before EU institutions. The meeting with Tzitzikostas also served to demand that the new community strategy incorporate OR status as a central element. The Canary Islands hopes the European document will include the protection of territory, biodiversity and environmental sustainability as specific principles for islands like those in the archipelago, where tourism pressure has direct effects on natural resources, land and public services.

EU funding and renewable energy deadlines

The European commissioner was open to studying the inclusion of OR status in the text, a signal that the Canary Islands government interprets as a first step in negotiations that will be crucial over the coming months. The European strategy aims to promote a more balanced, resilient tourism model aligned with the green and digital transitions, but the Canary Islands wants to avoid this framework becoming a general statement without instruments adapted to its particular circumstances.

The third major issue addressed in Brussels was European funding. Clavijo insisted on the need to extend by one year the deadline for executing Next Generation funds allocated to renewable energy projects. The European Commission is currently rejecting this extension, although it admits it is studying alternative ways to avoid putting already committed investments at risk. There are ongoing projects worth more than 200 million euros linked to the Canary Islands Sustainable Energy Strategy. The regional government fears that the rigidity of European deadlines could jeopardise essential measures to reduce the archipelago’s energy dependence and accelerate the rollout of renewables.

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Canary Islands takes housing crisis to Brussels