Compiled with the help of artificial intelligence, based on Spanish-language information. Source below the article.
Canary Islands close to historic airport management deal
The Canary Islands are on the verge of a “historic agreement” with the Spanish state that would allow the archipelago to take part in the management of its airports, a demand the Islands have been pursuing for more than 30 years. The spokesman for the Canary Islands Government, Alfonso Cabello, announced this morning that both administrations will meet on 29 October in Tenerife to give the go-ahead to the creation of a bilateral airport body that will allow the autonomous community to intervene in decisions affecting its airport facilities.
Announcement follows the weekly Cabinet meeting
The announcement was made during the press conference following the Cabinet meeting, at which Cabello reported several dismissals and appointments of senior officials in the regional government ahead of the forthcoming elections on 29 November. Two meetings are scheduled for next Thursday: the Canary Islands-State Bilateral Commission and another joint bilateral commission focused on airports. Although some technical loose ends remain to be tied up, Cabello was convinced that the necessary conditions exist for the agreement to go ahead.
“We are closer than we have been in 30 years to the Canary Islands being able to take part in decision-making on its airports,” he said of what he considers one of the most important advances in self-government since the 2018 Statute of Autonomy was approved. The spokesman recalled that several face-to-face meetings have been held in recent months and numerous drafts exchanged between the two administrations. The negotiations are now in their final phase and, although he acknowledged that the outstanding loose ends could still become complicated, he assured that “at first glance everything seems to be on the right track”.
A permanent space for dialogue with the state
The main result of the agreement will be the creation of the Canary Islands-State Bilateral Airport Body, conceived as a permanent space for dialogue, oversight, complaint and monitoring of matters relating to the archipelago’s airports. Its constitution, Cabello explained, will give the Canary Islands a formal channel to participate in questions relating to airport investment, policies affecting this infrastructure and decisions about its future, “rather than being limited to receiving information from the state or from Aena”.
“It will allow us to have a space where we can sit down on equal terms with the Spanish government to talk about what is happening with our airports,” the spokesman said, stressing that the agreement represents progress in complying with the Statute of Autonomy. The body will be made up of representatives of the Canary Islands Government and the state. Its exact operation, the frequency of meetings and the scope of its powers are among the questions still being defined. It will have both a set of operating rules and a set of rules on its powers.
The Canary Islands government believes this mechanism will overcome the current situation, in which regional participation depends to a large extent on the willingness of state institutions to share information. The agreement does not mean the Canary Islands will directly take over the management of the airports, but it does open an institutional channel to intervene in decisions that until now were taken without its direct participation.
Dependence on air travel makes the deal especially important
The spokesman argued that this step is especially important given the Canary Islands’ dependence on air transport to guarantee connectivity between the islands and with the outside world. Although the regional government maintains its ambition to achieve the greatest possible degree of self-government, Cabello considers that the pact planned for 29 October constitutes a significant advance.
The Minister for Territorial Policy, Ángel Víctor Torres, confirmed in a video message the agreement reached between the Spanish government and the Canary Islands government to hold the bilateral commission next Thursday. Torres explained that the new body will be composed of equal numbers from both sides, with four representatives of the state and another four from the Canary Islands, and will take into account the archipelago’s island and outermost-region characteristics, as well as monitoring the works set out in the Airport Regulation Document (DORA).
The minister welcomed the fact that the negotiations of recent months, intensified in recent weeks and days, had borne fruit. “This is very important for self-government,” Torres said, expressing satisfaction that the talks between the two administrations had ended up “bearing fruit, and bearing good fruit”.
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