Category: Business
Latest Gran Canaria News, Views & Sunshine
The Canary Guide #WeekendTips 31 March – 2 April 2023
A glorious first weekend of April ahead and the beginning of the christian Holy Week “Semana Santa”, diligently observed in Spain. There will be many religious acts and processions throughout the week around the island, especially in the capital. Don’t forget it’s also April fools’ on Saturday even though it isn’t a tradition in Spain, there will be those who will take the whimsical opportunity for some hilarity. The Mercado Inglés is on at The British Club of Las Palmas and there is also an authentic Canarian rural fair to visit this weekend in the traditional mountain market town of San Mateo.
Gran Canaria Weather: Yellow Warnings – Up to 36ºC, in the shade, expected on the south, high temperatures with strong winds and calima expected to affect all The Canary Islands this week
The Spanish State Meterological Agency, AEMET, has issued yellow warnings for heat, calima haze and strong winds this week on the Canary Islands forecasting high temperatures of up to 34ºC expected on several islands. An alert has been issued due to a risk of forest fires on Gran Canaria as the mix of dry weather, strong winds and high temperatures has led to concerns over coming days.
Wild fires Alert on Gran Canaria this Wednesday, with temperatures set to exceed 34ºC in the shade
Springtime has only just begun and already the temperatures, in the shade, on Gran Canaria have been repeatedly hitting the low to mid-thirties, which brings with it also a rising risk of Forest Fires and Wildfires. Here in the Canary Islands forest fire crews are well versed in tackling an occasional mountain blaze, with alert levels often following the basic informal rule of thumb, the so-called 30/30/30 rule, putting the authorities on alert whenever the temperature is set to rise above 30ºC in the shade, the humidity levels drop below 30% and sustained winds are forecast at faster than 30kmph. Common sense and preparation help the general population to avoid injury in the event of a fire taking hold.
The Canary Guide #WeekendTips 24-26 March 2023
Plum tree blossoming in Tenteniguada March 2023
It’s the last weekend of March already and Spring is here; winter is behind us and the summer weather is already hotting up on Gran Canaria. The hillsides are in full bloom, particularly up in the mountain summits; it’s Carnival Weekend in Arguineguín and the last of the carnival festivities for this year are happening around the island. With summer just around the corner, clocks Spring forward this Saturday and Sunday night when 1am becomes 2am 🕐. On the north of the island, one of the biggest seasonal trade fairs is happening, gathering produce and people from 11 municipalities, ENORTE will be celebrated in the historic Rum capital of the island, Arucas, this weekend.
Gran Canaria Weather: Temperatures of 31ºC in the shade and slight calima as we head towards a warm spring weekend
Its a perfect Gran Canaria springtime weekend ahead with light calima sands blowing in from the Sahara, temperatures in the shade of 31ºC, light breezes and blue skies. Remember too the clocks spring forward by an hour this weekend.
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Cordial director says they will fight “illegal” decision to allow cement factory to continue in Port of Santa Águeda
The general director of hoteliers, the Cordial group, a member of the Las Palmas tourist association, Nicolás Villalobos, has described as “illegal” the decision taken by the Canarian Regional Government to extend the usage of the deep water port of Santa Águeda so that the cement company CEISA (Cementos Especiales de Las Islas SA) can continue to operate beyond its concession which expired last October. <!–more–>
TUI confirms high tourism expectations for the summer with longer stays and higher spending
The world’s largest tour operator, TUI Group, communicated on Thursday morning, to the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce of the Government of the Canary Islands. its strong commitment to the islands, confirming good expectations for the summer, with the arrival of tourists who will enjoy longer stays and spend more on vacations.
Regional Tourism Minister, Yaiza Castilla received the news, in a meeting held on Thursday morning, attended by the CFO of TUI Group, Sebastian Ebel; the CEO of Markets and Airlines, David Burling; and the director of Purchasing, Helen Caron, as well as the managing director of Tourism Board for the Canary Islands, Promotur, José Juan Lorenzo.
“The Canary Islands are a very reliable destination that has come out stronger, that has known how to do things well and that is better than before the pandemic,” explained Sebastian Ebel, who in fact announced that for the first time, this year, they will have more business in the summer than in winter on the islands.
The company’s finance director explained that they anticipate the summer season will bring 1.3 million tourists to the archipelago, the same number as before the pandemic, although with significant changes since these visitors will now on average extend their stay by at least one more day, going from 9.5 overnight stays to 10.5, and are spending 20% more on average on their vacations due to booking higher quality rooms. “The destination has been able to take advantage of these two years of tourist ups and downs to improve its facilities and its offer, and make higher-class establishments available to customers,” acknowledged Mister Ebel.
For Ebel, the work carried out by Turismo de Canarias has given rise to a destination that has all the necessary ingredients to be more successful than before the pandemic, even despite the war unleashed in Ukraine. “Although the war is turning out to be a nightmare, fortunately it is not having the expected impact on tourism as a whole, with the exception of countries like Poland or Finland, which are closer to the conflict,” he said.
TUI Group figures
TUI is the leading tourism group in Europe and one of the most important worldwide. It has a presence in more than 140 countries, has five airlines (TUI UK, TUI Netherlands, TUI Belgium, TUIfly (Germany) and TUI Nordic), 150 aircraft, three cruise ship companies with 16 ships, 1,600 travel agencies and a workforce made up of more 70,000 employees, of which a thousand are based in the Canary Islands, where the tour operator boasts 29 hotels.
The group has a greater presence in Germany and the United Kingdom, although it is also important in the Nordic countries and in central Europe.
With regard to the Canary Islands, in 2019, the pre-pandemic year, the five TUI airlines transported 2.5 million people to the Canary Islands from different European countries, which represented 14.2% of the total number of passengers arriving on the islands.
Regional councillor Yaiza Castilla meets with Chief Finance Officer of tourism giant, TUI, Sebastian Ebel, who announced that this summer season they plan to transport 1.3 million tourists to the archipelago, who will extend their stay, on average, by one more day and spend 20% more than before the pandemic
“TUI is fully aligned with our sustainability strategy, which is why we have created a working group to continue advancing together on this path with which we intend to increase the quality and not the quantity of our tourism”, explains Castilla.
“The Canary Islands are a destination that has all the necessary ingredients to be successful, even despite the war in Ukraine which, although it is turning out to be a nightmare, fortunately is not having the expected impact on tourist activity,” assured Ebel.
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Canary Islands working with Spain to better share responsibility for migrant minors, and employment rights for government workers, taking control of coastal management and planning
Ángel Víctor Torres, the President of the Canary Islands, met in Madrid this Tuesday with Spain’s Minister of Territorial Policy and Public Function, Miquel Iceta, to conclude the process of transferring strategic competences, including coastal management, financial protection and promotion of market competition, from central State control to the Regional Executive. They also discussed the urgent need to amend the laws regarding migrant minors and employment rights for government workers.
After the meeting, the president appeared before journalists to announce “the good news” that before the summer, preferably by June, a Bilateral Canary Islands and Spanish State Cooperation Commission will be inaugurated in the Canary Islands, which will include a Commission of Transfers – where the official transfer of the responsibility for coastal management and planning will take place, thus resolving “an old demand of the Archipelago” which has been included in the new Statute of Autonomy of the Canary Islands, in force since November 6 of 2018.
The Canarian president expressed his sense of satisfaction with the transfer of powers for such a strategic issue as coastal management, which will be now be concluded, following interruption to the process due to the outbreak of the pandemic, a long sought after transfer “which is finally going to be a reality this summer,” he said.
Regarding the financial protection of local corporations in the region and to defend competition in the markets – two key competences whose transfer had already begun -, President Torres announced that protocols will be signed by the Government of Spain and the Government of the Canary Islands with the purpose of establishing the resources and means necessary to make the transfer of these powers to the Autonomous Community viable, and to resolve difficulties such as those presented, for example, by financial protection .
Immigration policy
As part of the meetings with the Minister of Territorial Policy and Public Function, Ángel Víctor Torres, relayed the realities of the migration crisis in the Canary Islands and, in particular, the situation with migrant minors. Torres explained that there are currently more than 2,600 migrant minors under the care of the Canary Islands Government, “something that has never occurred, not even in 2006 with the ‘crisis of the cayucos’, when [just] 500 minors arrived on the Islands despite the fact that more people reached the coast than during the current crisis ”.
It is the president’s view that it will be necessary to adapt the current legislative framework to the existing situation, since the law for the protection of minors was created to provide care for minors registered in each autonomous community, and not for minors who arrive irregularly “in such great volume “, the president said. Torres explained that the minister has promised to study a legislative amendment and activate formulas that will help to ensure that the migratory reality is shared with the other autonomous communities of Spain.
Modification of the Basic Statute for Public Employees
The Presidency of the Government of the Canary Islands and the Ministry of Territorial Policy and Public Function also addressed the problem of temporary employees within the Public Administrations who in many cases must chain temporary employment contracts for many years at a time. Torres raised the need to seek consensus mechanisms that respond to the expectations of workers who are in this situation.
In this sense, Torres stressed that the minister has committed to carry out, in the coming months, a modification in the Basic Statute of the Employee, which is being worked on also with the autonomous communities.
Finally, Ángel Víctor Torres thanked Miquel Iceta and his team for holding the meeting – the first held by the Minister of Territorial Policy with a president of the autonomous community – which “has been very satisfactory,” he concluded.
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The Canary Islands Flight Development Fund will need to address lost connectivity across 80 air routes, accounting for 64% of the routes pre-pandemic
During talks over Spain’s Flight Development Fund, Canary Islands Regional Government Minister of Tourism, Yaiza Castilla, this week asked Spanish Central Government Tourism minister, Reyes Maroto, to provide a specific plan for the islands aimed at allowing the archipelago to recover all the lost the air connectivity that has resulted from the covid-19 pandemic.
Castilla made the request during the Tourism Sector Conference held last week. Although the Canary Islands has a Flight Development Fund she says this “is insufficient” to recover all the routes that have been lost. “Tour operators, airlines and the tourism sector tell us we need the State to help us with this,” Castilla said.
She pointed out that other competing destinations, such as Turkey and Egypt, are already investing in recovering lost connectivity. Adding that if we do not start up in the Canary Islands very soon, the archipelago will be at a disadvantage when tourism demand eventually reactivates.
The first call for funding from the Flight Development Fund, endowed with €500,000 for routes that start operating in April and May, closed last week with a total of 20 applications. The Ministry of Tourism is now working on analysing the documentation and calculating each applicant.
Canary Islands, air connectivity has been greatly affected by covid. The pandemic has almost halved the destinations to which you can fly from the Canary Islands. Of the 146 with whom there was a flight before covid, between the islands and the peninsula and abroad, 74 remain, after having lost 72, according to the official comparison of connectivity data from the Canary Islands Ministry of Tourism, between February 2019 and February 2021. To those 72 we must add the routes now lost with Morocco as that country has once again closed its borders, bringing the figure to around 80 destinations lost.
Connections to these 146 destinations were operated by 44 airlines, bringing the number of total air routes to 732 per month. In the meeting with Minister Reyes Maroto, the Regional Minister indicated that, despite the benefits offered by these incentives, “they do not come close” to what will be needed to recover all the lost connectivity. The Canary Islands have stopped operating flights from 80 cities or airports during the pandemic. If the more than 40 airlines that operated with the islands before covid, who have now stopped, are taken into account, the routes cut account for 64% of air connectivity prior to COVID-19. Those 732 monthly air routes now reduced to just to 262.
Compared to the 13,849 flights that were counted in February 2019 to and from the Canary Islands, this number fell to just 5,243 in 2021. Among the heaviest losses among frequent routes are included Barcelona, which fell from 308 to 117 flights per month; Berlin, which had 194 and now just 48; Dublin, fell from 175 to 31 flights; Dusseldorf, from 269 to 60; Edinburgh, from 111 to 8; Glasgow, from 122 to 16; Hamburg, from 154 to 20; London-Stansted, 211 to just 12; Madrid, from 935 to 335; Malaga, from 103 to 15; Manchester, from 399 to 58 flights a month; Newcastle, from 118 to 16; Seville, from 130 to 22 and Munich, from 153 to 51, among others.
The Government of the Canary Islands plans to draw up a second Flight Development Fund for the second half of this year and will be seeking a greater amount to recover part of these lost routes.
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Shifting Sandcastles in the Sky: Spanish Supreme Court upholds the cancellation of the Tauro Beach coastal territorial plan on Gran Canaria
A little-known beach on the south west of Gran Canaria has been making big waves, again, following more than 30 years of talk, 20 years of hype, 16 years of planning procedures and 6 years of controversy in the hands of the recently bankrupted Grupo Santana Cazorla. It appears the long awaited Tauro Beach project has finally been cancelled, after years of intrigue, investigations, recriminations and shifting sands. Well, cancelled for now, at least.
Reporting: Edward Timon .:. – Main Image: Bård Ove Myhr – 45photos.com
A correction was made to this article on April 6, as detailed at the end
The Special Territorial Plan of the Litoral de Tauro (PTE-29) was finally approved back in 2014, by the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, 8 years after being initially put forward to regulate a long-touted tourism development, including a new artificial beach project, that had been promoted by a timeshare company, the Anfi Group, as early as 2001. The beach development was to be complemented by a 322-berth sports marina and a new shopping and leisure area, as well as up to 7,500 tourist beds in the Tauro valley, expected to rejuvenate and improve the tourism offering on the Costa Mogán, bringing prestige, jobs and new riches to the popular tourist destination.
The beaming CEO of Grupo Anfi, José Luis Trujillo, said, after many years of waiting, regulatory reformulations and bureaucratic pitfalls, and having won the contest against Puerto Rico SA for the concessions to run the businesses on this new beach, “Anfi’s dream continues with the construction of a beach that will be a benchmark for leisure on Gran Canaria” pointing out that the beginnings of this planning project had first been put forward back in November of 1987.
– Tauro Beach and Amadores in the now defunct plan
– David Silva, Trujillo and Bueno shovel sand on Tauro Beach July 2015
This helpful distraction diverted much attention from the Anfi Group’s recent change of fortunes, in January 2015 following a supreme court ruling, the first of many, against Anfi, among others, on mis-sold timeshare. The judgement opened the company up to huge numbers of potential claims for selling illegal contracts valued, by some insiders, in the tens of millions or possibly more. In the time since Anfi’s financial liabilities have grown and grown, simply due to being judged to have wilfully and repeatedly ignored the rules and the law. It attracted the attention of other more political animals in the area.
There were lots of reasons for caution, particularly after such a long journey to achieve administrative consent for such a big project. None of this, however, stopped Mogán’s mayor, Bueno, newly elected just over a month before, from immediately getting in on the action, heralding the project as good for Mogán “a beach that will serve to attract more tourists to the municipality” wasting no time in joining the July 2015 photo-opportunity to shovel sand, alongside local-born international football star David Silva, finally breaking ground on the development, and giving the project her new administration’s seal of approval. Fences were erected and heavy machinery brought in to start work in early 2016.
– Tauro Beach as heavy machinery moved in before the sand arrived in 2016
Sandcastles in the sky
More than 50 legal objections had been made to the plans, from various quarters, claiming a total lack of consultation, inadequate permissions from property owners, deficient environmental impact studies and a raft of other complaints, including allegations from almost all of the local residents who would be directly affected, many of whom have lived on the shoreline of the Tauro bay for decades.
The final go-ahead to begin came from the Canary Islands head of Costas (regional coastal authority), José María Hernández de León, himself; and 70,000 tons of desert sand was hurriedly extracted, illegally, from the nearby disputed territory of Western Sahara then dumped on to what had been up to that point a pebble beach. The project, now underway, it was announced with much publicity, would be finished by Christmas 2016 at a cost of €2.5m. The Mogán mayoress told journalists that the residents of Tauro beach would have to leave.
– The tide takes the sands from Tauro Beach
No sooner had work begun, however, than cracks appeared in the execution of this long awaited flagship project. Local mariners, who understand the tides on that coastline, were dubious about how long the sands would last. For the first time in living memory, the sea flooded in over the freshly landscaped beach to inundate the homes of residents, most of whom could ill afford such a disastrous occurrence, and some of whom felt intimidated by the sudden failure of the shoreline. The project was halted pending further engineering studies and environmental reports. The Green Party claimed irrevocable damage to a protected habitat. The Canary Islands head of the Costas was removed from his post and then arrested by the Guardia Civil, charged with falsification of documents, and having lied about failures in his duty, when it was discovered he had failed to verify the required property rights prior to ordering the project to proceed.
– Tauro Beach and ignored barriers
In frustration, locals tore holes in the fences so as to be able to access the now modified shoreline. Court action was initiated to remove Anfi’s permissions and concessions, while they scrambled to try to gain the missing property permissions to continue the development. Mogán town hall refused to police the coastal strip of land, or remove bathers from the beach, making clear that it was Anfi’s responsibility now, as was the destruction of their fences by members of the public trying to reach the sea.
13 shacks, which several people had made their homes, were questionably and brutally torn down by the infamous Catalan evictions company, thought to be neoconservative leaning (though who say they are a-political), whose skin-headed, musclebound “businessmen” claim to be “experts in mediation”, using a gang of thugs and a JCB, about which Mogan town hall claimed, despite having had to give permission for such action, no real knowledge, as they weren’t present, mayoress Bueno declaring that the Town Council “has nothing to do with this matter.”
The list goes on and on. These and many more reasons for caution when dealing with institutions and entities who display little observance of State planning laws, or ordinary people’s fundamental rights. People for whom power and money and nepotism, and even suspected fraud and corruption on a grand scale, consistently seem to trump any considerations for the everyday norms that are in place to regulate business and urban developments and to protect individuals from being harmed by large corporate and political interests.
Editors Comment: Shifting Sands
– Bueno inspects Tauro Beach
As the situation, and the confusion, has worsened for the Tauro project, so our good lady mayor and her administration have announced that they will be taking over this newly sandy beach at the mouth of the Tauro valley. Similarly they have refused to renew the long-standing concessions for the Puerto Rico beach and for Amadores beach, claiming administration of these facilities as revenue generating assets for the town hall of Mogan.
If one were to have a suspicious mind, one might suspect some sort of subterfuge in this latest blow to the private investment projects of Mogan. But of course that would be cynical. Surely it will only be the good people of Mogan who will, in the end, profit from these shifting sands. Right?
Back to the drawing board
For now, though, it seems that all is quiet again on the pristine sands of Tauro beach. The territorial plan, PTE-29, providing the framework for the project was declared null and void in March 2019. And news has come this first weekend in April that the Spanish Supreme Court will not allow any of the appeals presented by the Cabildo and the Government of the Canary Islands against the sentence handed down by the Superior Court of Justice for the Canary Islands (TSJC) due to non-compliance with Coastal Law, specifically due to the absence of a mandatory and binding report from that Coastal Authorities which would have been needed before it had gained final approved in 2014.
The order not only concludes that “the remedies prepared have no interest in cassation”, that is to say that the substance of the appeals contain no new evidence that might lead the Supreme court to either reconsider the verdict, nor re-interpret the existing tenets of applicable law, but also orders the appellants (those filing the appeals) to pay the costs, as they had alleged in their appeals that the breach of the Coastal Law (Spain’s Ley de Costas regulating protection, use and policy of the maritime-terrestrial public domain, in particular the maritime shore) had not been expressly raised by the company that had originally appealed approval of the Plan, Puerto Rico SA.
The 2014 territorial coastal plan for Tauro, in Mogán, which was annulled by the TSJC in March 2019, had authorised the construction of a marina with 322 moorings, the regeneration of the beaches at Tauro and El Cura and the creation of a promenade along that strip of shoreline that would be paid for with a private investment estimated to be in excess of €31 million. The marina planned in Tauro, was initially to be built between that beach and the El Cura beach (Playa del Cura), but the plan had, in the end, changed the position of the marina to the other side of Playa de Tauro, against the cliff that separates it from Amadores beach. The Plan, now void, also contemplated the implementation of a hammock and umbrella service on both beaches and the creation of a promenade that would link these two beaches with Amadores.
Bankruptcy of Santana Cazorla
Meanwhile, in recent weeks, in a separate court judgment investigating the business dealings of the Hermanos Santana Cazorla SL (HSC) the company has been pronounced completely bankrupt. After years of ducking and diving, wrangling and wriggling, the courts have concluded that this well-known island construction, development, promotion and investment company cannot possibly service their debts, due to a negative operating capital exceeding €72m.
Last week the family-run company whose portfolio of investments and subsidiaries stretched across many business areas from Hotels, to a multi-award-winning winery, various construction companies, and numerous other interests across Gran Canaria, these islands and elsewhere, has seemingly been put out of business. However we are told that the woes of HSC do not affect the entire Santana Cazorla Group, which is diverse.
**On March 31 Anfi CEO, Jose Luis Trujillo, sent a letter to all of their timeshare “owners” and clients, known now as “members” to explain that HSC SL are not the specific company who own 50% of Anfi resorts (the other half owned by rivals Lopesan Hotels) but in fact this major share of the timeshare group, with a “golden vote”, is owned by a completely separate company who, the letter says, is not a subsidiary of HSC and therefore is totally unconnected to the dealings with Anfi.
Specifically, the judge suspended the companies 959 Oliva Inversión Internacional SL; 947 MSC Inversión Internacional SL; Santana Cazorla Servicios SL, and Bodegas Tirajana SL.
HSC was operated by the Santana Cazorla brothers, whose children, and other family members, do involve themselves in various aspects of the group of companies, whose interests spread far and wide across the islands. Although Santana Cazorla were the developers who provided machinery and workers for the transformation of the now defunct Anfi Tauro Beach, Trujillo makes clear in his letter that HSC’s bankruptcy is unlikely to have any serious repercussions for Anfi, themselves.
And we have no reason to doubt him.
Altogether this looks like the end of the road for the Tauro Beach project, for now at least, with several years likely to elapse before anyone tries a further plan on this scale. But in a municipality like Mogán, where huge urban projects are sometimes green lighted, seemingly without warning, or consultation, it really is anyone’s guess as to what might just happen next.
What is clear is that citizens of Spain have a constitutional right to access all coasts, which are in the public domain. One important question will now start to be asked in earnest, particularly by the residents of Playa de Tauro, and that is when will the fences be removed again, and when will the people of Mogán regain their right to access their beach once more?
The founders of Puerto Rico de Gran Canaria & Tourism in Mogán
Puerto Rico SA have been operating for more than 50 years on the south of the island, under the auspices of the Roca family, who literally founded Puerto Rico de Gran Canaria in 1968, having purchased the entire valley two years earlier, for the meagre sum of 30m pesetas. The Barranco de Puerto Rico was part of a huge estate farm, some estimate 8 million m2, stretching 12km inland and another 2km to the west), and on the cliffs either side of the valley was constructed the tourist resort town we know today. The resort peaked at 20,000 tourist beds, however a large number of those apartments were subsequently sold to private buyers who chose to live in them, able to take advantage of a town hall who seemed happy to turn a blind eye to the existing laws around residential use of tourist property, the land it is built on and the licenses under which it operates. The current mayor expressed her displeasure, in 2015, at tourist beds not being used for tourism, however after a long controversy, the Canary Islands Government stepped in to regularise those who had bought in good faith, while making clear new procedures for change of use in the future.
The four Roca brothers, who had done very well out of construction in the early 60s tourism boom in Maspalomas, and whose father was a well known realtor, started work on Puerto Rico in 1966. By 1972 they were constructing the very first artificial beach in Spain, which in turn kick started tourism in the area.
Mogán prior to that was an agricultural zone, peopled by simple folk, with dirt roads and a small fishing fleet. They say the town hall still had an earthen floor. Any visitors who came, headed to Playa de Mogán, and due to their free loving, smoke hazed ways, were known as Los Hippies. The Roca clan and their descendants did so well from the concessions to operate tourism infrastructure, and from urbanising the Puerto Rico valley, selling plots for tourism development, and promoting the building of “Shopping Center Puerto Rico”, that in 1986 they were able to construct Gran Canaria’s second artificial beach at Amadores. Those whose families had always held power in the area must have looked on with green eyes at these incoming businessmen with fresh ideas and the ability to attract capital. They welcomed them with open arms, and Mogán propspered.
The town hall’s recent decisions to refuse support for their concession renewal applications, may feel like a slap in the face after so long, but running tourist beaches is big business round these parts, with a lot of potential benefits, and this administration has never been backwards about going forwards when it comes to grabbing revenues and awarding contracts to businesses they take a shine to. Will Puerto Rico SA recover, yes, most certainly. Will they try again, for sure, they have lasted longer than most operators on the coast of Gran Canaria’s wild south west, and certainly they are tenacious enough to take on the dynastic political families who tend, by hook or by crook, to gain control of this local council.
Even with the best will in the world, even mayors are somewhat limited to the 4-yearly electoral cycle. Somewhat. Let’s see if we don’t find a Roca on the ballot in 2023… or perhaps sufficient divisions will remain to keep the same old faces on the same old lamp posts and billboards, serving up more of the same for a fist full of dollars and few years more.
The mayor, Bueno, has kept a very low profile in recent days, having spent months trying to distract the world with her “humanitarian efforts” to remove irregular migrants from the Port of Arguineguin, she moved on to marching through the streets with anti-immigration protesters.
Subsequently she has made loud, if meaningless, noises regarding her opposition empty hotels temporarily accommodating migrants, reading well the rightist rhetoric, stirred initially by fishermen afraid of Covid infections, then others with time on their hands, to join the cries to “Save Tourism” by moving these people out of her municipality, she has even tried to fine those hoteliers who aided the humanitarian effort, while detention camps were being constructed into which to move the migrants.
Now that all but a handful of migrants remain in Mogán, along with a couple of hundred unaccompanied minors, accommodated in the municipality’s (still empty) hotels, and while a further influx (of either visitors or migrants) is awaited, presumably tourism has now been saved. Bueno will no doubt return to other more pressing matters, such as jetting off to meet with her Madrid legal team, to prepare a defence for her upcoming court appearances to answer many niggling doubts that have arisen about her administration’s management of municipal affairs, and indeed how it was they came to office in the first place.
Various concerning questions have certainly emerged, both before and during her tenure in the town hall, regarding the methods with which she and her party serve the good people of Mogán.
Not least of all the fact that she has been under investigation for many years, this time round since at least 2015, over very serious allegations of fraud, nepotism, irregularly awarded contracts, urban planning concerns and various alleged electoral irregularities.
She faces trial, likely this year, following a very public arrest by Guardia Civil last September, along with two of her councillors, which she responded to by concentrating on international migration, and alleging a massive state conspiracy against her. Without a doubt she is bare faced and tireless. We wish her well. Qué Bueno.
**An error in this article, published April 5, was corrected after it came to our attention that the bankrupt company Hermanos Santana Cazorla had been incorrectly stated to be a shareholder in the timeshare operators Anfi Group. A letter signed by Anfi CEO Jose Luis Trujillo, made clear to Anfi members that there was no reason to be concerned with regards to the bankruptcy as HSC, though part of the same family of companies, was not in actual fact the company that owns a 5o% shareholding in Anfi.
If you spot any errors in our reporting please do not hesitate to contact us by email, or through our Contact page, or by calling +34 928 987 988
Bulo in Paradise: The Tauro Beach Saga
The Ballad of Tauro Beach:...Posted by The Canary News on Thursday, April 8, 2021
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The Canary Islands: Influx of Foreign Property Buyers Risks Pushing Locals Out
by Timon .:. | 19th March 2023 | Property | 0 CommentsMany have been discussing the possibility of restricting property sales in the Canary Islands to foreign buyers, as property prices and a lack of new builds has become a major issue, and particularly in the political debate ahead of the regional elections this May....
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Record tourist arrivals to The Canary Islands, though Gran Canaria lags behind in the recovery
by Sanna | 21st February 2023 | Economy, Tourism | 0 Comments2023 has started positively in terms of foreign tourism numbers. In January, the archipelago welcomed 1.22 million foreign visitors, a 3.2% increase from 2019 (1.18 million). The figure even surpasses the numbers from 2018 (1.21 million) and 2017 (1.20 million) to set...
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Mogán town council assumes direct management of services on Playa de Mogán
by Sanna | 29th January 2023 | Local Council, Mogán, Tourism | 0 CommentsThe Mogán Local Council on Friday installed new sun beds and umbrellas on Playa de Mogán, beginning direct management of seasonal services of this popular beach, along with the other six beaches for which it now holds corresponding authorisations: Las Marañuelas,...
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More than half of all Canary Islands properties sold last year were bought by foreigners, more than half of those non-residents
by Timon .:. | 11th January 2023 | News, Property | 0 CommentsWhile we still await final figures for the last quarter of 2022, the latest official data from The Canary Islands has shown foreigners are buying more homes in the Canary Islands than ever before. The number of real estate acquisitions by non-residents in the Canary...
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Cordial director says they will fight “illegal” decision to allow cement factory to continue in Port of Santa Águeda
by Timon .:. | 6th January 2023 | Business, Government, News, Tourism | 0 CommentsThe general director of hoteliers, the Cordial group, a member of the Las Palmas tourist association, Nicolás Villalobos, has described as "illegal" the decision taken by the Canarian Regional Government to extend the usage of the deep water port of Santa Águeda so...
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Ella the danger mouse grabs more than she bargained for on holiday in Puerto Rico de Gran Canaria
by Timon .:. | 17th November 2022 | Family, News, Tourism | 0 CommentsElla the danger mouse got more than she bargained for when she tried to win herself one of the gift teddies in a grab-a-prize machine, located in the family amusement zone of the Sunspot bar, in Fase IV of the Shopping Centre Puerto Rico, last Sunday at about 8.30 pm....
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La Alcaldesa, the mayoress of Mogán, investigations continue before the courts, after trying to block Guardia Civil from looking at municipal files
by Timon .:. | 5th November 2022 | Crime, investigation, Local Council, Mogán, News | 0 CommentsLa Alcaldesa, O. Bueno, was called on Thursday, before the judge, to defend why she ordered her IT manager to stop Guardia Civil access to town hall computers after her arrest, not for the first time, back in September 2020. The case is just one of the several...
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The Canary Guide: Maspalomas Market has moved to Parque Europeo while the new facilities are being built
by Sanna | 16th October 2022 | Community, Fairs & Markets, Maspalomas, Playa del Inglés, Sunshine, Tourism | 0 CommentsAt the start of October the popular Maspalomas Market moved to the Parque Europeo, in the heart of Playa del Inglés. The Town Council provisionally moved the Wednesday and Saturday market due to works due to start on the new municipal market renovation The Councillor...
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San Bartolomé de Tirajana will completely renew sunbeds and umbrellas on its beaches
by Sanna | 16th September 2022 | Local Council, Maspalomas, Sunshine, Tourism | 0 CommentsThe Maspalomas-Gran Canaria Tourism Rehabilitation Consortium has put out to tender, to a value of €600,000, divided into two lots, for the supply of sun-beds (hammocks) and umbrellas for the beaches of Maspalomas Costa Canaria, Spain and The Canary Islands' top...
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The Canary Guide #WeekendTips 2-4 September 2022
by Sanna | 2nd September 2022 | Events & Leisure, Fairs & Markets, Tourism, Weekend Tips | 0 CommentsIt's the first weekend of September edition of The Canary Guide #WeekendTips. What a summer its been, but it's not quite over yet, and as we roll towards the autumn there is a full weekend of activities ahead, with various events and fairs to go and see. The month of...
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Mogán closes all the beaches on the eve of San Juan festivities
by Timon .:. | 22nd June 2020 | #TheCanaryCoronaVirus, #Tourism0, Events & Leisure, Government, Health, Local Council, Mogán, Police, Tourism | 0 CommentsMogán Town Council will close accesses to all the beaches throughout the south-west's municipal areas from 20:00 on Tuesday, June 23 to avoid possible concentrations of people on the occasion of the popular San Juan night celebrations. Citizens will be able to enjoy...
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Failing to comply with Spanish State of Emergency guidance will result in fines or prison
by Timon .:. | 16th March 2020 | #TheCanaryCoronaVirus, Alerts, Community, Crime, Economy, Government, Health, Local Council, Police, politics, SUC, Tourism, Transport, Transport | 0 CommentsFailure to comply with the measures included in the COVID19 health crisis emergency powers decree, declaring the State of Emergency, can lead to fines of 100 euros to a sentence of 3 months in prison for the crime of disobedience and 4 years if found to have attacked...
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Two more electronics store employees in Puerto Rico detained for fraud
by Timon .:. | 31st March 2018 | Business, Crime, investigation, Mogán, News, Police, Tourism | 1 CommentThe Civil Guard have detained two electronics store emlpoyess in the southern tourist town of Puerto Rico (Mogán, a 27 year old with the initials TS and a 29 year old with the initials GA, both of foreign nationality and with prior police records for similar crimes,...
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Events: Almond Blossom Route and festivities in Valsequillo 27-28 January
by Sanna | 23rd January 2018 | Events & Leisure, Fairs & Markets, Tourism | 0 CommentsThis year's Almond Blossom Route in Valsequillo, one of the most traditional celebrations in the Canary Islands, is happening at the end of this week in the rural municipality located in the eastern mountains of Gran Canaria, about 20 minutes up from Telde. Saturday...
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Puerto Rico de Gran Canaria and Amadores beaches in Mogán get reconditioning treatments
by Sanna | 24th May 2020 | #TheCanaryCoronaVirus, #Tourism0, Environment, Events & Leisure, Health, Local Council, Mogán, Tourism | 0 CommentsLast week the town hall of Mogán, on the south west coast of Gran Canaria, began the work of aerating the sand on the beaches of the municipality so as to to improve its quality, condition it and kill bacteria that can proliferate in areas where the sea water does not...
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Air Europa begin inter-island flights between The Canary Islands
by Sanna | 29th October 2017 | Tourism | 0 CommentsAir Europa this Monday, October 30, start to operate flights between the individual Canary Islands. The third largest Spanish airline is headquartered in Majorca, a subsidiary of Spanish travel and tourism company Globalia, and a member of SkyTeam. One of their three...
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Monkey seized with guns and drugs on Gran Canaria
by Timon .:. | 13th November 2017 | Animals, Crime | 0 CommentsAgents of the Guardia Civil's Nature Protection Service (SEPRONA) in San Mateo, Gran Canaria, have arrested a person of Spanish nationality as alleged perpetrator of an offence against public health, denouncing him for weapons and contraband infractions. An...
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Smoking on bar terraces and on the street is not banned on Gran Canaria
by Timon .:. | 18th August 2020 | #TheCanaryCoronaVirus, Business, Economy, Fire, Government, Health, Local Council, Police, Tourism | 0 CommentsEver since the extraordinary meeting of the Canary Islands Government's governing council last Thursday, faced with a sudden increase in cases of coronavirus over the previous two weeks, there has been confusion among smokers about what is or is not allowed when it...
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Woman found dead in Tauro, Guardia Civil seeking her partner
by Timon .:. | 17th December 2017 | Crime, Immigrants, Mogán, News, Police | 0 CommentsA foreign man, thought to be British, is being sought by police after a woman was found dead at a house in the Gran Canaria town of Tauro, in what is being treated as a case of gender violence. The Civil Guard report that at 10.15 am on Sunday they became aware of the...
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Meeting with TUI Group CEO, Sebastian Ebel, confirms good forecasts for the Canary Islands and confidence in the reactivation of holidays from this summer
by Sanna | 1st March 2021 | #TheCanaryCoronaVirus, #Tourism0, Business, News, Tourism | 0 CommentsThe Canary Islands Government Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Yaiza Castilla, held a meeting on Gran Canaria on Thursday evening, February 25th with the CEO and the financial director of the TUI Group, Sebastian Ebel. He confirmed they have good forecasts...
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The British Embassy in Madrid have forwarded an update for UK Nationals as a reminder of the requirements for living as an immigrant in Spain
An update for UK Nationals from The British Embassy in Madrid
From 1 January, UK Nationals have been able to spend 90 days out of every 180 within the Schengen area for tourism or other specific purposes, such as business meetings, without needing a visa. Any stays beyond the 90 days will be dependent on Spain’s visa and immigration rules and any UK Nationals who would like to discuss extending their stay should contact their local extranjería office or call 060.
#WeCrossMountains
All foreign nationals intending to stay in Spain for longer than three months have always been obliged to register for residency – whatever their nationality. Therefore if you arrived in Spain before 1 January you must take steps to become resident if you consider your home to be here. Otherwise, you should be arranging to return to the UK. If you are trying to become resident and are in the process of registering or appealing against your application having been rejected, the 90-day rule does not apply to you.
Living and working in Spain – Your Essential Guide for UK nationals living in Spain before 1 January 2021.
Brits in Spain:
Living and working in Spain – Your Essential Guide for UK nationals living in Spain before 1 January 2021.
The British Embassy in Madrid have produced a series of short guides to advise UK nationals who were legally living in Spain before 1 January 2021, what their rights in Spain are.
Here is their key information for living and working in Spain. On Friday there will be a guide for issues related to Travel and Pet Passports.
The links at the end of this video are:
1. Living in Spain guide: www.gov.uk/livinginpain
2. The document to show the validity of the green certificate: https://www.inclusion.gob.es/ficheros/brexit/nota_aclaratoria_green_certificate.pdf
Posted by TheCanary.TV on Thursday, April 1, 2021
HMA Hugh Elliott said:
“I’m aware that many second home owners are concerned about overstaying as we reach 31 March. The Spanish Government has been clear that it will take a pragmatic approach to anyone who is stuck in Spain due to circumstances beyond their control, so I don’t want people to be overly worried on that count. However, if people do not intend to become resident here in Spain and see the UK as their base, we do expect them to take steps to return to the UK as soon as they can.”
A Spanish Ministry of Inclusion spokesperson said “The Spanish Government is working to provide maximum legal certainty for British citizens resident in Spain. Throughout the negotiations, the issue of citizens’ rights has been, and remains, one of the main priorities. Spain is the country of residence of the largest community of UK nationals in the EU.
“The Spanish Government has no plans to deport British citizens who have made Spain their home and, for this reason, Spain has been one of the first EU countries to establish a documentation procedure under the Withdrawal Agreement, which consists of a declaratory system to apply for the new residence permit (TIE). We remind British citizens that, although there is no time limit, it is important to make this application as soon as possible as, among other things, it will facilitate the administrative processing and the crossing of the external borders of the European Union.”
If you are in the UK and considering travelling to Spain or are in Spain and have friends or family wanting to visit, you should be aware of the continuing travel restrictions on both leaving the UK and entering Spain. UK Nationals must make sure that they meet both the requirements to leave the UK and those to enter Spain, bearing in mind that they are not the same. From 30 March, entry to Spain will only be granted to those passengers who can demonstrate that their journey is essential, as well as to those who are already legally resident in Spain. Entering merely to visit, even if you have a second home here, is not a justified reason for entry. You may be questioned on arrival by Spanish border authorities to ensure you meet the entry requirements and they will only grant entry if they are satisfied that your journey to Spain is essential and reserve the right to deny passage. Ultimately, the decision on whether to grant entry into Spain is made by Spanish border officials as set out in our Travel Advice. For the latest information and links to the restrictions on leaving the UK and entering Spain, the British Embassy in Madrid advise people to visit the Travel Advice page on gov.uk and sign up for alerts, so that they are notified of any changes: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/spain
*Reminder: Our next Q&A will be next Thursday 8 April at 18:00 CET*
It will be streamed live from this page, and will…
Posted by Brits in Spain on Thursday, April 1, 2021
Here are some extra notes to remember:
Since 1 January 2021, British tourists have been able to travel visa-free for tourism or other specific purposes across the Schengen Area (except for Covid-19 restrictions) for up to 90 days in a rolling 180-day period. Anyone wishing to extend their stay, or become a worker or permanent resident will need to apply to the local authorities under Spain’s domestic immigration rules.
If you are unable to return to the UK before the expiry of your visa/permit or visa-free limit due to C-19 restrictions, you should contact your local immigration office (Extranjería) for advice. You can also call 060 from a Spanish phone line.
Due to Covid-19, restrictions on entry from the UK into Spain have been in place since January 2021. Only Spanish nationals, UK nationals resident in Spain and other limited categories of entry are permitted. Please see FCDO Travel Advice for Spain for further details: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/spain
UK nationals and their family members who were lawfully resident in Spain before the end of the transition period, on 31 December 2020, can continue to live, work, study and access benefits and services, such as healthcare, broadly as they did before the UK left the EU.
Their rights are protected by the Withdrawal Agreement, whether or not they have registered for residency. Anyone who has not yet done so, should register for residency and apply for a TIE card which can be used to evidence their rights under the Withdrawal Agreement. Previous versions of this document (also known as the ‘green residency document’) remain valid. More than 360,000 UK nationals in Spain have already registered.
The procedure for applying the resident document, which has been in place since 6 July 2020, distinguishes between those who already had a registration certificate or family member card of an EU citizen, and those who did not.
Those arriving after the transitional period, i.e. from 1 January 2021, will fall under the general immigration regulations. For more information visit:http://extranjeros.inclusion.gob.es/es/InformacionInteres/InformacionProcedimientos/index.html
The UK Government provides detailed advice for UK nationals in our Living in Spain Guide online at: www.gov.uk/livinginspain; and the Spanish Government has also produced a detailed Q+A document on residency in English: https://www.inclusion.gob.es/ficheros/brexit/guia_brexit_2020_en.pdf
Some more useful information:
Living in Spain: Healthcare
Brits in Spain:
Healthcare: Your Essential Guide – UK nationals living in Spain before 1 January 2021.
The British Embassy in Madrid have produced a series of short videos to advise UK nationals who were legally living in Spain before 1 January 2021, what their rights in Spain are.
This one takes a look at Healthcare. There is also a video on Living and Working in Spain and on Friday they will share their guide to Travel and Pet Passports for UK nationals living in Spain before 1 January 2021.
The link at the end of this video is: www.gov.uk/healthcareinspain
Posted by TheCanary.TV on Thursday, April 1, 2021
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The Canary News
What you need to know: Spain’s newly finalised Law of The New Normality is causing confusion about having to wear a mask even when sunbathing
For many, particularly in The Canary Islands, it was a bit of a bombshell to learn that Spain’s finalised Law of The New Normality, announced on Tuesday, will mean having to wear a mask everywhere, even when lying sunbathing on the beach or at the pool. The legislation comes into force throughout Spain this Wednesday, just ahead of the main four-day easter weekend. The latest Official State Gazette (BOE) tightens mandatory regulations for the use of face masks and makes very clear: it must always be worn, regardless of interpersonal distance, both outdoors and indoors, whether in public or private. And so, many are reporting that also includes places like the beach.
The simple fact is that not only have these laws been in the legislative pipeline for many months, and so are not new at all, but the BOE itself does not mention beaches, or swimming pools, nor does it announce any major changes to how these rules are interpreted. There will be further clarifications over the coming hours and days, but in the first instance this law should be seen as an extension to the measures already announced, and not a change of legislation.
Most of the newly published law, however, is really no different from the rules that have been in place since last June, when the so-called lockdown confinement was de-escalated with a decree law to end the first State of Emergency.
Despite the fact that here in the Canary Islands, until now, we have been able to follow our own regional regulation of these spaces, Spanish state standards supersede regional directives. This now means that the only exception to the use of masks, that had been allowed here on the Islands when lying down to sunbathe and so long as a safety distance of two meters was maintain, is now potentially ruled out, at least for the immediate and foreseeable future.
Spain’s central government will study whether it is necessary to “qualify” the newly published rules in a meeting this Wednesday
Spain’s Official State Gazette (BOE) published the new provisions, in a revision and clarification of the previous New Normality rules, in an attempt to further contain the coronavirus, in the face of what some health experts fear could be a European fourth wave of infection. Spain’s central government, however, will study whether it is necessary to “qualify” the newly published rules, at some point, in a meeting that will be held this Wednesday, together with the leaders of all 17 regional autonomous communities.
The Not-So-New Normality
This law has been a long time coming, it was not really a surprise
The New Normality measures announced, however, are not, strictly speaking, new. As far back as last summer most of these stipulations were written into the laws being discussed in the Spanish legislature, however the administrative process to pass these measures into law takes many months, and so during the interim time it was left to regional authorities to implement, as promptly as possible, the basic tenets contemplated. This is, in essence, what has allowed for leeway in how to implement these measures on a regional basis. Now that the measures have passed into Spanish law, all regions are expected to confirm with the wording of that law, and any changes requested, will likely take time to enact.
Don’t Panic! This pandemic is still far from over.
All in all, the new law has been expected for many months, though most had contemplated the published legislation would try to take account of how the measures were actually working in practice, so for some this is seen as an oversight by central government, for others however, concerned about rising infections, and with one of the main national annual holiday weekends looming, this is being seen as a well timed reminder that this pandemic is far from over, and a necessary control measure to help ensure that healthcare services do not become overwhelmed, just as vaccine rollouts have finally begun to offer hope to millions of citizens eager to eventually overcome the devastating affect of more than a year of public health crisis and the subsequent economic collapse that is being experienced all across the world.
“Law 2/2021, of March 29, on urgent prevention, containment and coordination measures to face the health crisis caused by Covid-19” (“Ley 2/2021, de 29 de marzo, de medidas urgentes de prevención, contención y coordinación para hacer frente a la crisis sanitaria ocasionada por la COVID-19“) is a compendium of de-escalation measures that were already agreed back in June 2020, on the basis that the first decree of the state of alarm that the Government had approved has expired.
The New Normality Law
Spain’s Official State Gazette (BOE) published the Draft Law, known as The Law of The ‘New Normality’, which was approved on March 18 in the Congress of Deputies. Among the measures contemplated in the text, which enters into force this Wednesday will remain “until the pandemic ends”. In any case, masks will not be required for people who can verify that they have some type of illness or respiratory difficulty that may be aggravated using the mask or who, due to disability or dependency, would not be able to remove the mask on their own, or who present behavioural issues that make the use of masks unviable or counterproductive.
With the newly published New Normality law, the requirement to wear a mask in outdoor spaces is now applicable to all communities, which can no longer regulate their own exceptions or graduate how the law is applied.
The New Normality articles published yesterday clearly states: “People of six years of age and older are obliged to use masks (…) on public roads, in outdoor spaces and in any closed space for public use or that is open to the public”. This implies, for example, parks, beaches or swimming pools. Also when using “air, maritime, bus, or rail transport”, as well as in “complementary public and private transport of passengers in vehicles with up to nine seats, including the driver, if the occupants of the tourism vehicles they do not live at the same address”.
When travelling by sea, passengers on ships and boats, it will not have to wear masks when they are in their own cabin.
What else does this New Normality law say?
All in all this law is simply finalising the text of the rules that have already been in place since summer 2020, clarifying some of the points of contention to follow the best advice given to the Government of Spain, and regulates the application of those rules throughout all Spanish territories.
The law now states that sale of single surgical masks, not individually packaged, can only be carried out in pharmacies, guaranteeing adequate hygiene conditions that safeguard the quality of the product.
Sports, exceptions and health issues:
Current exceptions to the use of masks have been preserved in the new wording: individual outdoor sport and people who have disease or respiratory difficulty, aggravated by the use of masks or who, due to their situation of disability or dependency, would not be able to take it off on their own.
Force majeure or situations of necessity are included as an exception or when, due to the very nature of the activities, the use of the mask is not compatible, as already stated in previous legislation.
Going to work
People who present symptoms compatible with COVID-19 or are in home isolation should not go to their workplace. If a worker begins to have COVID-19 compatible symptoms, they must immediately contact the telephone number set up by their autonomous community or health centre, and they must put on a mask and “follow the recommendations indicated, until their situation is assessed by a healthcare professional.”
Business owners, or the directors of the centres and other entities, must guarantee adequate ventilation and disinfection measures, and have water and soap or hydro-alcoholic gels available at all times for cleaning workers’ hands. Likewise, everyone must adapt working conditions to maintain an interpersonal safety distance of a minimum 1.5 metres (or adequate protective equipment, if that is not possible) and organise work schedules to avoid overcrowding.
Finally, business owners must “adopt measures for the progressive reincorporation in person to the jobs and the promotion of the use of telework when it is possible due to the nature of the work activity”.
No change for shops, hotels and shows
The competent administrations must ensure compliance by the owners of hotels, shops or cultural shows with the regulations for capacity, disinfection, prevention and conditioning that are determined.
They will have to ensure the necessary measures to guarantee a minimum interpersonal distance of 1.5 meters and avoid crowds.
Schools without crowds
Conditions must be guaranteed so that there is no crowding and that both students and workers can comply with “the indications of distance or limitation of contacts, as well as personal prevention measures.”
Sanitary system
The competent administrations must ensure the sufficient availability of health professionals with the capacity to reorganise them according to priorities at all times. They must guarantee of a sufficient number of professionals for the prevention and control of the disease, its early diagnosis, attention to cases and epidemiological surveillance.
La ley de “nueva normalidad” [The Law of The New Normal] https://t.co/Kq7YZaY7up
— Miki&Duarte (@MikiyDuarte) March 31, 2021
During the New Normality legislative final debate in Congress, the Lower House of the Spanish Parliament, the Cortes, the Health Minister, Carolina Darias, stressed that this law will “allow progress in the control of the pandemic and also in functions of surveillance, inspection and control of cases.”
“This rule will be central to the management of the pandemic until it’s end. It includes a good part of the commitment acquired during the management of this painful crisis. It is called to be a source of knowledge for those who have to make similar decisions in the future”, said the minister in defence of the move.
Guillermo Díaz, from the Ciudadanos party, used the opportunity to highlight the incorporation of an amendment from his party for the suspension of the medical inspection visa for the prescription of triple therapy in the treatment of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), throughout the pandemic. “It will avoid bureaucratic treatments to access the best of treatments,” he celebrated. Keeping in tune with the Minister of Health, Díaz defended the need for this law: “We cannot face a pandemic again with royal decrees, except to qualify a rule that already exists.” In any case, he demanded that the Executive “propose to establish legislation that allows a better response to a situation like this in the future.”
Laura Márquez, from Unidos Podemos, part of Spain’s governing coalition, said she was also satisfied with the incorporation into the legislative text of an extension to research contracts during the pandemic, but insisted that those working to combat the pandemic should have proper work full time contracts saying “it is necessary to address the problem of temporality in scientific research.”
“Even people who are researching vaccines in our country have temporary contracts. We must guarantee the stability of our scientists, really, without cheating or cardboard [cutouts],” she added.
The opposition PP deputy Ana Pastor, herself a former Minister of Health, said that she regretted that the New Normality document does not incorporate any of the 45 amendments presented by her main opposition group. “Never before has the parliament been so ignored as in this legislature.” she said. “Decrees have become the norm, as has happened with this one. They have not accepted any of the 45 amendments from my party. Do you not realise that this decree arrives just as it [was originally suggested], that it has only incorporated five amendments?”, she pointed out by way of example. Pastor criticised that the Government, saying that this law, “has been unable to incorporate what the health system urgently needs.” She demanded to know “Why have they not supported our amendments?”
PSOE’s deputy Carmen Andrés Añón replied that the PP amendments were “very far” from the “nature” of the guidelines, since “they intended an exhaustive regulation of all foreseeable possible and impossible situations, and in this way would handicap the Inter-territorial Council in its decision-making “.
“In addition,” she said “they raised a clear conflict of powers with the autonomous communities. They were very far from the Constitution and the spirit of the law,” she concluded.
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The Canary News
Shipping companies start sending ships to the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Port of La Luz to circumvent the blocked Suez Canal
Shipping companies have started sending ships via the main Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Port of La Luz to avoid the blockade in the Suez Canal. The president of the Port Authority of Las Palmas, Luis Ibarra, confirmed on Saturday that the capital will be one of the beneficiaries in the commercial crisis caused by the Ever Given accident, caused when the large container ship ran aground last Thursday in the famous Egyptian canal. Freight companies have signalled that they now intend to avoid the growing maritime traffic jam that has formed in the Red Sea by instead skirting the African coasts, making the Canary Islands a stopover on their merchant trips headed for the ports of central Europe, mainly Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Antwerp and Hamburg.
“It is too early to know the real scope of this crisis because everything depends on the time it takes to resolve the accident,” said Ibarra, “but everything that passes through the Cape of Good Hope [South Africa] will be beneficial to us.” For the moment, he stressed that companies have already confirmed that several ships from Asia will pass through the Islands, with a final destination in Europe, with freighters with capacity for 12,000 containers.
The capital of Gran Canaria will be a stopover in the transit of goods between continents, which would usually take the shorter route via Suez, although we will not be able to handle mega freighters such as the stricken one currently blocking the canal, as Las Palmas does not currently have cranes capable of operating with vessels carrying up to 24,000 teus (containers). The ships will unload containers that were destined for Mediterranean ports on the Island, which will then be sent on to their final destination. This stop will allow companies to avoid having make even larger detours towards the Strait of Gibraltar. The Puerto La Luz is better positioned than most others, in Algeria, Morroco or Portugal, according to Ibarra. “The location of Las Palmas is perfect in this regard,” he stressed.
The commercial crisis unleashed by Ever Given will offer benefit to the island, not only in the movement of containers through the different terminals of La Luz, but also in the supply of fuel. Sources from the oil company Oryx pointed out that the situation in the Suez Canal “may be positive” for their facilities on Gran Canaria, but everything will depend on the time that the sea passage remains blocked and the subsequent unblocking of the vessels currently built up in the Red Sea. The La Esfinge pier at the port has sufficient draft to moor oil tankers of almost 300 meters in length.
Sources consulted by Spanish language daily La Provincia agree that it is still too early to know the extent of the current commercial crisis or effect it will have on maritime traffic in La Luz. No date has yet been suggested for the unblocking of the canal; and once the accident is resolved, the Suez passage must be decongested. Shipping companies have indicated that there are more than 200 container ships stuck in the area until further notice. On Monday new movements are expected from shipping companies after the weekend break.
Ibarra points out that the Port will see repercussions from the blockade in Suez by the middle of the week, since ships take an average of between seven and eight days to go around the African continent from Southeast Asia. “Everything will depend on how many companies choose to divert their ships, the products they transport, the urgency of the recipient,” said the president of the Las Palmas Port Authority.
Comparison of the size of the ‘EverGiven’, as long as the main shopping street in Las Palmas
The African route is, of course, more complicated than the Suez Canal alternative as it is longer and presents problems including the potential for piracy, especially for those ships that need to stop for refuelling. The distance between Singapore, the main shipping zone from Southeast Asia, to the Netherlands, by going round South Africa, is about 23,300 kilometres compared to the 16,400 usually travelled via Egypt. It is approximately 20,000 km from either Singapore or from Suez to The Canary Islands Archipelago .
Ibarra also pointed out that whatever happens next, the canary islands are unlikely to suffer any supply problems due to the accident, since ships that use the Suez Canal route are not normally carrying cargo destined for the Islands. In mainland Spain, however, the logistical consequences will be greater particularly for destinations in the Mediterranean. “A blockade like this interrupts the rotation of containers,” he explained, while highlighting that the situation will not last long, predictably, not more than a month.
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The Canary News
