The Government announces new aid for the La Palma volcano for housing, SMEs, tourism, agriculture and fishing



More aid for La Palma when it seems that an eruption that has lasted three months may gradually disappear. This is what the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has announced at his entrance to the European Council this Thursday in Brussels during a statement without questions.

"Tomorrow we are going to approve a new package of measures for the reconstruction and relaunch of the economy on the island of La Palma," said Sánchez, announcing new decisions of the Council of Ministers this Friday: "We are going to do is expand aid existing and make that aid arrive as soon as possible ".

In relation to housing, Sánchez has announced: "We are going to double the aid. We are going to increase the limit from 30,000 to 60,000 euros, and they will be complementary aid to the compensation that is being received in insurance matters and that they are putting into other territorial administrations are running, such as the Autonomous Administration or the administration of the Cabildo of the Island of La Palma ".

"Secondly," Sánchez said, "we are going to approve a package of 7.5 million euros for aid to small and medium-sized companies on the Island of La Palma and also for the relaunch of the tourism sector on the Island of La Palm".

In addition, the President of the Government has stated that "seafarers will not contribute to Social Security as long as they cannot fish." Thus, the Executive will "extend the postponement of the payment of debts until May 2, 2022." Finally, it is going to "increase by 12 million euros, up to 30 million euros, direct aid to farmers, ranchers and the promotion of agricultural products on the island of La Palma."


Sánchez asks the EU for more measures regarding the price of electricity

The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has also regretted, in the declaration without questions in Brussels, the actions taken to date by the European institutions to address the energy crisis and the record prices of electricity. The last of them, the one announced this Wednesday by the Community Executive, has to do with a Spanish idea, the joint purchase of gas and energy reserves, but its voluntary nature and conditionality in times of emergency and supply crisis means that, moment, they cannot get going.

The European Commission also published in October a Toolbox which, basically, was a compilation of national measures that could be implemented by the 27 governments.

In short, "it is insufficient", said Sánchez: "We continue with rising energy prices throughout Europe, by the way, and we need to review the way in which the formation of energy prices is structured at the European level" .

"I think it is essential that the European Union take measures and that they take them more intensely and much faster," Sánchez continued: "That is what I am going to defend in the European Council. [que se celebra este jueves en Bruselas]. It is true that the European Commission has accepted one of the proposals of the Government of Spain, which is the centralized purchase of gas and therefore also being able to have a strategic gas reserve in Europe. But it is insufficient. "

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