Representatives of Balearic business, professions and civil society have delivered a letter to Prime Minister Sánchez calling for an "economic salvation plan" for the islands.
The letter, which was handed into the national government delegation in Palma for forwarding to Sánchez, highlights the seriousness of the situation facing the Balearics. It points out that estimates of the fall in Balearic GDP are almost three times as great as those for Spain as a whole.
For this reason, and because of the dependence on tourism, the Spanish government is being asked to provide "effective solutions in the short, medium and long terms to the needs of the Balearic social and economic fabric". These solutions need to be "without delay" for a region "which, for decades, has contributed so much to the economy and well-being of Spain". "We must prevent the vulnerability and fragility of the islands in the face of this plague from continuing to seriously affect people, the families and solvent businesses. This would be a sad, unjust and irrecoverable situation."
The plan, as set out in the letter, is based on: ensuring that the Balearics are safe for residents and tourists; articulating rescue mechanisms during 2021; attracting aid for the post-Covid economic transformation of the islands' productive sectors in line with European Union recovery guidelines.
With regard to the first point, safety, there are references to the need for vaccination certificates and for mass vaccination of 70% of the population - "the sooner the better". "If the tourism season cannot start this summer, our forecasts for 2021 are even worse. And as happens in these cases, the most vulnerable will be the most affected. The letter requests the mobilisation of "all available public and private health resources" to achieve the goal of 70% vaccination by June.
Among those present for the delivery of the letter were the presidents of the two main employers associations (CAEB and Pimem), the general secretary of the UGT union and the rector of the University of the Balearic Islands.