Speaking after her Monday morning audience with King Felipe, President Armengol called on all Spanish government ministries to "look especially" at the Balearics when making decisions regarding the distribution of European funds. The Balearics, she stressed, "is a region that has always been a contributor (to the regional financing system) and now needs more funds".
The president said that 55% of the funds being managed by regional administrations was positive, as "it is a good example of co-governance". Noting that priority in the distribution of European funds by the EU has been given to countries where GDP has fallen the greatest, she insisted that this criterion should also apply to the Spanish government's distribution to the regions.
Armengol explained that she had spoken to the King about the health situation and economic reactivation on the islands. "Without health there is no economy, and we were the region with the lowest excess mortality in 2020, while we now have a tourism season that is working well."
"Despite the fact that there are many cases of infection, the current situation is different because there is the vaccination." The president told the King about the rate of vaccination in the Balearics, pointing out that the Balearics has the highest percentage of vaccination among the youth population. "There is more control of health matters, and we are able to have a tourism season."
Highlighting Balearic leadership in terms of international tourism, she acknowledged that there has been a large fall in GDP but stated that a rapid recovery of the economy is possible. Armengol suggested that unemployment in the Balearics will be shown to be below ten per cent when Tuesday's figures are published.