Mallorca 13 – 19 April 2023 Issue 1971

THE BEST FINANCE NEWS ON PAGES 16 ­ 20 Issue No. 1971 13 - 19 April 2023

Save Palma Yacht Club A DEMONSTRATION has been called for Saturday April 15 in support of Palma Yacht Club (RCNP) over the possible loss of its operating li­ cence. It has been backed by the Yacht Club As­ sociation and will bear the slogan ‘Save the RCNP’. The march will start outside the offices of the Real Club Náutico at 11am and end out­ side the headquarters of the Balearic Port Authority. Palma Yacht Club, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, is threatened by problems with the li­ cence issued by the Port Authority to con­ tinue using the instal­ lations, as the previ­ ous one expired in December last year and the RCNP is cur­ rently operating on a temporary permit. The Yacht Club had requested a 20­year extension of the li­ cence, which was de­ nied by the Port Au­ thority. The case is currently in court, and it is feared a negative outcome could force the RCNP go move out of its historic head­ quarters with the op­ erating licence being put out to tender to the highest bidder. In addition, it could set a precedent for other long­standing entities such as the Port d’Andratx Sailing Club.

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Airport taxis dispute

Image by Artesia Wells/Shutterstock

Taxi numbers outside Palma airport have spiralled.

THE Balearic Transport Federation (FEBT) has lodged a complaint with the regional government against the increase in ‘pirate transport’ at Pal­ ma airport. Unlicensed taxis and mini­buses operating at Son Sant Joan have mul­ tiplied in recent weeks according to the FEBT, with numbers spiralling over the Easter holidays. Federation president Rafael Roig has called on the Balearic Transport department to act ur­ gently before the sum­ mer to prevent “chaos and tension” between li­ Image by European Parliament

MAIREAD MCGUINESS: Suggested that there could be certain exceptions.

THE European Union has fi­ nally reacted to suggestions to restrict property sales to non­residents in the Balearic Islands. European Commissioner for Financial Services, Finan­ cial Stability and Capital Markets Union, Mairead McGuiness (pictured), de­ clared that current EU legis­ lation “prohibits restrictions on movements of capital re­ lated to the acquisition of property, including housing, on behalf of non­resident EU nationals.”

Although she left the final say on the matter up to the Court of Justice of the Euro­ pean Union (CJEU), Ms McGuiness did suggest that there could be certain ex­ ceptions, such as the exis­ tence of “reasons of public order or safety.” Regional Vice­President Juan Pedro Yllanes had re­ cently insisted that “the cir­ cumstances in the Balearics are absolutely exceptional, so our request could be ac­ cepted by the CJEU.” The left­wing Podemos

party is calling on the restric­ tion of house sales to for­ eign nationals in an effort to solve the problems of hous­ ing shortage and spiralling prices on the islands, which in many cases are forcing lo­ cal residents to move out. Podemos leader Ione Be­ larra insisted that they will continue to fight for “a na­ tional law that stops the is­ lands from becoming a luxu­ ry resort for a few, while non­residents buy up all the available housing and force prices up.”

censed and unlicensed drivers, “as occurs in Ibiza.” According to Sr Roig, these ‘pirates’ are be­ coming increasingly con­ fident and have even started using private cars. The federation also points out the existence of several online plat­ forms that manage unli­ censed transport with fixed­price services, and as such pose unfair com­ petition to regular drivers. “Pirate transport with private cars is totally illegal and infringes all the existing regulations,” insists FEBT.