The Government of the Canary Islands is keeping the identity of its representative for the Fiscal and Financial Policy Council (CPFF) in suspense, with the vote on the new regional financing model scheduled for September 4th. Despite the uncertainty surrounding attendance, the regional executive has confirmed its favorable stance towards the agreement, provided that two key premises are met.
These conditions include excluding resources from the islands' Economic and Fiscal Regime (REF) and adding an additional 1.3 billion euros to the funding. The spokesperson for the Canary Executive, Alfonso Cabello, clarified that the decision to support the model will be independent of the individual who ultimately attends the meeting.
The CPFF meeting, initially scheduled for July 24th, was postponed to facilitate negotiations with communities governed by the People's Party (PP). The attendance of the Minister of Finance and European Affairs, Matilde Asián (PP), at the September 4th session has not yet been officially confirmed. In July, it was reported that Asián would not attend due to being on "days off," with the Minister of the Presidency, Nieves Lady Barreto (Coalition Canaria), speculated to attend instead.
Asián's potential absence was interpreted as a way to maintain the alignment of the Canary PP with its national leadership, while respecting the government alliance with Coalition Canaria. The PP's stances in the archipelago and at the state level have differed on other issues, such as the reform of the Foreigners Law regarding the reception of unaccompanied migrant minors, where the PP voted against it in Congress despite the regional executive defending the party's support for the modification.
Minister Arcadi España traveled to the islands on July 27th to secure the Canary Islands' commitment to support the new financing model, an agreement that has not been renewed since 2014. The postponement of the July meeting was due to the PP-governed regions' request for more time to study the proposal.
