The Balearic Parliament will debate this Tuesday, from 10.00 a.m., the bill for Formentera to have its own senator, a historical insular claim that was reactivated in recent weeks with the support of the Consell Insular de Formentera. The plenary session will decide whether to ratify the text that would allow the proposal for constitutional reform to be submitted to Congress.
The proposal to be discussed in the plenary responds to the plenary agreement of the Consell de Formentera, led by its president, Óscar Portas, and gives continuity to a process initiated in 2004 and reactivated in this legislature after seven years of blockage in Congress. The reactivation has been possible thanks to the initiative of the deputy Llorenç Córdoba, in the framework of point 20 of the investiture agreement of 2023, and has had the collaboration of the Balearic Government and the Popular Party to order the administrative procedures and keep the issue on the parliamentary agenda.
On October 14, the Parliament approved a Resolution Proposal, promoted by Cordoba, to resume and accelerate the legislative process. The text received 49 votes in favor and only five against, those of the deputies of Vox, and stated that this measure is a matter of “democratic justice and institutional coherence”, equating the situation of Formentera to that of other islands such as El Hierro, in the Canary Islands.
Two key steps are being taken this week: this Tuesday, the plenary must reaffirm the 2018 agreement -by which the reform was already referred to Congress-, and this Wednesday, November 12, the Parliament will send the names of the delegation that will defend the reform before the Lower House, in response to a formal request from the president of Congress, Francina Armengol.
Other plenary session topics: climate emergency, education and housing
In addition to the debate on the senator from Formentera, this Tuesday’s plenary session includes several outstanding initiatives:
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The PSIB will defend a motion on the risks associated with extreme weather events, in a context marked by the recent storms in the Balearic Islands.
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A Socialist Proposition Not of Law (PNL) in favor of a State Pact to face the climate emergency will also be debated.
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For its part, MÉS per Mallorca will present a PNL to defend public education, criticizing the Government for “perverting the distribution” between public and subsidized schools.
“The PP is forcing the system to ensure that the concerted system has enough students even where there is already a public school,” denounced ecosoberanista spokesman Lluís Apesteguia.
In addition, United We can question the Councillor for Housing, José Luis Mateo, for the lack of effective policies on housing. According to the deputy José María García, the program ‘Alquiler Seguro’ has not given the expected results and Ibavi has not launched any housing development.
The plenary session will begin with the usual session of control to the Govern, which will address, among other issues, the internal situation in IB3, the results of the World Travel Market (WTM), health management and the proposal of Vox to include Castilian as a vehicular language in education.
