They denounce the attitude of the Ministry of Ecological Transition and support the firmness of the Government of the Canary Islands in defense of its power to exercise powers already transferred
The precautionary stoppage of works at the Majorero establishment may force a new closure of the hotel and will put the stability of more than 400 jobs at risk.
The Association of Tourism Entrepreneurs of Fuerteventura (Asofuer); the Lanzarote Tourist Federation (FTL); The Hotel and Non-Hotel Association of Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro (Ashotel), and the Federation of Hospitality and Tourism Entrepreneurs of Las Palmas (FEHT) have expressed their astonishment and indignation at the attitude shown by the Ministry of Transition Ecological with respect to the management of the coastline in the Canary Islands, in open contempt for the transfer of powers over coastal management that the same central Administration signed with the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands in August 2022, and which has been in force since the beginning of the present year.
For the tourist associations, the behavior of the central Government regarding actions on the Canary Islands coast is totally contradictory with the Ministry's own actions, in particular with the transfer of a competence that currently already corresponds to the Government of the Canary Islands, because it They stipulate the decree itself on the transfer of competence and, above all, the Statute of Autonomy of the Canary Islands.
The Ministry's actions reach scandalous proportions in the case of the Riu Oliva Beach hotel in Corralejo, on the island of Fuerteventura, a matter in which the position of this department of the central Government can be clearly defined as abuse of power, due to its claim to deprive the Autonomous Community of the powers it has assumed and, therefore, its capacity to process and resolve files on fully valid administrative concessions and also grant authorizations for the renovation of facilities such as those of the Riu Oliva Beach, necessary for the maintenance of the activity and in accordance with current regulations, as proven by the authorization granted by the Government of the Canary Islands on May 26 of this same year.
The consequences of the precautionary stoppage of the works at Oliva Beach, a decision adopted by the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC), at the request of the Ministry of Ecological Transition, are very serious for the activity itself. and the stability of jobs, as they will force a new closure of the hotel facilities, just when the company was completing the procedures to undertake the rehabilitation work in accordance with the administrative concession in force.
More than 400 jobs at risk
The more than four hundred workers at Oliva Beach are the main victims of the Ministry's irresponsible attitude, which also harms the entire economic activity in the north of Fuerteventura. It is worth remembering that this hotel was awarded a week ago with the Canary Islands Tourism Award, granted by the regional government, for its contribution over decades to the international projection of Corralejo and Fuerteventura as a successful tourist destination in European markets, a result of the quality offered, commitment to the local community and also the adoption of all the necessary environmental protection standards.
Tourism businessmen fully support the arguments of the Riu company in defense of their legitimate rights and also trust in the firmness of the Government of the Canary Islands to maintain in the appropriate instances, including judicial ones, the full power of the Autonomous Community to exercise its powers. transferred, safe from interference and hostile attitudes that are totally intolerable and reveal an arrogant vision and also very little compatible with the principles of self-government.
The Oliva Beach case is an example of arbitrary behavior by the central Administration, but also an alarming precedent regarding the general behavior of the Ministry of Ecological Transition regarding the management of the coastline on the Islands. In this regard, the hotel employers' associations support the position of the current Government of the Canary Islands in defense of compliance with the Statute of Autonomy and the exercise of their powers in matters of coastal management.
It is worth remembering that the authorization granted by the regional Executive in the last legislature for the renovation works of Oliva Beach was produced with full respect for the environmental protection measures and care in the actions on the coast, given the full urban planning legality of said property due to the administrative concession in force, renewed by the central government in 2016.
