The full Parliament has approved this Tuesday the consideration of the reform of the Menorca Biosphere Reserve law, which will make it possible to set limits on the entry of vehicles to the island with the intention that the new system can be in force next summer.
After the approval of the island institution, the proposal now begins its journey in the regional Chamber, with the support of all parties and the abstention of Vox. The new legal framework will allow setting the maximum capacity of vehicles, restricting their access and stay during certain periods, establishing a maximum authorized number, and implementing measures that promote public transport and a mobility model more respectful of the environment.
Among the key points of the modification is that vehicles registered in the name of individuals residing in Menorca will be exempt from the access and stay limitation system.
Likewise, non-residents who own a home in Menorca will be able to have one vehicle per property. Vehicles of individuals who prove they need to travel to the island for work reasons, as well as those of people with reduced mobility, will also be exempt.
Similarly, the regulation will not apply to official and public service vehicles; to emergency services; to public and school transport; to taxis; to vehicles intended for the transport of goods and commercial distribution, nor to machinery and vehicles for industrial, livestock, or agricultural use.
The reform establishes that it will be the full Consell Insular who determines, each year or every two years, the ceiling or maximum number of vehicles subject to limitation that may enter and remain in Menorca, as well as the specific periods in which this regulation will be activated.
In defending the initiative, the island councilor for Environment, Biosphere Reserve, and Cooperation, José Simón Gornés, emphasized the need to turn the law into an effective instrument to improve the lives of residents and those living on the island. "We are taking steps towards more sustainable mobility while promoting public transport," he stated.
For its part, the general secretary of the PSOE of Menorca and former island president, Susana Mora, has celebrated the agreement reached, although she has criticized that the island "has been left behind" in the implementation of this limitation. "The PSOE has always defended this measure, when it was not easy to defend it," she indicated.
The island councilor of Mobility, Juan Manuel Delgado, has emphasized that the objective of the measure is to preserve the quality of life of the Menorcans and safeguard the territory. "We have taken the bull by the horns," he stated, claiming that it is an issue worked on since the beginning of the legislature so that it can be in place next summer.
Criticism for the delay and calls for consensus
The deputy spokesperson of the PSIB, Marc Pons, has criticized the absence in the plenary of the president of the Consell de Menorca, Adolfo Vilafranca, responsible for defending the proposal, and has lamented that "they arrive late and as if dragging their feet and with resignation, as if it were a lesser evil."
According to the socialist deputy, Vilafranca's absence also highlights "internal tensions" that he would have had to face. Pons, however, has highlighted the political maturity of the different forces that has allowed closing the agreement and has announced that he will register "constructive amendments" during the processing.
The deputy of Unidas Podemos, José María García, has applauded the broad consensus and has emphasized the relevance of the norm due to its impact on the arrival of tourists, while calling for an increase in investment in public transport. "It is just as important to have fewer cars in summer as it is for people not to have to resort to the car to move around," he stated.
The spokesperson for Més per Menorca, Josep Castells, has criticized that, despite having the legal instruments, until now the PP has not wanted to apply the limitation and that this is promoted "by the very important social and political pressure."
"They could have done it already," he added. The Menorcian leader has argued that the reform is unnecessary and that "everything that has happened in recent years has been theater whose last act is the modification."
Castells has announced that he will request the processing by single reading or by the most agile procedure possible so that the modification of the law is approved before the end of the year. In his reply, the socialist Marc Pons has already announced that he will oppose "to do things as they should be done."
Debate on the model and accusations of revenue-seeking
On behalf of the PP, the deputy Jordi López has defended that with this initiative the option to "make reality" the ability to set limits on the entry of vehicles to the island is brought to the Parliament.
"Menorca, we all know it is an island, its territory is limited, its roads are limited, its natural resources are limited, and its capacity to absorb certain pressures is also limited," López has stated, who has insisted that the final number of permitted vehicles must respond to load capacity studies and technical criteria, and not to a predetermined figure.
The spokesperson for Vox, Manuela Cañadas, has explained her group's abstention by pointing out that the saturation that Menorca is experiencing is "real," but she has rejected that the response is "the usual one from the left that the PP assumes without complexes." "Prohibitions, bureaucracy, prior authorizations, revenue-seeking, with a new fee and criminalization of mobility," she has stated. For Vox, the response to the congestion that Menorca suffers in summer cannot be "to prohibit, fine, and charge."
The deputy of MÉS per Mallorca Ferran Rosa has reminded that the Menorca Biosphere Reserve law already contemplated the possibility of limiting the entry of vehicles, which is why he has questioned that the modification is coming to the Parliament now.
The ecosoberanista has rejected that the lack of legal certainty justifies the delay in applying the restrictions. "It is a problem of political will. They have never wanted to limit the entry of cars. They have come to do marketing," he has concluded.