PRESIDENT ALONSO ANNOUNCES BID TO ENSURE CANARIES RETAINS FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT WITH BRITAIN
07 November 2017 – The president of the Island of Tenerife, Carlos Alonso, has announced that Tenerife and the Canaries are leading a bid to maintain the freedoms between the islands and Britain post BREXIT.
The proposal will negotiate with both the Spanish and the EU government to ensure a deal is struck that will provide special conditions for the Canaries, since it is an autonomous state from Spain.
The president explained, “The aim is to maintain the existing conditions and relations between the Canaries and the UK and therefore exclude the Canaries and Tenerife of the effects of BREXIT. With the Canaries already benefiting from special measures and exemptions in EU policies, including agricultural policies, fiscal policies and commercial policies, because we are a small territory, very far from the mainland. Our bid will maintain free movement, trade, services and capital between the island and Britain post Brexit and allow the islands to deal with the UK as a third-party country.”
The President also stated that as the British market is the largest source of tourism for the island, the Canary government, especially Tenerife, would like to maintain “the fruitful relations with our British friends, based on the strong historical linkages and in a rich social and economic relation which we want to reinforce in the future.”
Based on the specific provisions included in the EU treaty benefiting the outermost regions, the President continued to explain, “we are asking that we be able to maintain the current framework we have with the UK, with free movement of goods, of services (including tourism), of people and of capital, which is in the mutual interest of both parties.”
And so, they will start the process to submit their plans to both the Spanish government and European institution to maintain their current deal with Britain.
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