SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 10 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The President of the Canary Islands Government, Fernando Clavijo, expressed his confidence on Wednesday that the upcoming European Union (EU) housing conference, announced by the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will address the foreign purchase limitations promoted by the Canary Islands Government.

“From the opposition benches, they called it madness when we first raised this issue, and now the Spanish government itself has adopted the Canary Islands’ argument in the strategy for the Outermost Regions,” he noted during a control session, responding to a question from the Mixed Group.

The President believes it is “timely” for the EU to open the debate, as this is a matter of “major concern for the public, particularly affecting young individuals who have studied, trained, and are employed but cannot move out of their parents’ homes due to their inability to afford rent or buy a property.”

He also defended his Executive’s “strategy” to improve housing access through various decrees aimed at facilitating construction, implementing the RIC to promote affordable rentals, and amending the local regime bases law, in collaboration with municipalities, to establish access criteria.

Raúl Acosta, spokesperson for the Mixed Group (AHI), pointed out that the Canary Islands consistently ranks among the top regions for property sales to foreigners, accounting for nearly 30% of transactions in the second quarter of the year.

“We are pushing Canarians out of their homeland because those coming from outside have greater purchasing power,” he emphasised, highlighting that this is also the business model sought by developers.