Lola García, the president of the Fuerteventura Cabildo, has requested that the eastern islands of the Canary Islands, i.e. Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, receive a fuel subsidy in the same way that El Hierro, La Palma, and La Gomera have started receiving today (Monday), following the agreement approved by the regional government.
In a statement, García applauded the approved and now effective measure for the so-called ‘green’ islands but insisted that it should be extended to Fuerteventura and Lanzarote as well. La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro all have a reduction of 20 cents per litre from today, applicable to the price of petrol, diesel and marine diesel for land and sea vehicles.
García said that the cabildo is "pleased with the necessary assistance that the smaller islands are receiving to cope with the exorbitant fuel prices." However, she stated that she doesn’t understand why the Government "has not extended it to other islands like Fuerteventura, where the average prices are even higher than the islands where it is applied."
According to the island president, attention must also be paid to the size in length of an island like Fuerteventura, where airport transfers require much more fuel, as do people commuting to work from the south to Puerto del Rosario.
"Let's not even talk about what it means for hauliers to transport goods from one point to another in Fuerteventura, compared to the distances in the smaller islands," she added.
García emphasized that Fuerteventura "not only has higher prices than some of the subsidised islands, but also the cost per litre increases considerably because it is much further to get from one side of the island to the other."
For all these reasons, she believes that "fuel should also be subsidised for people living in Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, for the entire general population, for hauliers, companies, and self-employed workers, for farmers, livestock breeders, and fishermen, so that everyone has the same opportunities, regardless of the island they live on."
