\ The new legislative text was approved during President Armengol’s visit to San Pedro.
\ The creation of the International Day of the Balearic Islands Communities Abroad, on 15 July, is proposed.
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The draft law on Balearic and island communities outside the Balearic territory
The Consell de Govern approved the draft law on Balearic or island communities outside the Balearic Islands on Monday, with the aim of responding to issues that the current regulations did not foresee, as well as adapting to the current reality. These issues were proposed by the Plenary Session of the Council of Balearic Communities Abroad, which took place in Palma on 25 January 2020.
Precisely, during the visit of the President of the Government of the Balearic Islands, Francina Armengol, and the Minister of the Presidency, Public Function and Equality, Mercedes Garrido, on 4 June in San Pedro in Argentina, this proposal for a new legislative text received the approval of the 24th Council of Balearic Islands Communities Abroad.
The revision of the regulations takes up the requests made in recent years by the island communities outside the territory to be able to collaborate and participate in the social and cultural life of the Balearic Islands. The purpose of the new draft bill’s proposed agreement is to specify the concept and definition of the island population outside the Balearic Islands and to outline the requirements to enjoy the status of an island community outside the territory.
In addition, given the requests of the Balearic houses, the requirements to be met by people residing outside the territory are delimited so that, without having the political status of citizens of the Balearic Islands, they can be full members of the island communities outside the territory because of their affective, emotional or any other kind of link with the Islands.
The new Bill also proposes the creation of the International Day of the Balearic Islands Communities Abroad, on 15 July, in commemoration of the date of the enactment of the first law regulating the island communities outside the Balearic Islands.
With regard to institutional representation, the future law proposes the creation of two specific commissions, a commission of the parliamentary groups that form part of the Parliament of the Balearic Islands, as a symbol of the plurality that should preside over political relations with the Balearic diaspora, and a second commission of local entities of the Balearic Islands with the Balearic or island communities outside Balearic territory.
The current Law 3/1992, of 15 July 1992, on Balearic communities settled outside the territory of the autonomous community, responds to the need to legislate in compliance with Article 11 of the Statute of Autonomy of the Balearic Islands, which requires a law to determine the scope and content of the recognition of the personality of origin of the Balearic communities settled abroad.
Budgets 2023
The Govern de les Illes Balears, given the requests of the Balearic Islands’ houses, plans to call for grants for 2023 for cultural activities, improvements to the houses and current expenditure, with a budget of 100,000 €, to support these entities so that they can carry out their aims of maintaining links with the history, culture and language of the Balearic Islands.