The Department of the Sea and Water Cycle of the Balearic Islands has expressed its disagreement with the amendment to Spain’s General Coastal Regulation announced by the Ministry of Territorial Policy, arguing that the reform does not represent real progress in the decentralisation of powers and could create new administrative obstacles in coastal management.
According to the regional government, the measures announced by the State were already included in the decree transferring coastal management powers to the Balearic Islands and therefore do not represent any strengthening of regional self-government or an effective expansion of the islands’ management capacity.
The regional administration has also criticised the fact that the reform was negotiated exclusively with Catalonia and without prior dialogue with the other autonomous communities affected by Spain’s coastal regulations. The Balearic Government considers that the absence of institutional consensus has characterised the entire regulatory reform process.
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Balearic Islands consider Coastal Regulation reform insufficient and warn of further administrative delays
Among the aspects questioned by the Balearic administration is the mechanism requiring the State to be notified of public coastal concession files and the two-month period established for issuing opinions, measures which were already included in the current legal framework. In addition, the new wording could transform certain reports linked to marine strategies into mechanisms of negative administrative silence, a situation which, according to the Department, could increase procedural delays and generate greater legal uncertainty.
The regional government also points out that the creation of a monitoring commission for the transfer of powers is not a new measure, as this body had already been planned from the outset of the transfer process. The Balearic administration states that it has spent more than three years requesting its formal convening without receiving any response from the State.
The Balearic Islands submitted formal objections to the reform project and regret the lack of institutional dialogue throughout the process. The regional government also notes that the Coastal Sectoral Committee has still not been convened and stresses that the reform has advanced without joint negotiations with the autonomous communities.
The Department of the Sea and Water Cycle is also calling on the State to reinvest part of the more than 12 million euros collected annually in the islands through fees related to the occupation and use of the maritime-terrestrial public domain. The Balearic Government argues that, despite the transfer of powers, the autonomous community fully assumes the costs of coastal management without receiving financial compensation or proportional investment for beach regeneration, cliff protection, coastal cleaning or climate change adaptation measures.
The Balearic Government reiterates its willingness to maintain institutional cooperation, while insisting on the need for stable dialogue with the State and measures that help streamline administrative management and respond more effectively to the needs of the Balearic coastline.