With the aim of recovering the commercial fabric of the Balearic Islands, the Government and representatives of the sector met so that the commerce can receive at least 2.48% of the total Next Generation funds, which would correspond to the community following the criteria population with respect to the State as a whole.

“The commercial sector has been one of the most punished and at the same time one of the most responsible throughout the pandemic,” explained the vice president and minister of Energy Transition, Productive Sectors and Democratic Memory, Juan Pedro Yllanes. “Now we are entering a very different phase where we hope that the first concern and occupation will be the recovery and reactivation of all our productive fabric. That is why we continue to bet on permanent dialogue, public-private collaboration and the firm conviction that we will not achieve a sustainable economic model if we do not first worry about the sustainability of our businesses and our industries. ”

The vice president has advanced to the employers of the sector that the General Directorate of Commerce is already working on a new service to support and accompany the town councils and island councils in the development of projects that can benefit from these funds.

In order to provide technical support and be able to generate solid projects aligned with the different European, national and international economic recovery plans, the General Directorate of Commerce will offer municipalities and island councils of the Balearic Islands a consulting service for the drafting of Next Generation projects , which will have packages of a minimum of ten hours per beneficiary up to a maximum of twenty-five.

Those entities that have already submitted projects to the Next Generation Commerce 2021 call, and that have passed the threshold of 50 points out of 100, will be prioritized, as well as those projects that include gender equality objectives. The technical capacity of the local entity to accompany the drafting and execution of the projects will also be evaluated.

This 2022, the General Directorate of Commerce will have more resources, with a budget that has been increased and has gone from 3.7 to 4.5 million euros. Among the star projects, the result of historical claims of the sector, the vice president highlighted the launch of a new commercial bond campaign for all the islands that adds up to half a million euros, up to 1.5 million. In 2022, the Trade Observatory will continue to have a special role and open-air projects will be launched again.

Calle San Miguel is one of the most commercial in Palma. Photo: MG.