INSULEUR President Joseph Borg, Vice President Michael Galea, and GBC CEO Daniel Borg who is a member of the Technical Committee, participated in the INSULEUR General Assembly which took place in the island of Gran Canaria. Joseph Borg presided over the meeting. The initial part of the Assembly was also addressed by Jose Sanchez Ruano, from the Government of Gran Canarias, Jose Luis Bonet Ferrer, President of the Chamber of Spain, Manolis Koutoulakis Secretary General with the Greek Mnistry responsible for Insular and Maritime Affairs, and Luis Padron Lopez, President of the Camara Oficial de Comercio, Industria, Servicios y Navegación de Gran Canaria.
In his initial address to the INSULEUR General Assembly, President Joseph Borg in his initial address highlighted that “There are many challenges ahead and during my interventions at various levels, I had the opportunity to discuss them at length including the impact of the proposed taxation on aviation fuels . . . INSULEUR has and will continue to remain an important organisation in putting forward the agenda of islands at all levels, and I am happy that more islands are realising this, and joining our organisation”.
In his intervention on the economic situation in Gozo, during the INSULEUR General Assembly, Michael Galea highlighted how Gozo like other islands has been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially as regards tourism and the supply chain; a situation which has been compounded by the war in Ukraine. He provided an overview of the assistance provided by Government in the energy sector. Nonetheless he also commented on the importance for islands to diversify the economy, and highlighted the GBC’s work in this area.
Daniel Borg presented INSULEUR’s position on the proposed rise in taxes for aviation fuel. He highlighted that “there should be concrete measures targeted towards enhancing both air and maritime carriers to increase their uptake of new technologies which use renewable energies . However, as currently proposed such a tax will be passed on completely to the consumer inhibiting the freedom of movement of people on islands, and will have little or no leverage in really bringing the required changes in both the air and maritime industry”
You can access the agenda of the event here.
The interventions/presentations can be downloaded through the following links:
