Nothing going on without moss, sounds coarse and colloquial, but unmistakably sums up the current financial straits of many average Otto consumers on Mallorca. Since the impact of Russian missiles in Ukraine, their money has been anything but easy in their wallets. In many cases, the current situation has even threatened the existence of private households, companies or freelancers on the island.
Just five weeks ago, the outbreak of war in Eastern Europe resulted in skyrocketing electricity, fuel and living costs in the Balearic Islands as in the rest of Spain. A resulting strike by transport drivers on the mainland also led to a shortage of food and goods on the islands until the beginning of the week.
For a few days, however, things seem to have calmed down, as the truck drivers have ended their strike, and entrepreneurs and consumers can look a little more confident. What happened?
On Friday (March 25), the Spanish central government passed a package of measures to slow down the current economic downturn. The financial aid package, which is endowed with a total of six billion euros, includes a nationwide petrol discount for entrepreneurs and private individuals (see info box ) also proposed a cap on electricity and heating prices and a maximum rent limit, which had also skyrocketed in recent weeks as inflation galloped.
In the Balearic Islands, the state government also announced further economic aid on its own initiative on Tuesday. Among them is the increase in regional social assistance for low-income families (Renta Social Garantizada) by 15 percent. The sectors hit particularly hard by the fuel price increase, such as transport companies, farmers and commercial fishermen, are to be subsidized with direct aid and can also apply for interest-free loans with long terms. Discounts and price reductions for the use of public transport as well as bonus payments for electricity bills in low-income households were also announced by the Govern Balear. The state government put the funds made available for this at a total of 106 million euros.
However, it is uncertain whether that much money will be enough to stimulate the economy on the islands again. Representatives of the small and medium-sized entrepreneurs’ association (Pimem) assessed the financial aid promised by the Govern Balear as insufficient. Mainly because many companies and freelancers are still struggling with the economic legacy from Corona times. Among other things, the association is calling for the repayments of government Covid loans (ICO) due in May to be suspended until the end of the year. Business owners have also criticized the “complete lack of clarity” regarding the practical implementation of all the aid measures announced by the central and state governments. An end to the crisis does not appear to be in sight for the time being.
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