Earlier today Consell de Formentera president Alejandra Ferrer chaired a gathering of the island’s security forces that was aimed at enhancing inter-agency coordination and charting a response to recent parties, crowds and violations of Covid restrictions.

Attendees featured representatives of the Civil Guard, Formentera Local Police, Formentera Inspection and Environment Service, Balearic Office of Emergencies and Environment, Spanish Coastal Authority and a group of local officials including deputy premiere and commerce chief Ana Juan, chief of interior Josep Marí, environment and inspections chief Antonio J. Sanz and mobility chief Rafael González.

After the meeting, President Ferrer announced a forthcoming presidential decree requiring closure of all access points to the Illetes area in Ses Salines Natural Reserve of Eivissa-Formentera. From tomorrow at 6.00pm, guests may exit freely, but cannot enter without reservations at a restaurant located on the reserve.

The measure was designed to address the island’s rising Covid-19 case count, as well as recent reports of gatherings —some with alcohol, some without— where Covid rules have been violated. The decree also cites cases of street vending and damage to the local ecosystem.

The new regulations will take effect Saturday, with beaches closing at 10.00pm, as opposed to 12 midnight, as previously.

President Ferrer insisted that, whereas visitors to Formentera are typically respectful of the environment and rules, the current season has seen the emergence of uncivic tourists who flout public health measures and the authority of law enforcement, as meeting participants themselves attested.

Reinforcements
The island’s security forces pledged extraordinary efforts to implement the new provisions, which will see collaboration from FLP, the local, public safety and traffic arms of the Civil Guard and the Formentera Department of Mobility. In August, the Civil Guard’s aquatic and maritime units will provide additional help tackling drinks sales, unauthorised peddling, “party boats” and other arriving watercraft. Agents will also receive support from Formentera’s inspection and environment service.

The Balearic government has also vowed to send inspectors from the regional office of emergencies to enforce public health rules.

The president said attendees had also discussed the domino effect that the measure could have on other areas. “We’ll be flexible and if necessary these measures will be applied elsewhere too”, she said.

Message to public and business community
“Let’s be clear, we do not want the just paying for the sinners. We know most businesses are complying and trying to make it to the season’s end. The same goes for the islanders who endured a tough winter because they wanted to save their summer. Our intent is not to enact more restrictions, but we do want to stop offending behaviour that puts us at risk”. In that regard, Ferrer praised law enforcement for their hard work and applauded the business community and islanders for their patience. She also insisted the island’s government would “exhaust every means at our disposal to make the remaining 20 to 25 days in August safe. Nobody expects it to be easy, and it’s going to take the cooperation of one and all”.

Limited hours of operation
Additional talk revolved around preventing street drinking and crowds in Es Pujols and Sant Ferran, particularly at closing times. President Ferrer said the new restrictions on business hours would mean more work for law enforcement, and pledged to keep asking that protocol changes reflect consideration for Formentera’s reality on the ground: “It’s key to ensuring restrictions are effective and not counterproductive”, said the president, “otherwise they’ll be frustrating and unfair to the people and businesses that have been complying with them since the start of this pandemic”.

4 August 2021
Communications Department
Consell de Formentera

Consell de Formentera president Alejandra Ferrer and the Councillor of Mobility and Housing, Josep Marí, outlined new pandemic containment measures that will be in force on Formentera and across the Balearics starting next weekend.

Main changes:
-No social or family gatherings between 1.00am and 6.00am, except among members of the same household.
-Beaches must remain closed from 10.00pm to 6.00am.
-Restaurants must close at 1.00am, one hour earlier than the current limit (pending possible revision per request by the president). Indoors, where diners were previously six to a table, there will be a four-to-a-table maximum (or an eight-to-a-table maximum on terraces, down from twelve-to-a-table).

Ferrer said both Formentera’s current case count of 109 and its cumulative incidence rate were running high, although she stressed the figures continued to reflect estimations that were based on resident numbers, not the real number of inhabitants currently. “The Consell has always defended the principle of coherent, fair and effective containment measures”, she said, “and this is a case where one of those measures needs tweaking”.

In particular, President Ferrer insisted on the need to rethink new restrictions on hours of operation at restaurants. “An hour less for this sector is a big deal”, she charged, “some will even consider closing”. The island’s top official cast doubt on whether mandating limited business hours would have the desired effect on Formentera, and suggested the move could in fact be counterproductive. “Closing time is when we see the streetside gatherings and private parties that we’re trying to curb”, said the president. “We need help from the restaurants and bars and we want to help them. The island generally has outdoor terraces where people can stay two metres apart, and we don’t think it’s fair to make people who follow the rules pay for the behaviour of a few who don’t”, she said.

Praise for law enforcement
President Ferrer applauded the crucial work of local security forces, particularly Formentera Local Police and the local bureau of inspections. “They’re doing a lot, but last week we asked the Balearic government for reinforcements because there’s not enough of them to conduct controls”, she said. Apart from pressing Palma for help enforcing labour and public health standards, the island’s government asked for additional manpower from the Balearic Directorate General of Emergencies and Interior (DCEI). “DCEI deployments on every island but Formentera are helping to ensure compliance with Covid constraints”, said the president.

President Ferrer closed by asking islanders to be responsible and applauded their efforts to date.

2 August 2021
Communications Department
Consell de Formentera

In a letter sent today by Consell de Formentera president Alejandra Ferrer to Balearic first minister Francina Armengol, the island’s top-ranking official said that dedicated staff would be essential to maintaining round-the-clock labour and public health inspections, insisting such “pre-pandemic” tasks remain crucial today. She also asked for help from the Balearic bureau of inspections and emergencies in tracking compliance with Covid-19 measures.

President Ferrer’s letter describes a situation of ever growing complexity in which “existing municipal regulations and ordinances have been made to accommodate a battery of regulations which are focussed specifically on stemming spread of Covid-19. Meanwhile, enforcement is undermined by staffing shortages amid ever greater numbers of people on the island. The absence of controls to effectively enforce rules about when businesses can and can’t open has given way to exceedingly serious cases of overcrowding, especially at beaches and in urban areas. Since no one is there to enforce business closures, the problem is sent further down the pike to the homes, hotels and apartments where people continue to flout Covid restrictions.

Coordination
Under increased collaboration with the island’s tourism planning department, local law enforcement to will be able to access relevant data about owners of vacation rental properties. If a person renting a home throws an illegal party, police can ask the homeowners for the renter’s contact information, raising the possbility the person receives an associated fine in the future. Homeowners who choose not to supply the information will themselves face the fine. “If owners of vacation rental properties do their part to curb increasingly frequent house parties, we can ensure compliance with public health regulations and put a stop to surging cases”, said President Ferrer.

Drinking in the street
Pointing to increasingly frequent streetside revellers and crowds at beaches, Ferrer asked the Balearic government for a dedicated Covid detail on the island. Agents could go places where overcrowding is frequent, Ferrer offered, and perform outreach before the situation becomes problematic. “We’re also extremely concerned about the return of ‘party boats’ and watercraft peddling alcohol at sea and on beaches”, added the president.

Ferrer closed by highlighting recent expansions and reinforcements to the island’s Civil Guard service including new safety and traffic units. Both will coordinate with Formentera Local Police, she said, insisting exceptional circumstances meant additional support would be crucial.

30 July 2021
Communications Department
Consell de Formentera

At today’s July plenary assembly of local government, participants unanimously granted initial approval to proposed regulations of use at the Formentera skate park. Youth department chief Vanessa Parellada indicated admission at the park would be free and that park users would be subject to certain rules, such as, for children under 12, that an adult accompany them while at the skate park. The only equipment approved for use at the skate park are skateboards, scooters, roller-skates, rollerblades and BMX bikes, and park users must wear approved helmets, elbow- and knee-pads and other protective gear. Park users are also required to come in appropriate footwear, and can’t play ball games like football, bring food or bottles made of glass or containing beverages other than water or sports drinks, smoke, litter or sit on the rim of the bowl structure, on benches around the park’s circumference or inside it.

Councillor Parellada said that next week a large poster would feature an easy to follow summary and graphic illustration of the main rules. Rules displayed on posters since the park opened were shaped with outside input, she said, highlighting conversations with the future park’s users about what their particular needs and wishes were. “The next poster will be bigger and more visual”, she concluded.

Patchy coverage
Gent per Formentera and PSOE cabinet members united with opposition councillors to pass a proposal regarding recurring failures in mobile phone coverage on the island. Local legislators urged the responsible government agencies to take necessary steps within their respective powers to urgently address inadequate network signal on Formentera.

Councillor Parellada, who also heads the island’s department of new technologies, held that residents of Formentera face a “twice-compounded isolation in their personal, family and professional lives” and that islanders remain “on unequal footing in terms of opportunities and competitiveness” compared to people in other Spanish territories. The pandemic has thrown that disadvantage into relief, said Parellada, stressing that “Formentera residents are in the unique position of requiring communications and new technologies for services which people in other territories can access without such technology”. The councillor insisted that, with plenary support, her department would be in a “much better position to demand quality service for all of Formentera”.

Reusing sludge from waste water treatment plant
Assembly members once again came together to push the Balearic environment ministry to work with Formentera’s government on a plan for how to use sludge from the waste water treatment plant in a way that respects municipal regulations on non-hazardous waste.

Environment chief Antonio J. Sanz highlighted La Mola residents’ repeated complaints about flies and a foul smell emanating from WWTP sludge which was applied in the area. She insisted no notice was given of plans to use the sludge on the island.

“Sludge is a fine example of something that can be repurposed to support agriculture and the circular economy”, said Sanz, “but it mustn’t be a nuisance or generate problems for neighbours and public health".

Other proposals
Plenary participants again struck unity on three proposals tabled by representatives of Sa Unió:

First, to improve and condition the surface of Sa Senieta car park; review horizontal and vertical road signage, and optimise surveillance in response to capacity issues.

Second, to ask the Balearic Civil Law Advisory Council (CLAC), and by extension the CLAC of Eivissa-Formentera, to study the impact on Balearic civil law, specifically provisions applicable to Eivissa and Formentera, of legislation adopted on 9 July to prevent and combat tax fraud. The Spanish law, a transposition of Council Directive (EU) 2016/1164, lays down a series of rules, including one to prevent and combat tax avoidance practices which directly affect the functioning of the internal market, another concerning amendments to tax rules and a third on gambling. The report will be used to determine whether or not such legislation is constitutional and, if so, press the Balearic government or parliament to take steps to denounce it as such. Assembly members also agreed such communication with the Balearic authorities should include condemnation of the legislation on the grounds it impinges on the independence of local government.
 
And finally, at the behest of the opposition, assembly members called for changes to enhance the effectiveness of the current ordinance on illegal street-side vending by increasing fines and making other financial modifications.

Report from Ana Juan
Ana Juan took the assembly floor today to detail efforts within the housing, seniors, commerce and entrepreneurship departments: “Recent months have seen renewed focus on responding to the public health emergency at hand and reducing the economic toll of the pandemic on the most vulnerable, including self-employed people and business owners”.

Meanwhile, work within the entrepreneurship office has centred on employment and training for the jobless, and the housing office has orchestrated the first-ever rollout of renters’ assistance (a second round of handouts has already secured plenary backing). On trade, the councillor highlighted collaborative campaigns this year with businesses, as well as tax breaks. On efforts within the seniors department, Juan pointed to improvement and maintenance work carried out during closures, and to new defibrillators to make seniors’ clubs heart-safe.

30 July 2021
Communications Department
Council of Formentera