El president del Consell de Formentera, Jaume Ferrer, s'ha reunit avui matí amb el vicepresident i conseller de Turisme del Govern Balear, Biel Barceló, a la Sala de Plens del Consell de Formentera. A la trobada també han assistit la consellera de Turisme, Alejandra Ferrer, i el conseller d'Hisenda, Bartomeu Escandell, així com la directora general de Turisme, Pilar Carbonell.

En aquesta reunió, els responsables balears han presentat l'esborrany de l'Impost de Turisme Sostenible. El president del Consell de Formentera ha explicat que ara la institució insular «estudiarà el projecte per saber com funcionarà l'impost i tindre temps per fer aportacions per millorar-lo». El vicepresident i conseller de Turisme ha assegurat que «una vegada es presentin les propostes dels consells insulars es millorarà el màxim possible la proposta del Govern».

Tramitació
Fins al novembre es recolliran les propostes dels consells, i després s'elaborarà l'avantprojecte de la llei, segons ha declarat Biel Barceló que ha avançat que «en uns dos mesos s'aprovarà la norma en Consell de Govern perquè s'inicii la tramitació parlamentària abans de final d'any, es debati en el Parlament durant el primer trimestre del 2016, i s'aprovi en el segon trimestre de 2016».

Inversions mediambientals i turístiques
Respecte a les inversions que es faran amb la recaptació de l'impost, Jaume Ferrer ha explicat que Formentera respondrà a les «demandes mediambientals o del sector turístic per millorar zones envellides». En aquest sentit, Biel Barceló ha dit que «qui coneix millor les necessitats de cada illa són els mateixos consells i que a més les peticions de Formentera quadren amb la finalitat de llei, que tracta de donar prioritat a les inversions mediambientals». D'altra banda, el president del Consell de Formentera ha destacat que «és important que els turistes coneguin en què s'inverteix l'impost que pagaran».

Pel que fa a la promoció turística el conseller de Turisme del Govern ha declarat que «en vista el 2016 se signarà un conveni puntual amb Formentera perquè les accions de promoció es facin de manera coordinada i l'illa disposi de recursos». Biel Barceló espera que durant el 2016 es negociïn les condicions del traspàs d'aquesta competència i que la transferència «sigui una realitat durant el 2017».

The Formentera office of rural affairs announced today that as of yesterday, Sunday 18 October, until 3 January, will be open season on small game hunting in Formentera. Regulations in place, which allow hunting on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays as well as national and regional holidays, also establish the specific hours of the day when it be done: from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset.

Formentera has got six hunting seasons, and three hunting clubs: La Mola, Es Cap and Porto Salè. It is worth remembering that hunting with firearms is expressly prohibited within 100 metres of inhabited areas or 25 metres of public arterials. Hunting is also prohibited along areas of public coastline and around water reservoirs.

Huntable species
Animals that can be hunted locally this season are rabbit, hare, quail, partridge, pheasant, wood pigeon, common turtledove, collared turtledove, Eurasian woodcock, starling, thrush, mistle thrush, “grívia” and fieldfare. The following waterfowl can also be hunted: mallard, Eurasian wigeon, northern pintail, Eurasian teal, garganey, northern shoveler, gadwall, common pochard, tufted duck, common snipe, Eurasian coot and common seagull.

Hunting with dogs
A maximum of 10 dogs per hunter – or 12 dogs per two hunters – must be respected. Only in the case of special authorization may four hunters use up to 40 dogs on a hunt.

The maximum number of animals that can be caught, per hunter per day, are: 20 thrush, 12 wild turtledove, 4 Eurasian woodcock, 2 partridge if caught using a decoy and 4 without, 8 anatidae (birds of the duck, goose and swan family) and a maximum of 2 of other duck species. It is prohibited to practise blind or standing hunting for capture of the Eurasian woodcock.

For more information, please visit this link for Formentera’s complete hunting regulations:

http://conselldeformentera.cat:2095/cpsess7399536283/3rdparty/roundcube/?_task=mail&_action=get&_mbox=INBOX&_uid=21570&_part=3&_frame=1&_extwin=1

Earlier today, the Formentera Council's office of tourism sent a letter to the Govern Balear urging «the start of a negotiation process to turn the transfer of authority on tourism promotions into a reality». With the negotiations on that transfer expected to continue beyond the first semester of 2016, In the missive, Formentera's tourism councillor suggested signing «an interim agreement to enable the local tourism advisory board» — el Patronat de Turisme de Formentera — «to assume responsibility of tourism spending».

In a letter addressed to regional tourism minister Biel Barceló, Councillor Alejandra Ferrer describes the Patronat's work in recent years with the entirety of the public and private sectors of Formentera. «In particular», she wrote, «the board has focused on defining and improving the image of our island. In addition to developing a multi-pronged approach to marketing Formentera's particular brand of tourism to different sectors, they have succeeded in at once establishing the loyalty of the Italian market and diversifying our business by incorporating both the national and German markets». Proof of their efforts' success, Ferrer points out, are the unwavering high occupancy rates even throughout the economic crisis.

In the letter, Councillor Ferrer noted the previous Govern Balear administration's refusal to reimburse the Formentera Council's 2011 spending on tourism promotions — and their refusal to reimburse spending over the four years that followed (2012-2015) — despite the Palma government's signing of an agreement to that effect. Now, after Formentera's rejection of the previous administration's proposal to fund a tourism promotion transfer on the grounds that it was too meagre, Councillor Ferrer is requesting a return to the negotiation table «in order to hammer out a plan that truly complies with the text of the Balearic statute of autonomy and represents the consensus of all the regional island councils, while at the same time covering our tourism promotion costs».

The legal offices of the Formentera Council have announced the administration will receive 6,000 euros in damages from the Telefònica company for a four-month delay in provision of services. On 30 September the second court of Palma dismissed an administrative appeal lodged in contentious court by Telefònica which took issue with a ruling of the Formentera Council’s government commission. As head of CiF legal services Àngel Navarro explained, the commission had ruled in favour of serving Telefònica – the company awarded the contract to provide the Council's telecom services – with two 3,000-euro fines for infractions classified molt greus (‘very serious’). The court found Telefònica had indeed failed to comply with the timeline established in the contract signed by the two parties.

The contract was made official on the first of September 2014, from which time Telefònica had two months – or until the beginning of November – to fully implement telecom services. Those services were ultimately not in place until six months after the contract’s signing. The court sentence states that failure caused the Council damages that were «evident and unquestionable damages». In the same ruling, Telefònica is ordered to bear the legal expenses – up to a màximum of 1,500 euros – occasioned by the process. According to the Council’s legal services, the ruling is binding and cannot be appealed.