At a recent meeting members of the corporation and the consulate agreed to work together to resolve a number of issues that EU exit changes may be causing
9 march 2021
The problems facing many British residents and long-term holiday makers, or ‘swallows’ were discussed at a meeting hosted by Adolfo Alonso Ferrara, councillor for tourism, and Helen Díaz de Arcaya Keating, permanent British Vice-Consul in Tenerife. Also present were Adeje councillors for Community Wellbeing, and Citizen Participation, Mercedes Vargas Delgado and Daniel Melo Rodriguez, as well as Mary Suarez British Pro Consul.
Since the end of 2020 the British departure from the European Union has become final, following a year of transition. The changes in the status of thousands of British residents in Adeje has meant certain alterations in their registration at local level. The consul representatives said there had been some concrete examples of confusion at local administrative levels, given the complexity of some of the changes, and the Adeje representatives committed to examining this. Both bodies stressed the importance of registration on the padrón and Daniel Melo agreed to look at an information campaign to address any issues. It was also agreed that in the near future a separate meeting with those dealing directly with the public and administration would be set up.
Councillor Vargas addressed the issues of vulnerable British residents, referring to recent moves at institutional level to offer housing and shelter for individuals and families at need or at risk of eviction, outlining the work of the local food bank, and the on-going relationship the council has with a number of charitable organisations working directly with people in need.
Helen Keating and Mary Suarez also requested that the council take note of a number of other associations working voluntarily to help those suffering at this time. It was agreed that that information about relevant bodies in place to help British pensioners in need of assistance to regularise their paperwork would be shared.
The councillor for tourism spoke of the importance of the British market to Adeje, and all expressed the hope that we would soon be able to welcome many visitors from the UK back to Costa Adeje. The councillor told the consular representatives that they were working on a campaign to promote Adeje as a quality healthy destination. He highlighted Adeje’s recent top place in the Exceltur list of the most competitive sun and sea destinations in Spain.
