The Vice-President and Minister for the Economy of the Illes Balears, Antoni Costa, reaffirmed on 29 September 2026 at the Parliament that the regional government had provided support for sectors particularly affected since the economic effects of the war in the Middle East emerged. The measures would continue, with the aim of easing liquidity shortages and limiting price rises in areas dependent on imports.
Costa cited as the legal basis the Boletín Oficial del Estado published in the Decreto-ley 1/2026, published on 1 April 2026, which provides for special budgetary management rules in crisis situations. On this basis, and through its own regulations, the government had Balearic Islands flexibly mobilised budget funds for crisis measures and closely monitored their implementation.
According to earlier announcements by the Balearic government, the package includes around 160 million euros for various areas of the economy, including direct grants and liquidity support for particularly affected businesses. The focus is on sectors heavily dependent on energy and intermediate-goods imports, as well as parts of the islands' transport and tourism ecosystem. Costa also pointed to uncertainty caused by continued volatility in energy markets.
The Vice-President stated that, according to current plans, regional support would be available until 31 December 2026. This timetable has been announced repeatedly since the spring. Comprehensive, centrally published figures on payments or sectoral impact assessments are not yet available, but the administration says it will continue reporting on the disbursement of funds and achievement of objectives.
Background: In March and April 2026, the Balearic government had already announced a special programme to mitigate the anticipated economic effects of the escalation in the Middle East on the islands' economy. The Parliament of the Illes Balears held several sessions on accompanying measures to speed up budget implementation and monitor the use of funds. The central government in Madrid was also asked to provide specific support if the crisis continued or worsened.
The effectiveness of the support depends on further international developments and possible additional measures from the Spanish state or the European Union Costa's comments should be seen as the regional government's political position: they confirm the continuation of programmes already launched, but do not remove the need for detailed transparency reports on the reach and impact of the measures.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).