The first informal get together of the members of the EU Group of AENIB

On the 27th of June a considerable number of EU members of AENIB and other interested nautical entrepreneurs had an informal meeting in the bar Varadero. Although the atmosphere was relaxed, it was a proper working meeting in which many important issues that affect the day to day running of the nautical companies came up. Some of the problems discussed were the of lack of space in STP, resulting in loss of business for many local refit and service companies, when they have to turn clients away. Another issue was the prohibitive charges imposed by the port Authority for the companies located on the premises, making their overheads so high they end up pricing themselves out of the market. And how to convince Astilleros to give Access to outside contractors to work on their premises was another question raised. A subcommitté was formed to serve as a link between STP, Astilleros and AENIB in an attempt to find a satisfactory solution for all parties.

In the meeting the recent Palma Boat Show was also discussed, and allthough the show´s come back was considered successful, those present emphasized the need to concentrate heavily on attracting not just visitors but those clients who will come with a serious intention to buy.

ANEN drives the defense of the Spanish nautical sector in Europe

During the General Assembly of EBI (European Boating Industry), the main nautical collective in Europe which ANEN is a member of and the sole Spanish representative since its constitution, the General Secretary of our association, Carlos Sanlorenzo was elected as a member of the board.Forming an integral part of this European lobby is of vital importance to us as we try to defend the interests of our sector and reach for objectives difficult to achieve at a national level. Without a doubt, the equal fiscal treatment of the Spanish nautical sector compared to its neighbors stands out as one of our main goals. It is a claim the ANEN team put special emphasis on during the General Assembly of EBI.Regarding this, the first action that the association is going to realize at an European level, is the execution of the resolution of the European Commission, which has qualified the matriculation tax as disproportionate and against the free movement of goods and services, forcing the Spanish State to act upon it.IN the meeting, which took place on the 28th of May, all the other members of the board of EBI were re-elected on a two year mandate until June 2015.Members of the new board of EBI:

ANEN has a meeting with the Director General of the Taxation and the Director General of Industry

During the month of July ANEN has continued to work to speed up the improvements in the nautical sector regarding the fiscal matters. After the announcement of the imminent elimination of the matriculation tax for the charter yachts, the Association is working on a series of measures to propel the law change in the shortest time frame possible, taking into account how long legal processes like this can take. With this in mind, ANEN, as the only representative of the nautical sector on a national level, will have a meeting this week with the Director General of Taxation, Diego Martín-Abril y Calvo. This will be followed by another meeting next week with Director General of the Department of Industry, Manuel Valle Muñoz.  Carlos Sanlorenzo, the General Secretary of ANEN, will look for more administrative support by passing on to these politicians the proposals for improvements and homogenization at EU level that the sector needs. Both meetings will open new doors for the recreational yachting, highlighting its importance as an industry sector and competitive driving force in the economy.

The SANYA-HAINAN International Boat Show & Festival in China, the next international mission of ANEN

The first edition of the International Boat Show and Festival of Sanya, Hainan will be celebrated from 17th to 20th of October 2013. Hainan, identified as the Chinese Caribbean, is an area with various marina developments, as its geographical location offers lot better weather conditions than the mainland China.Some international manufacturers like Brunswick, Sunseeker, Cobalt, Chaparral etc. have already confirmed their participation in the event.ANEN will have a stand of 9 m2, which will be available for their associates free of charge, to present their products and services in the Chinese market. Besides, those who wish to have their own stand can book it directly through the organizers.Find attached more information about the event and conditions of participation in this document. Those who wish to share a stand with ANEN should get in touch with José Luis Fayos through the e-mail of the association anen@anen.es

ANEN starts a working group to find solutions for storage of explosives and collection of expired artefacts

Over the last few months ANEN has received various enquiries related to problems with having explosives and their correct storage in the working place after the expiry date. To be able to respond to our associates in this matter, the ANEN team has had various meetings with the Direction General of the Merchant Navy, which has promised to try to reach an agreement between the parties, although this issue belongs directly to the competency of the Interior Ministry.At ANEN we believe it would be important to create a working group together with the affected nautical companies, to collect more complete information of the problem and to look for a satisfactory solutions for all parties. We would like to invite you to join this working group, there is no need to have physical meeting as we can  look for solutions and work together online.If you are interested, please get in touch with the association by e-mail electronicoanen@anen.es. We´ll start the first debates within short.

The councillor of Economy and Competitiveness of the Balearic Government emphasizes the importance to strengthen the nautical sector to generate activity and jobs.

The councillor of Economy and Competitiveness, Joaquin García, and the Director General of the Trade and Enterprise, Lourdes Cardona, had a meeting this morning with the Balearic Maritime Cluster, chaired by its president, Iolanda Piedra and the president of the Association of the Nautical Enterprises in the Balearics, Margarita Dahlberg. In the first meeting of this group, the councillor expressed his support for the Blue Economy and his interest to strengthen all the related sectors with the help of European funds.

The European Union has defined the Blue Economy as the sector best positioned to create solutions for the current economical crisis and to generate wellbeing and employment in the coming years. Regarding this, it has established a course of actions that include marine energies, aquiculture (growing plants in water/nutrients, without soil), maritime and coastal tourism, cruise liners, mineral resources and blue biotechnology.

"Apart from the nautical sector there are many other complimentary sectors that can be included in the concept of blue economy. Renewables, biotechnology... Many sectors related to the sea that generate activity and thus employment", pointed out councillor Garcia, who has committed to keeping in touch regularly with the cluster to find ways to collaborate in this field.

The Palma Boat Show will grow 15% next year

The Director General of the Department of Trade and Industry, Lourdes Cardona, had a meeting this morning with the Organizing Committee Of the Palma Boat Show to assess the last edition, in which the public and private sectors collaborated for the first time, and to talk about plans for the next year. 

This event, which celebrated its 30th edition this year and which managed to place itself as the most important show on a national level and third most important at an European level, has with this success secured continuity. “The change of format has been a success which has strenghtened the whole industry and local businesses related to the nautical sector, as well as the complimentary services”, Lourdes Cardona pointed out.

The aim is to create a show attractive to all and to help the nautical sector of the islands to generate activity, while trying to make the show self financing.

Recreational Yacht Market Report / January-June 2013

ANEN has just finished editing the Market Report of recreational yachts corresponding to the first half of 2013, with an analysis of the data obtained from the Direction General of the Merchant Navy. You can consult this report at h http://www.anen.es/index.php?op=menu&mid=5&smid=50

The first half of 2013 presents a negative result of national volume of registrations showing a fall of 28%, compared to the first half of the year 2012, according to the report, main findings of which we´ll explain in continuation.

AENIB´s first contact with the Government´s new counselor of Economy and Competitiveness

The Association of the Nautical Enterprises in the Balearic Islands (AENIB) had a meeting with the counselor of Economy and Competitiveness, Joaquin García, to talk about the future of the Palma Boat Show as well as the Nautical Sector Strategic Working Group, in which AENIB is actively involved.

This was the first meeting of the two parties since Mr García was appointed counselor about a month ago. He emphasized the importance of the nautical sector for the Balearic economy and expressed his understanding of the problems that were laid out to him in this first meeting with the representatives of AENIB. During the meeting the discussions ranged from how to invigorate the sector, how to convey the importance of the environment of the islands and how to generate added value to the model of tourism we have on the Balearics.

The Government will eliminate the “matriculation tax” on the charter yachts

The Ministry of Treasury and Public Administration, on recommendation by the Ministry of Public Works, will modify by law the Special Tax over Certain Means of Transport, popularly known as the “Matriculation Tax”. The elimination of this tax concerns the recreational vessels over 15 m destined for comercial use.

The Tax over Certain Means of Transport, regulated in the Law of Special Taxes, levies a 12% tax on the value of recreational yachts over 8 m destined for private use and on commercial yachts over 15 m.

Spain is the only country amongst our neighbors that burdens the vessels with this 12% tax on top of the VAT, which means we are not competitive in the charter market. The charter yachts limit their stay in the spanish ports and along the coast during the summer season, and avoid choosing Spain as their winter base, fomenting the delocation elsewhere of companies that serve these yachts.

Letter from the President - July 2013

Last week we received the news the spanish nautical sector has been waiting for a long time: “The Government will eliminate the matriculation tax for chárter yachts”. We are closer than ever to be able to compete under the same conditions as our European neigbors, which will no doubt benefit the whole community. 

Apart from that, in the middle of June we had a meeting with the new Counselor of Economy and Competitiveness, Joaquin Garcia, to urge him to make some progress with the Nautical Sector Working Group and to continue with the Palma Boat Show project. Thus the month of June has brought along big news, which I will comment in detail in continuation and also bring to the fore other relevant issues.

We have been fighting for years against the matriculation tax, this fiscal monster that leaves us at disadvantage in the European market. Today we can state that justice has been done to the nautical charter with this big step towards the definite elimination of the tax. Soon we in the Balearics will be able to develop all our potential for economic growth. It has required hundreds of hours of work by a formidable team of individuals, as well as numerous meetings and contacts with the political and administrative decisión makers to get this far. We have to remember that this is still a draft only which has to be approved in the Parliament to become a definite law. That said, I believe it is within our possibilities to get rid of this burden before the start of the next high season. This victory would not have been possible without the close cooperation between AENIB, ANEN, AEGY, MYBA and all the entrepreneurs that these associations represent. We have achieved this by joining our forces as a sector.