Island public administrations as the expression of the island political power in the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands

Abstract

The Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands are two archipelagos that form part of Spain and the European Union. Both are autonomous communities, with institutions that foist administrative peculiarities on their respective archipelagos. Each of the islands has an island council as a governing and administrative body with specific competences to be developed in its territory. The creation of the island councils of the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands represents a specificity within the insular framework of the European Union. Their evolution has been uneven since cabildos were created in the Canary Islands in 1912 and consells in the Balearic Islands in 1978; but currently they have a similar position in the overall archipelagos and in the Spanish legal framework. This article tracks the common evolution of the island councils, as well as their current development and future prospects.