Brussels responds to the President of the Balearic Islands: non-residents cannot be banned from buying properties

The European Commission has stressed that for an EU Member State to restrict non-residents from purchasing properties, there must be "overriding reasons of general interest" recognised in the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).

The European Commissioner for financial services, financial stability and capital markets union, Mairead McGuinness, said this in response to a parliamentary question from the Balearic PP MEP Rosa Estaràs.

The MEP asked whether it would be possible for Member States to restrict non-residents from purchasing properties considering the restrictions on the movement of capital between EU countries.

In its official reply, the Commission recalls that Article 63 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union prohibits restrictions on the movement of capital related to purchasing immovable properties, "including homes", by non-resident EU nationals.

However, she states that "such restrictions may nevertheless be justified" on "grounds of public policy or public security, or on overriding reasons of public interest as recognised in the case law of the CJEU, provided that they are non-discriminatory and proportionate to the objective pursued".

This means that the measures must be "appropriate to ensure, coherently and systematically, the achievement of the objective pursued" and not go "beyond what is necessary to attain it", she adds.

The Mallorcan MEP's question did not mention this possibility, which has been debated for some months in the Balearic Islands. Last Saturday, the Secretary General of Podemos and current Minister for Social Rights and Agenda 2030, Ione Belarra, promised to "put pressure" on the socialist part of the Spanish government so that "the islands can legislate restricting non-residents from buying properties".

The Vice President of the Balearic Government, Juan Pedro Yllanes, has repeatedly argued that the CJEU could accept a "Balearic exception" to allow this measure given the "special circumstances" that exist on the islands. Yllanes assures that the CJEU "is not closing its doors" to this type of regulation and that the Balearic Islands "meet the requirements" for this restriction to be allowed.