Periscope

My no vote

2007-05-30T07:23:00.000+02:00

No, I did not vote in the municipal elections in Spain last Sunday.
Why, had I not been resident the 3 years required for a Norwegian to be able to vote?
I have been in Spain for more than 40 years.

Maybe I had not registered in the padron municipal of my municipality?
I have been there for many years, renewed the last time on 5th of June 2006.

Maybe I am not interested in politics?
I have been interested in politics since I learned to read.

Maybe I am not interested in the foreigners vote?
I have been working for the right of the foreigners to take part in Spanish local elections since 1985, proposing to the Norwegian government to start bilateral negotiations to permit the vote of Norwegian residents in Spain.

Then why did I not vote in the municipal elections of Spain last Sunday?

I will tell you:

When the Spanish government in 2003, after instructions from the EU and long time of pressure from the association Ciudadanos Europeos to comply with the Maastricht Agreements to create the European citizenship by lifting the requirement for Europeans to carry a residence permit, took a small step in the right direction by suppressing the need for Europeans who had been working and contributing to the social security system, to take out or renew their residence permits.

It was a small footnote in the law obliging the foreigner not having to carry a residence permit, to prove to any part of the administration requiring so to provide a certificate that they were in the category of the ones liberated. To get such a certificate you had to go through almost the same process as for renewing a residence permit: queuing up in front of the foreigners offices or the stations of the national police with a foreigners department with your passport, NIE-card and passport photos.

I have since 2003 on several occasions when I tried to identify myself with my Norwegian passport and NIE-card, met a refusal to accept the law from 2003, and a demand for a certificate. I know that most of other foreigners in the same situation have given up the struggle with the bureaucratic windmills, and asked for a renewal of the residence permit. I refused to go that way, throwing away the small advantage we won in 2003.

Giving up the vote

When in June 2006 I renewed the inscription in the padron municipal of my town hall, I was again requested to provide a certificate from the national police. I complied with the request, but decided this was the last police certificate I would apply for in Spain.

But when I in the beginning of this year signed a document that I wanted to use my vote in the municipal elections in Spain and not in my home country, I again met the request for a certificate. I referred to the one I had provided in June 2006 when renewing on the padron municipal.

Shortly afterwards I got a letter from the provincial delegation of the Oficina del Censo Electoral, informing me that they had decided not to include me in the election lists since I had not given a certificate.

That was the reason I did not vote in the municipal elections last Sunday.

A split vote

2007-05-24T08:32:00.000+02:00

If anyone who has voting rights both in the municipal and regional elections read this blog, and if that anybody is living in the Valencia region, I would like to remind about the possibility of a split vote. In the regional elections the main thing is to vote against the government of Francisco Camps, leader of PP in the region. He is the politically responsible for the "Abusos Urbanisticos", for the non-compliance with the recommendations from the European Parliament, and for the thousands of victims of LRAU and LUV.

He is also the politically responsible for the torpedoing of FIPE, the intent launched by his predecessor as president of the Valencia government, to set up an organisation to inform and assist the foreign property buyers and owners.

The alternative vote is for the socialists in PSOE or the joint ticket of Izquerda Unida and Bloc.

A recommendation of PSOE?

Does this mean that I give a general recommendation to vote PSOE, Izquerda Unida or Bloc? By all means NO. In the municipal elections all depend on the local situation. I would have voted against the socialist mayor of Catral, responsible for the illegal construction of more than 100o dwellings; in Marbella I would have voted for PP, the only party not involved in the urbanistic sump of the town; in Cullera (Valencia) I would have voted against the Bloc-party, that took part in the intent to create a skyscraper city; in Torrevieja and Alicante I would have voted against the PP-mayors that have been indicted on several accounts....And of course: In Javea I would vote for the list of Nueva Javea, where you will find Tony Cabban, and that is presenting a foreigner as their candidate for mayor!
In Mojacar (Almeria) I would, of course, vote for Ciudadanos Europeos de Mojacar, with Lenox Napier on second spot. In Alfaz del Pi I would have voted for Eric Svanberg. In Benissa I would have searched for the list with Lisa Svoboda as a prominent candidate.....

And what about Altea?

Since you know that I live in Altea, you may want to ask me: And what is your vote in your home town? The answer is I will not be voting, and I will tell the reason after the elections. But let me say: I have great respect for the mayor Miguel Ortiz, from PP. The opposition say: He is responsible for all the construction that has taken place! I disagree, the responsible for the extensive building activity in our town are the two parties that held power before Miguel and approved the current General Plan: PSOE and Bloc.

Miguel has always been open to the foreigners and their situation, both as mayor of Altea and in other institutions.

If you, as a matter of principle, do not want to vote PP, there is another possibility in Altea: The leftist federation Izquerda Unida has an excellent program and has taken the revolutionary step to nominate the softspoken German medic Ernst Schmitz as their candidate for mayor!

My wish for Altea: Miguel Ortiz as mayor, and Ernst Schmitz as council member!

The killing of the hen Each time foreign tourism ...

2007-05-23T12:13:00.000+02:00

The killing of the hen

Each time foreign tourism to Spain, to a certain region or town, is in danger, there will be warning cries not to kill the hen laying the golden eggs. The tourist hen of Spain has laid many golden eggs in the private nest of property speculators, but also in the nest of Hacienda, the regional governments and especially the nests of the local governments on the coasts and the islands.

The foreigners settled preferably in smaller towns and villages, without big industries, with modest traffic and building activity, and low local taxes and charges. But over the years, the little village changed. On the outskirts of the village grew up urbanisations, terraced houses and apartment blocks, filled by foreign property buyers wanting their part of the sun in Spain.

Almost for every house or apartment sold, came another car, creating traffic chaos in the narrow streets of the centre, where the public offices were situated, the banks, the small shops, restaurants and bars. The ruling party in the municipality, often closely connected to the property promoters, made the town hall the biggest employer in town, filling the ever growing public offices with party members, friends and relatives. This reduced unemployment and created a firm group of supporters for the next elections….

The tax egg

A town hall has reduced income possibilities, mainly a modest subvention from the government in relation to citizens registered on the “padron municipal” (municipal census) and taxes, fees and charges on construction and ownership of property. The town hall saw in the tax egg the possibility of financing their XL size administration. The “catastro” (land registry) collaborates by lifting the tax values of properties. Today we have the following situation:

- 70% of all tax income to the 8.000 municipalities in Spain comes from property construction and ownership (This information comes from a study made by Morgan Stanley).

- 27,5% of total income of the municipalities stems directly from the transformation of agricultural land (finca rustica) to building land (finca urbana), in the form of building plots ceded, and taxes, charges and fees paid.

Consider: the percentages given are the average for all municipalities in Spain, for the rural ones in the two Castillas, as well as the tourist towns along the coasts and on the islands. Your local town hall may have a much greater part of their income from the property sector.

A vicious circle

It is difficult to imagine a mayor in a tourist town voluntarily reducing the tax income from property ownership. The law gives the town halls very limited manoeuvring possibilities on this field, and the mayor has to pay all his employees every month.

Even less imaginable is that the mayor will be saying: We have now reached the limits of our sustainable growth, we have neither the streets nor the parking capacity for more inhabitants, we have no guarantees for a constant water supply, telling his friends, the builders: “Señores promotores, we cannot approve your proposal for an urbanisation of 3.000 dwellings and two golf courses, even if it gives the town an increase of 30% in total income, and even if you offer me personally 1 million Euro in black money!” And then turn around and inform 20% of the employees in the town hall that they would be fired and would have to go on the dole….

If such a mayor exists, he should be awarded a medal for civil courage.

The vicious circle will not be broken, unless the present crisis in the property sector develops into a full-blown economical crisis for Spain. The question is also: How many golden eggs are the tourists willing to lay in the Spanish nests?

Elections of integrations

2007-05-16T08:48:00.000+02:00

For many years, the government of Felipe Gonzalez kept the European citizens in Spain away from the ballot boxes in local elections. The excuses were of technical character, but the real reason was that the socialists thought that the vote of the foreigners would be conservative.
A grave error.

It was only when PP came to power that we were permitted to vote. But the real push for a democratic change did not come from Madrid. It came from the European Union in Brussels and from the areas of Spain where our association Ciudadanos Europeos was active. PP thought also that the foreigners vote would be conservative.
Another grave error.

On the 27th of May we will again have the right of voting in the local elections taking place, not in the regional elections performed simultaneously in most of the regions. There are more European citizens registered as voters than any time before. On many of the lists you will find non-Spanish candidates. In several places the European citizens are presenting independent list of Spanish and foreigners.

Felipe Gonzalez: You was the conservative!

And how to vote?
The association Ciudadanos Europeos have never recommended the vote for one particular party on the national level, and we never shall. First of all, we recommend all European citizens in Spain to vote. Secondly we say: Do not vote in accordance with the political ideology you have brought with your from your home country. Such ideologies do not serve in local elections in Spain. Read the programs and listen to the candidates: Will they stop the urbanistic abuse? Will they use the taxpayers money in a responsible manner? Will they promote the integration of the foreigners?

I am very content that several members of the board of the Ciudadanos Europeos are candidates in their municipalities. Tony Cabban will be on one of the first places on the candidate list for the party Nueva Javea, Lenox Napier is on the second spot on the list Ciudadanos Europeos for Mojacar, Eric Svanberg on the third place on the list of PP in Alfax, and Lisa Svoboda is one of the top candidates on the CIBE/BLOC platform in Benissa.

The municipal elections on the 27th will be the elections of integration!

200 organisations....

2007-04-24T08:02:00.000+02:00

200 organisations……. in the Valencia region called at the end of April to protest marches in the 3 provincial capitals, against the urbanistic policy of the regional government, against massification, abuse and corruption. Tens of thousand citizens rallied to the call.

200 organisations…..mostly local protest initiatives, going against a monster plan that some promoter has paid to get the approval for. The civic uproar against the perverse urbanistic policy in the Valencia region has become a social factor of great importance, not only among smaller groups of foreign property owners, but among the Spanish themselves.

200 organisations….so many and so active that the politicians have to take note. Not the regional government of the arrogant Francisco Camps, that with his tasteless defence of the property promoters and even more tasteless attacks on the representatives from the European Parliament, investigation the abuse has manoeuvred himself into a corner, without escape possibilities.

200 organisations…..instead joined by the leaders of the opposition parties in the regional parliament, greens, nationalists and socialists. The latest Gallup indicates that PP will loose their absolute majority. And the socialist leaders in the region have promised that they will change the urbanistic policy.

Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?

"A mountain of debris..."

2007-04-17T08:36:00.000+02:00

Most of us can visualize the extremely low-lying land bridge separating the Mediterranean from Mar Menor in the province of Murcia, called La Manga. It is 24 kilometres long and from 200 to 1.500 metres wide, and thousands of houses, apartments and hotel rooms have been built in its sands over the last 40 years.

José Fernandez Pérez, general director for the “Costas”, the body in the Spanish administration controlling and administrating the coastal areas, declared last month, at a conference organised by the foundation Bioversidad about the effects of the climate changes in the coastal areas of Spain:

“In 30 years La Manga will be a mountain of debrise”

The experts estimate that the sea will intrude up to 70 metres inland in certain coastal areas, especially in Galicia and the northern part of the Canary islands, but specially on beaches with fine sands, as the Atlantic coast and the Balearic islands. It is expected that the coast line will change on Costa Brava, the Balearics and the southern part of the Canaries.

Many constructions made along the coast will become obsolete due to the increase in the sea level. The experts point especially to the sea shore from Malaga to Algeciras.

The general director for the Costa concluded:

“If one constructed from one day to another all that is planned to be urbanized on the coast, we shall despair…” He proposed a kind of moratorium to avoid a new permanent development along the Spanish coasts.

Using the periscope

2007-03-19T19:23:00.000+01:00

Using the periscope

Probably, not so many have been into a real submarine, pushing up the periscope to get a close view of anything new on the horizon. But most of us
have seen on film the exercise being made.

I use the periscope from time to time (I admit, for the last 3 months I have been mostly in the deep ocean, depending on my radar), to see if there is anything new for the Europeans going to warmer and greener shores and mountains.

And yes, something new has been registered:

- A new tax law, a new state budget and even the rules for application of the new law, that gives the non-resident owners a fairer deal when it comes to the feared capital gains taxes when selling the house in Spain. As a result of a reprimand from the European Commission, the government has reduced the tax rate from the confiscatory 35% to a milder 18. For details, look at the web page of Ciudadanos Europeos.

- After much pressure from the association Ciudadanos Europeos and the European Commission, the government has finally and grudgingly decided to introduce EU directive number 34 of 2004 into Spanish law, suppressing the obligation for the EU citizens to carry a residence card. Instead will be issued a certificate by the Foreigners Office or the police station with a foreigners department (meaning we are still in the hands of the Ministry of the Interior).
We are not completely happy with the solution, and give our comments on the web page of Ciudadanos Europeos.

- I have also observed through my periscope that many Europeans from the north are leaving Spain, for their home country or for new and greener shores in other parts of the world. At the same time, the number of new Europeans buying a home for retirement in Spain has dramatically diminished. This is a trend that may indicate the end of a period.

Periscope down.

Padron

2006-11-29T08:18:00.000+01:00

This year I have held lectures about the “padrón municipal” in 10 different municipalities, arranged by the “Diputación Provincial de Alicante”. The reasons why the authorities try to get as many foreigners as possible to register in this municipal list of habitants, are double:

- the subsidies that the town halls get from the government for each person enrolling, every year, and
- the European citizens on the padron will also be on the list of electors for the municipal elections at the end of May next year.

In many municipalities along the coast and on the islands, the Europeans have become a formidable force. They constitute a great part of the population, in some places even the majority. They can decide the outcome of the local elections in several municipalities. In certain provinces they may influence the leadership in the provincial assemblies of municipalities, the “diputaciones provinciales”.

If you have not yet registered on the “padron” of your town hall, December is the last chance to do so, if you intend to be on the list of electors. Even if the time limit has been extended several times, it will be difficult to enter after the year 2006 is ended, since the electors list will be published in the beginning of 2007.
Registration in the padron does not give you any additional tax obligations, contrary to the belief among many foreign owners and residents. And yes, you can also enter the list even if you are not resident. A non-resident owner (or lessee) of a permanent dwelling, spending a great part of the time in the municipality, belongs on the list.

Voting rights for the other foreigners The govern...

2006-08-17T12:00:00.000+02:00

Voting rights for the other foreigners

The government has indicated that they want to give voting rights in the local elections next year also to the foreigners outside the EU, that are living and working in Spain. It will be done based on bilateral agreements existing between Spain and the countries of origin.

We welcome the decision and have on several occasions requested that the vote be given to all foreigners that are legally living and working in Spain, paying taxes and social security contributions. It is only fair that a person who works legally and pay taxes and contributions, shall also have a right to vote in local elections.

Of course, the government party PSOE, hopes to benefit from the initiative, even if it also has been proposed from the main opposition party, PP. The groups of immigrants from outside the EU are numerous. The greatest is the block of immigrants from Morocco, with more than 500.000 people. From Ecuador come 340.000, from Colombia 211.000 and from Romania 190.000. There are also smaller groups from China, Peru, Argentine, Bulgaria, Dominican Republic, Ukraine, Cuba and a number of other countries.

It remains to be seen which of the groups can be included in the new initiative. Some countries do not have any bilateral agreement with Spain about this.

We shall now see the political parties adjusting their programs to the new reality. The new voters may be the deciding force in certain municipalities.

The models

2006-06-28T08:17:00.000+02:00

There are 3 groups of foreigners in Spain (not including the immigrants):
- The hotel tourists
- The non-resident property owners
- The residents.

There are no permanent and clear divisions between the groups. Most property owners and residents start as hotel tourists. We have today also the ones not owning a property, but staying for tourist purposes in privately owned dwellings, instead of hotels. We can also differ between legally registered tourist dwellings, and non-legal.

The non-resident property owners are the ones that have bought a property while still working in their home countries, using the Spanish dwelling for occasional vacations, or for letting to the tourists in the first group. Since a tourist can stay legally in Spain for 3 months within a 6 months period, many of them come to Spain in the beginning of October, staying for 3 months in the second half of the year, and without leaving Spain continuing into the next 3 months of the following half year, completely legal. They are the biggest group of the foreigners.

Then we have the residents, legal or de facto. The legal ones have the "tarjeta comunitario" (our resident permit), unless they have been working and contributed to the social security system, in which case they are exempt. In addition we have the ones staying for more than 6 months per calendar year, without a residence permit and without being exempt. The reasons for their silent refusal to take out a residence permit can be good (their home country creating complications or different opinions within the family) or not so good (evading income tax for residents).

The Spanish government had the obligation to transform into Spanish law the EU directive 38 of 2004, making us all European citizens, without any obligation to carry a residence card. The government has not complied with that obligation, without giving any explanations. The national association Ciudadanos Europeos has written the minister of the interior to demand the transformation into Spanish law of the EU directive. If the government procrastinates, the foreigners will start actions. We do not want to be foreigners anymore, but Europeans.

Lawn or Golf course?

2006-05-17T16:49:00.000+02:00

In the protected area of Sierra Escalona, in the municipality of San Miguel de Salinas, on the border between the provinces of Alicante and Murcia, a strange thing has happened. Without any environment study presented at the regional government of Valencia, together with an application for a DIC (Declaracion de Interes Comunitario) to be able to use protected agricultural land for urbanistic purposes, has come an 8-hole golf course.

When asked what has happened, both the owner of the land and the town hall have
explained that there is no golf course on the land, only a plantation of grass!

The owner, and the town hall, seems to have feared that in this area declared "Lugar de Importancia Comunitaria" (Place of importance for the region), even the Golf-loving urbanistic authorities of the Valencia government would not have dared to give their approval.

Instead the promoter makes a lawn, looking very much like a golf course, with bunkers, red flags and palm trees.

What will happen?
An innocent from the north expects that the authorities will issue a stern instruction that the land be transformed to its original state, and that such a command will be followed.
It may be that the northern innocents will be wrong, that the authorities say nothing, that after some time golf players drift on to the lawn, swinging their clubs. Then a bit later, the municipality will permit the setting up of toilets at the edge of the lawn. They will be built and by and by extended to look much like a club house with a bar and maybe even a restaurant.

In the end we could end up with a golf-resort, with thousand dwellings and a supermarket. Illegal,yes. But it would not be the first.

Golf

2006-05-07T20:31:00.000+02:00

The worst enemies of golfing are the property promoters, planning golf courses everywhere to be able to build some thousand of dwellings around them. And of course, the politicians approving the plans for such constellations and the construction of more golf courses all over the territory, the more the better.

The citizens in the municipalities where out-of-town builders and politicians plans/approves makro-urbanisations with one or more golf courses, are protesting. They do not want the scarce resources of land and water to be misused. Local politicians often support the mega-projects, since they are giving the local town hall tax income to cover rising expences.

Several countries in Europe can report the construction of more golf courses than there are golfers using them. Several places along the Spanish Mediterranean coast are heading rapidly for that situation.

I cannot think of any other sport where is needed more space in relation to users and spectators. I cannot think of any other sport where is neeeded more water per user.

Why not use the rain-heavy parts of Spain for golf courses and make public parks open for anyone between the houses on the coastal developments?

Stretching the Euro

2006-04-23T16:53:00.000+02:00

Spain used to be the country where one could live well for a fraction of the costs in Northern Europe. The foreign owners in Spain were stretching their pension payments.
This is no longer so, specially after the introduction of the Euro, that many owners of restaurants, bars and shops simplified by calculating the Euro at 100 of the old Pesetas, instead of the official exchange rate of 166.

In the meantime many new and bigger supermarkets have pushed out the small shops, launching great publicity campaigns to attract clients, and inventing all the time new “special offers” to confuse the buyers.

The Spanish consumer organisation OCU has placed the prices of the different supermarket chains under their magnifying glass, and arrived at interesting conclusions of great interest also to the foreigners living in Spain.

Model of valuation

OCU has grouped the prices of the supermarket chains in two groups: What you pay for brand products, and the prices of products on offer. We have to add that some of the chains are not represented all over the country. Some can be found only in the north, others are stronger in the south, some go for the bigger cities, others for the smaller villages.

The investigators gave the chain with the lowest prices in each of the two group the valuation 100, and then ranked the others in relation to that chain. They found that Cuenca is the place in Spain with the lowest prices. Pamplona is 11% more expensive.
Teruel, an inland province, has the cheapest fish, no one can beat Soria when it comes to fruits and vegetables. That the supermarkets in Avila, a province famous for its cattle, has the best prices on meat, is more logical.

The most expensive supermarkets can be found in the towns of Pamplona (Navarra), Las Palmas (Canary Islands), Bilbao (Vizcaya) and San Sebastian (Guipuzcoa).

The ranking

For brand products, Supermarkets Dani is ranked as the cheapest, with 100 points, followed by Alimerka (106), Herbu (107) and Alcampo (108). Mercadona and Carrefour have both a respectable rating of 110, Intermarche 111, Eroski 112 and Caprabo 119. Almost at the bottom of the ranking can be found El Corte Ingles med 127 points.

When it comes to prices on special offers, the difference between the cheapest and the most expensive goods is even clearer. The best prices were found in Plus Supermarkets, given 100 points, followed by Carrrefour (106), Lidl (107), Aldi (110). Alcampo (114), Dia and Eroski (116), Intermarche (118) and Mercadona (120). Again, the Corte Ingles is almost at the bottom of the ranking, with 173 points.

Transformations

2006-04-16T11:30:00.000+02:00

At Spain’s peak as a world power (from 16th to 18th century) the gold and silver taken from America and brought into the economy over Seville laid the foundations for the defeat, dissolution and financial collapse of the country.

After the second world war Spain started to come out of its poverty due to two sources of foreign income: the emigrants going to Northern Europe to work and sending home hard currency, and the trickle of foreign tourists going south to spend their income.

While the Spanish emigrants returned home or stayed with their families in the north, a great number of immigrants from the third world is coming into Spain and sending savings back to their families.

Tourism gathered momentum over the years and become the most important economical sector in the country, creating jobs, economical growth and an enormous surplus on the foreign currency balance.

From Spain joined the Common Market in 1986, a new river of gold poured into the country. Over the years Spain has received half of all money paid out from Brussels to
bring less developed member countries up to the EU average. That stream is drying out soon, and Spain is expected to contribute to the development of the new member countries in the east.

Foreign tourism has stagnated at the 50 million visitors mark. A great part of what is statistically labelled as “tourists” is in reality the foreign property buyers and owners. The hotel tourism is diminishing, the tourists staying fewer days and spending less money. The foreign currency balance is deteriorating by months, as the Spanish import more and export less. And the purchase of property along the coasts of Spain is taking a dip, while the foreign buyers look for more economically priced properties along other shores.

Has Spain learned its lessons from the period of “the gold from America”? Has it used the funds pouring in to lay the foundation for a modern production? Has it changed its tourist model to adapt to the new situation? Has it done anything to maintain the retired property owners wanting to spend their pensions in the south?

Maybe we shall have an answer to our questions very soon.

The Spanish Nation

2006-03-27T22:03:00.000+02:00

The Spanish nation

The constitutional commission in the congress of deputies has accepted a version of the proposed “statute” for Catalonia that in the foreword calls the Catalan a “nation”. This means the statute with its confusing foreword will be accepted in a plenary meeting, in the senate and in a referendum among the Catalans.

It is obvious that such a “nation” also has the right to declare itself independent and cut the ties to the Spanish state, that will become something like a “Commonwealth of Nations”. No doubt, that has been the design of the radical Catalan nationalists from the beginning.

As a logical consequence, the Basque terrorists organisation, ETA, declared a “permanent armistice” the day after the vote of the commission, coupled with some woolly political conditions. Everyone knew what they meant: Independence for the Basque “nation”. The government seems to have accepted to enter into political negotiations with the criminals that have murdered more than 800 people over the last 40 years.

The nationalist party of Galicia, junior partner in the regional government, has already demanded a statute for the north-western part of the country, similar to the Catalan version. And the Canarian nationalist in the governing Coalicion Canaria, do not see why their region should not be a nation as well.

A dangerous road

Anyone with a bit of pride in the great country Spain, where we have been living and integrating maybe for tens of year, feel sadness at the disintegration of the Spanish nation. How can it be that a culture that has spread all over the world, carried by one of the leading languages on the globe, shall be chopped up into warring parts? Is this needed for the improvement of democracy and citizens welfare?

The autonomous regions of Spain have for a long time had more competences than any other regions in any other country in Europe. They have their own parliaments, able to pass laws. They have their own government, a regional bureaucracy outnumbering the one of the state, their own banners, their own anthems…
Some regions have their own official language, at least on level with Castellano. Others have their own police forces. They manage the greatest part of the taxes we pay.

There are no sound logical, practical or historical reason for reducing Spain to a “Commonwealth of Nations” at a time when the European citizens have embarked upon the great task of creating a united citizens Europe. Some claim that the unification of Spain was done by sword and dictatorship, and that some of the regions had their independence at some historical phase, also recently. So what? Which European nation is not the historical result of welding together local regions also by the sword?

Spain is one of the countries in Europe with the most natural borders and identifiable language and culture. I cannot help feel sad when watching the disintegration taking place.

El Botellon

2006-03-20T20:40:00.000+01:00

The competition between young people of various cities in Spain to see where could be congregated the greatest number of people willing to bring his own great bottle of liquor and drink without inhibition during a Friday night, has got a wide coverage in the foreign medias.

In some towns the professional rioters took over the action, burning rubbish containers, breaking the windows of nearby shops and charging against the police, conveniently positioned. In Barcelona and Salamanca 81 people were injured and 70 detained.

Young people may do as they like for me, even if it is nothing more boldly than drinking themselves from all senses and breaking some windows in shops.

What I like to protest against, is the term “ancient tradition of Spanish youth” that part of the foreign media has been minting to explain the “botellon”.

The “botellon” is not one of the old Spanish traditions, it is not more than ten to fifteen years of age, and could develop in any of the modern societies where young people are left without ideals, with little hope of a sensible employment and a craving for expressing their feelings against all kind of authority.

2,5 million foreigners

2006-02-15T15:41:00.000+01:00

There are now 2,5 million foreign residents living in Spain.
The country that in the sixties was one of the greatest exporters of emigrants to Northern Europe, is becoming one of the countries with the highest number of immigrants.

Just 10 years ago, the main component among the foreign residents in Spain were the foreign property owners from Northern Europe. Our number has not been declining, but we have been surpassed by the immigrants from the third world, from Northern Africa and South America.

We can see the trend clearest in the province of Alicante:
During last year the number of foreigners with a residence permit increased by 51.710 people, from 118.917 to 170.697. This spectacular increase is caused by the special process of legalisation of the many illegal immigrants staying in the province, but also the increased number of foreign property buyers from Northern Europe.

Alicante province has only 3,8% of the total population of Spain, but 6,5% of all foreign residents in the country, and 54% of all the foreigners in the Valencia region.

We do not expect that the number of foreigners will increase with the same force during this year, even if we know that there are still reserves: There are still a great and growing number of illegal immigrants, looking for papers and work, and there are still many foreign owners from Northern Europe, staying for a long part of the year as tourists.

It is sad to see that as the number of foreign property buyers and residents increases, the interest from the Valencia government for our group is diminishing. They look upon the foreign property buyers and owners exclusively
as a commercial market to be exploited, and as tax subjects filling the coffers of the regional and local administration.

We would have preferred to be seen as….European citizens.

European lobbies

2005-12-21T08:36:00.000+01:00

The policy of the Valencia government in the urbanistic field has been severely condemned by the European parliament and the European Commission has given the government 3 weeks to clean up certain aspects of its laws (2 weeks remaining of the deadline).

It is natural that politicians taken to task try to defend themselves. Spokesman of the Consell Valenciana, and leading member of the government, Esteban Gonzalez Pons, has been doing so. He has recently declared that there are European lobbies behind the decision of the European Parliament, "interested in that the the investments coming to the Valencia region shall go to other parts of the Mediterranean." He is pointing an accusing finger at Italy and the Balcans.

So now we know. The thousands of victims and upright people that have joined in the protest
to the European parliament are just pretending to be victims. In reality they are moles placed in Spain by the lobbies of Italy and the Balcans.

The members of the investigating delegation, of the commission of petitions (unanimously supporting the report), the 511 members of the European Parliament endorsing the condemnation and of course the European Commission, they are all representing "economical interests" in Italy and the Balcans......

Leading Spanish writer Antonio Gala commented recently in a leading daily paper on the urbanistic situation in Valencia, referring to the "wall of urbanisations and cement" erected along the coast, creating a fortification against the pirates of the Mediterranean "that today are on the shores". He ends lamenting the lack in the region of "governors with heads and prevision of the future".

No one can say it better than Gala.

The count down

2005-12-16T08:31:00.000+01:00

The plenary meeting of the European Parliament has with 550 votes in favor, 45 against and 25 abstentions condemned the urbanistic policy of the Valensia government and demanded compensation for the victims of the LRAU-law as well as an immediate moratorium on all new urbanisation plans pending approval, based on that law, until new, correct legislation has been approved.

This is strong, but necessary medicine. It is obvious that the Euro-deputies are tired of all excuses and manoeuvres and manipulations by the responsibles for the urbanistic policy of the Valensia government.

The European Commission has followed up, giving the regional government 3 weeks to adopt the proposed new law (LUV) to European legislation. That refers specifically to the contract procedure. If the changes are not introduced within the short time limit given, the Commission will take Spain before the Court of Justice. This is even stronger medicine.

The count down is running.

From 5 to 15

2005-12-13T11:32:00.000+01:00

The weather on Costa Blanca is the best you can find in Europe - from the point of view of a tourist. Today we have 15 degrees, sunshine, but with a bit chilly wind. On the European continent, hardly better anywhere.

However, during the night we were down to 5 degrees. The ones sitting in Northern Europe will say: That is nothing and they will tell how many degrees below zero they had last night.

I know, but the problem is that the Spanish dwellings are not built for cold nights, so that even with the heater on, one has to put a warm plaid over the knees not to freeze behind the thin exterior walls.

But has not new legislation been introduced when it comes to thermal insulation of dwellings? That is true, but it is also true that new dwellings are just as cold as the old ones. It seems that always a short cut is found to avoid improving the quality of construction.

What is the solution? It could be building yourself, or staying over the winter in the Carribean or on the coast of Brazil, where spanish investors are now going to construct hotels and dwellings.

Bubble that burst

2005-12-12T15:36:00.000+01:00

For some time, Spanish newspapers have been filled with the good news that the British government wanted to give retired fiscal incentives to buy dwellings, also abroad. The promoters had calculated how many sales of houses to Brits this would mean for Spain. One of the calculations was that only on the Costa Blanca would be sold 30.000 additional dwellings.

Now the bubble has burst, as so many other bubbles tend to do. The British government has scrapped the proposal, and gloom is spreading among promoters and sales agents.

Now, the property sector has to go the hard way, with their own efforts convince the buyers from Great Britan and other countries that Spain is still a good place to buy a first or a second home.

Fiestas and puentes

2005-12-07T11:10:00.000+01:00

There are two Fiesta-days during this week. On Tuesday we celebrated the Spanish Constitution. Tomorrow, Thursday, it is La Inmaculada (Immaculate conception). That leaves us with 3 working days.

As a result of this Gruyere cheese of a working week, most of Spain will make a "puente" out of it. "Puente" means bridge, and in this connection taking a continous holiday from last Friday to coming Monday. Be prepared that many offices are closed, and many people on travel.

As the Spanish are taking over more and more the protestant Christmas celebration (With Santa Claus and corresponding holidays), in addition to their traditional new year fiesta and "los Reyes" (Holy Three Kings), the number of serious working days from the beginning of December to the middle of January is considerably reduced.

El Mundo leading net-paper in Europe

2005-11-30T07:58:00.000+01:00

As a reader from the first day of the independent Spanish newspaper "El Mundo" and an avid user of its edition on the internet, I almost feel proud that this edition has not only beaten all Spanish competitors, but is also the newspaper in Europe most widely read on the web. During last October "elmundo.es" reached a total of 7,2 million readers, visiting 239 million pages.

We must remember that the internet penetration in Spain is only 35%, well below the countries of northern Europe, and that the information of El Mundo is only published in Spanish. With this in mind it is great that the newspaper holds spot 230 among all internet pages in the world, while the German "Bild" is number 265, "The Guardian" from UK is 300, the Swedish "Aftonbladet" holds spot 307, "Times" is 636 and "El Pais" 853.

Among the newspapers of the world, "El Mundo" is beaten on the web only by
"New York Times" (spot 77), "Washington Post" (169) and "USA Today" (216).

www.elmundo.es is well worth a visit!

More desalination plants

2005-11-07T06:33:00.000+01:00

The president of the constructors on Costa Blanca, Ramon Jerez, has in a newspaper interview recently told that there are 11.323 companies working in his sector, with 66.566 employees. To be able to maintain the construction boom, he is demanding the construction of desalination plants all along the coast, to solve the problem of water.

Buying the streets

2005-11-24T10:16:00.000+01:00

The promoters in Spain have earned much money over the last years. So much that they are now buying almost any land that may become building plots. The rush to buy is sometimes creating incredible situations:

A property company in Pilar de Horadada (Alicante) bought on a public auction 127.000 m2 land within the urbanisation "Pinar de Campoverde" for 640.00 Euro, that was inscribed in the property register as agricultural (finca rustica). The land was registered in the name of the company "Caja Territorial de Madrid S.A." that had gone broke and left much debts.

When the promoters took the time to find out where the land they had bought was situated on the urbanisation, it become clear that they had bought the streets of the development, that "Caja de Madrid" had ceded to the town hall several years ago, without this being reflected in the property register.