Editorial:
Competition doesn't work in Spain as well as it might. Tricks, influence, strikes, the protectionism of a 'colegio profesional', the handy application of a spurious law – all are useful methods of tackling what injured parties like to call 'la competición desleal'. But why stop in the commercial world? President Mariano Rajoy is looking for a law to grant the largest party voted the automatic right to the mayorship in local elections. This would weed out those meddlesome small 'hinge' parties that sometimes steal the town by allying themselves to the second party. Who likes the sound of that? The PP, the PSOE, and in the Regions, the CiU and the PNV are certainly prepared to support the obvious. Does this mean the end of the political tiddlers (the IU and of course the thorn in the flesh Podemos included)? Carmen Crespo, the Government representative in Andalucía, says pointedly: 'Government by the most voted list is a measure of democratic regeneration "that all citizens are demanding"...'. Indeed, why stop there: Andalucía is run by a coalition of the PSOE and the IU, while the most voted party was the PP. Of course, a minority president or mayor might not get much done without a few interesting side-deals with the opposition. I wonder what they'd offer.
Housing:
A leading article in El País in English: 'Bye bye España: Unemployment, taxes and old age are forcing thousands of Europeans to sell up and leave Spain'. The article begins: 'In the sunny cafés of Calpe, a seaside town in Alicante province, there is one prevailing topic of concern among the white-haired, suntanned British retirees: the Spanish Tax Agency. The mistrust triggered by the new obligation to declare assets located abroad is just one of the reasons pushing hundreds of thousands of elderly Europeans to drop off the official statistics, and in many cases, bid Spain farewell forever...'.
From La Voz de Almería: 'Almost ten years later, the British who invested their savings in the purchase of a home in the Almanzora Country Club, in Cuevas del Almanzora, have recovered some of their money. A court in Totana, Murcia, has condemned the Banco Popular to repay the down-payments and legal costs since 2005...'. Around 115 million euros from over a thousand British investors, says the newspaper.
The spectre of demolition orders has returned to Albox as various promoters stand trial for alleged planning crimes relating to the construction of seven houses, some never completed, on the ‘Las Palmeras’ urbanization in the area of Llano de los Olleres in Albox. The prosecution is seeking penalties of one year of imprisonment, disbarment from their profession for one year and six months, a fine and the demolition of the houses at a cost to the accused of 63,391.77 Euros.
Maura Hillen, president of the home-owners association, AUAN, said 'The home-owners are fully aware that there is no guarantee of compensation if those accused are convicted. Some paid up to 140,000 euros in stage payments for homes that were never even completed whilst, of course, the owners of the completed houses paid even more. To add to the stress, cases such as this one, which began in 2006, can languish in the court system for many years leaving home-owners trapped in limbo with the sword of Damocles hanging over their heads. We want the government to change the law to guarantee compensation to third party purchasers in good faith. The law should punish the guilty and protect the innocent'.
New information is emerging about more court cases relating to houses in the municipality of Partaloa in Almería. This time it is 29 houses in the area of Retamar and as usual the prosecution is asking for demolition. The latest case, which was initiated seven years ago, is a criminal case relating to an alleged planning crime against the promoter of the houses as well as corruption charges against a series of other individuals and is pending a hearing in Criminal Court number 2 in Almería. The company Residencial Retamar S.L. is also cited in the case. The victims, third party purchasers in good faith, could find themselves without a house and without compensation if the accused are convicted. For more info, contact [email protected] . More on this at El Almería.
'To find solutions for properties built on land not zoned for construction but which has been subject to subdivision and can therefore not be included in Decree 2/2012 which relates to making properties legal, and those properties for which the works licences have been annulled. These are two of the objectives of the Save Our Homes Axarquía association – Salvemos Nuestras Casas en la Axarquía (SOHA) in Spanish – which is formed by about 400 foreign residents who own illegal properties, in a series of meetings it has begun with the Junta de Andalucía’s general planning directorate to look for solutions to the problems of illegal houses...'. Found at Sur in English.
Meanwhile, in Las Palmas, a twenty-year-old public library, deemed 'illegal' by the Supreme Court, is to be demolished forthwith.
The astonishing Isla Valdecañas in Extremadura consists of two hotels, 300 villas, numerous apartments, an 18-hole golf course, a sports complex, marina, pool area and artificial beach. (prospectus here in English). The only problem is that it's illegal, according to a sentence from the Supreme Court. The Extremadura Government says that demolition of the island would cost 35 million euros plus, presumably, reparation to the owners. Ahh, the ecologists.
'Spanish property is now more popular than French, according to new research from TheMoveChannel.com. The portal's latest Top of the Props report shows that Spain has overtaken France to become the second most sought-after property destination in the world'.
'The economic engine of the private housing market moved 10,386.5 million euros in Spain in the first quarter of 2014, representing an increase of 55% compared with the same period last year (6,713 million), according to recent data published by the Ministry of Development. Thus, the amount moved by the private housing market began 2014 in the positive after accumulating three consecutive years of decline...'. From Kyero.
'The Spanish housing market really has hit rock bottom if this property is anything to go by.
A five-bedroom cave, built into the rocks of a hillside in Andalusia, is on the market for less than the price of a family car. The unusual property, which includes a 700m-square plot of land large enough to build a swimming pool, has stunning mountain views.
The ‘Cave House’ - as it is being billed by sellers - is built into the rocks of Cuevas Del Campo near Granada – a popular holiday and retirement area in Spain. It'll cost you 14,500 euros or £11,587 if you want to live like Fred Flintstone – a bargain compared to the average price for a family home in Britain of £250,000...'. From The Daily Mail.
El País in English runs a depressing article about speculators becoming landlords of what used to be council-owned homes: 'Goldman Sachs is my landlord. The sale of state-owned homes to private firms has left hundreds of families facing eviction'.
'Authorities in the Autonomous Region of Madrid have been inspecting home rental websites and business prior to introducing new legislation controlling tourist rentals in the city. Their spot checks revealed that 92 per cent of web pages offering rental properties in the city fail to comply fully with consumer protection laws.
The checks were carried out in April and May, inspecting 28 companies with local offices in the city, and 26 web sites. 58% of the web sites failed to comply with regulations on the information they provide, in the main failing to publish their tax numbers (CIF), business purpose, and address...'. From Mark Stücklin's Spanish Property Insight.
A useful calculator for your Plusvalía on selling your house – whether now or in 2015 (when the tax goes up, massively), brought by Cinco Días.
Tourism:
'During the first five months of the year, Andalucía was the region of Spain that saw the biggest increase in spending by foreign tourists. This according to figures released by the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism.
There has been a 16.3 per cent increase on last year’s figures. The region received 15.5 per cent of total spending by foreign tourists in all Spain...'. From Sur in English.
Canaries: 'The Government of Paulino Rivero has requested the personal data of almost 5,000 owners of vacation homes in the Canary Islands from an international website with the intention to impose fines, according to a statement by Ascav. The Asociación Canaria del Alquiler Vacacional says that far from fulfilling his promise to meet with them - according to the words of Rivero – "due to the social and economic importance of the subject", what he has rather done is simply to bow to the demands of the hoteliers of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and their association Ashotel, which has repeatedly shown its disagreement with this type of competition...'. The spectre of 'unfair competition' (as described by powerful interests to maintain or create a monopoly) once again in the Spanish news. Found here at Preferente.
Meanwhile, the Generalitat in Barcelona has just fined another portal, which also provides rental apartments, with 30,000€, since the apartments were 'not listed with the 'Registro de Turismo de Cataluña'. The Generalitat is also threatening the site, airbnb, with an embargo from Catalonian servers. More on this humbug at El País. Here's an essay from The Huff Post on the subject: 'The Rising of the “Sharing” Economy', here.
Finance:
Unemployment fell in Spain once again in June, and now stands at 4.49 million people.
A graphic here shows the minimum wage in each European country. Note that the Spanish one is adjusted for 12 months (here you get 14 monthly payments thanks to an old Franco system that has never, understandably, been challenged). Luxembourg pays the most at 1921€, Germany is in fourth place with 1445€, the UK at 1217€, Spain is about half-way down at 753€ and Bulgaria brings up the rear at 174€ per month.
'Spanish workers in 2013 needed 130 days to comply with their tax obligations: 54 to pay income tax, 32 for IVA, 23 for Social Security, 14 for special taxes and 7 for other taxes, according to a recent study...'. Found in an old article at El Mundo. This year, it takes 184 days before the average worker with his wage of 15,500€, can start playing with his own money.
A new tax on bank deposits, at the small rate of 0.03%, is a new moneymaker for the Government. Tax Minister Montero calculates the State will pick up some 375 million euros from the scheme.
'Tax inspectors from 'Hacienda' have called for 'soft' drugs and prostitution to be legalised to cut down on the 'negative effects' on society and the economy and generate more tax income … As a result of cannabis and prostitution becoming legal, Spain's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is barely one per cent at present, would rise to around 4.5 per cent...'. From Eye on Spain which adds, '...From the beginning of June, the National Statistics Institute (INE) will be obliged to include drugs and prostitution in its GDP forecasts, as have a number of other countries in Europe, and say that so far these illicit activities generate about three per cent of the country's income, or around 30 billion euros...'.
Who wants to shoot a film in Spain? Nobody. Not now with the lack of this Government's support. One quote from a film-maker says it all: 'If I want the Giralda (the gilded tower in Seville) in my film, it's cheaper to build a new one in Bogotá...'.
'One of Spain's largest technology companies is “nothing but an empty shell”. The founder and CEO of Gowex has quit after admitting his company accounts are made up and he’s been hiding the loss of hundreds of millions of euros. Trading in Gowex shares was suspended late last week after they dropped by about 60 percent in two days, wiping around 870 million euros ($1.2 billion) off the company’s stock market value, in the wake of a damning report by US short sellers Gotham City Research...'. From David Jackson. The left-wing Público reports that, between Gowex, Telexfree and some older and infamous frauds (Afinsa, Forum Filatélico, the bank preferentes and so on), around 1.3 million credulous investors across Spain have lost their stakes.
MSN Noticias runs a story: 'Nearly half of all Spaniards will be poor in 2025: A study by Intermón Oxfam says that within 12 years our country could have 20 million poor people, which would represent 42% of the population'.
Corruption:
Too many stories. To begin with El Mundo, how to buy the support of an opposition councillor in Brunete. Then Reuters tells the story of 'Spain's Princess Cristina faces trial on corruption charges'. Although now a hitherto silent employee says it was all his fault. The family of ex-Catalan president Jordi Pujol has been exposed for money laundering by El Mundo here. Fourteen ex-union leaders are in trouble for fraud in Andalucía here, with the ex-treasurer of the UGT under arrest. The Spanish vice-president of the European Parliament, Ramón Luis Valcarcél, outed by the Cuartopoder site for illegally re-zoning some land of his in Murcia. The Leader runs the story of PP malfeasance in Torrevieja and other scandals in Orihuela. A list here of 127 politicians accused of corruption and yet still in Office. And so it goes...
The Partido Popular has brought its own case against the Junta de Andalucía in the Invercaria Inquiry, as part of its 'fight against corruption'. The lawyer chosen by the PP is unfortunately himself under investigation for impropriety and document forgery. A comment from a colleague: 'The PP have hired a lawyer facing charges of corruption to represent them in their flagship legal campaign centred on the Caso Invercaria … against … guess what... corruption. In Spain an abogado can still practice whilst facing charges. Must be difficult for some abogados to remember where to sit when they get to court!'.
The ABC has an article on corruption, which is Spain's second worry (38.8%) after unemployment, and notes that in some other European countries, politicians resign for the most trifling of transgressions...
To save me researching the ins-and-outs of the recent activities of Magdalena Álvarez, here's Colin Davies: '...The ex-Minister for Development in the infamous Andalucian government is, like every Spanish politician, suspected of fraud and corruption. So, nothing unusual there. But she'd become the VP of the European Investment Bank - having, like a good Spanish politician, denied everything and held out while protesting her innocence. But now she's resigned, though not as a result of the hoohah. It's simply, she says, because the Spanish Prime Minister wants to put someone in her place. And who could blame him? Though he usually stands by his friends, whatever they're accused of. And should they nonetheless go to jail, he pardons them before the ink is dry on the judge's summary. Así son las cosas'.
White Elephants:
BoT remains unconvinced of the practicality and viability of Spain's high-speed-train system. It's hugely expensive and wasteful and seems to be based more on 'keeping up with the Jones' rather than with any real demand. Here's the story of the Alicante AVE that was forced to stop last week when heavy rains caused the tracks to subside...
Politics:
'Whatever happened to the 15-M Movement? Where did Occupy go? Three years after the ground-breaking revolutionary ruptures of 2011, violent repression and media invisibility have relegated these thriving movements to a grey area. The perception seems to shift between mainstream derision and niche-group interest. Occupy’s roots have spread out and sprouted a multitude of initiatives, though perhaps the source inspiration is not always publicly recognized. But in Spain, the popular experience of austerity – the murderous palliative prescribed as a cure for the crisis – and the resulting political movements in reaction have been giving the lie to the mainstream narrative that 15-M is a “has been”...'. Found at Guerilla Translation.
The leader of the extreme left-wing sensation Podemos, Pablo Iglesias, says that the Media should be put under Government control (with heavy support from public sources through publicidad institucional, it is, anyway). An indignant El País in English quotes the politician: “Something as important as the media, something that is of public interest and is essential to democracy, cannot be exclusively in the hands of multimillionaires.”. Meanwhile, The Guardian introduces Iglesias to the British public: (Headline) ''Yes he can!' How Spanish indignado Pablo Iglesias aims to use a wave of protest to build 'a decent country'. Podemos came out of nowhere to win 1.2 million votes. Pablo Iglesias talks of his hopes for the left-wing fledgling party.'
Militants in the PSOE will be able to choose a new leader in a few days time on July 13th, following Pérez Rubalcaba's departure. The two leading candidates are the Madrid-born Pedro Sánchez (42) and the Basque Eduardo Madina (38); while, following along behind, there is José Antonio Pérez Tapias (59) from Seville. According to Espía en el Congreso in a waspish article here, they are all millionaires. Just the thing for a socialist leader, as Felipe González would tell you.
'Britain needs to be more aggressive in its dealings with Spain over of the issue of Gibraltar and make sure Madrid pays a diplomatic price for targeting The Rock, MPs have demanded.
A report by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Commons says British officials have shown weakness in response to a concerted Spanish campaign directed at Gibraltar.
And it recommends the Foreign Office drop a conciliatory approach and instead sue the Spanish government in the European courts to stop disruption at the border between the Overseas Territory and its only neighbour...'. From The Telegraph.
'EU envoys visit Spain-Gibraltar border to check progress on crossing delays. Britain’s House of Commons calls for legal action against Madrid for its “unacceptable behavior” From El País in English last week. A comment from a reader follows: 'It's interesting here that this Spanish news article on the matter makes no mention of the following: 1) Gibraltar has not only progressed all of the suggestions from the EU visit 6 months ago, it has completed them 2) Spain on the other hand has not even started a single thing - nothing at all - in fact the delays have become even worse. 3) Again on the day of the visit, announced in advance, there were no queues at all. The mountain of seized bicycles was cleared away. Just like the first visit'.
'While much of the debate about the UK’s membership (of the European Union) focusses upon the 2.3 million citizens of other EU countries living in the UK, a nearly identical number of UK citizens live in other Member States. There has been surprisingly little discussion about what would happen to them if the UK left the EU...'. What would happen indeed? Found at EU Law Analysis.
Various:
Clichés about Spain? '...More than five years of crisis and a succession of corruption scandals have confirmed long-held views about a country supposedly run by incompetents, swindlers, bunglers and opportunists, and a population that is more interested in bullfighting, fiestas, siestas and soccer than hard work...'. An essay in El País in English.
Spain apparently spends 32 times more on keeping the Third World out than it does on aid to refugees. Anyone seeing those terrible pictures of the massive fences around Melilla or Ceuta, festooned with hungry immigrants attempting to gain access, will know that some solution must be found. 289 million euros on defence against just nine million on support, according to Amnesty International.
'Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the ruling Emir of Qatar, has reportedly offered to invest €2.2 billion ($3 billion) over five years to convert Barcelona's Monumental bullring into a 40,000-capacity mosque which would be the biggest in Europe. The planned mosque, featuring a 300m minaret would be the third-largest in the world outside Mecca and Medina, and would include a conference hall, a 300-capacity Koran study centre and a museum of Islamic art and history...'. From The Local.
The daily obligation of buying a newspaper is falling, as readers prefer the Internet (or reading someone else's paper perhaps). The OJD records the number of 'useful' copies of a newspaper while the EGM shows the (estimated) number of readers. Open, evidently, to interpretation. Thus, readership of four large newspapers is down by around 10% over the second quarter of 2013 - El Mundo, ABC, El País and the sports paper Marca. The free paper 20 Minutos is off by over 22%.
'Bill Hillmann, a Chicago man well-known in the sport of bull running and co-author of the book 'How to Survive the Bulls of Pamplona', has himself been gored by a bull in Pamplona. Sanfermin.com, a website which covers the festival, reports that Hillman was injured on Wednesday during the especially dangerous 'Telefonica' stretch of the run. The American apparently tripped and fell face-up, allowing him to watch as the full weight of irony and bull-horn descended upon him...'. Some kismet found at The Huff Post.
Ten reasons to register on the padrón. Here.
Iberswitch. A useful company for 'cost saving alternatives to the ex-pat community whilst providing a solution to any language issues our clients may experience. Acting as a bridge between customer and supplier, we remove the stress involved with dealing with large and impersonal organisations'. (recommended by a reader)
A short video of Barcelona in Flow-Motion by Rob Whitworth.
Letters
My thanks for all the kind letters from readers about the passing of my wife Barbara Napier on 4 June. Un abrazo, Lenox
Finally:
As the World remembers the terrible events of 1914, here's a short article called Spain During the First World War. '...As a neutral country, Spain saw no direct military action in the war. It did, however, intern a small German force in its north west African colony of Spanish Guinea in November 1915 and intervene in embattled areas to aid prisoners of war. The Spanish crown, under Alfonso XIII, contributed a great deal to improving the treatment of prisoners and non-combatants throughout the conflict. At his own expense, Alfonso maintained a staff of forty who helped him serve as an intermediary between prisoners and their families. His efforts led to the end of reprisals against French POWs in Germany...'.
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