Editorial:
News comes of a possible exit from the Euro by Greece. That way, once they had their Drachma back, they could devalue by some alarming but necessary percentage. Some people think this could work for Spain, too. Of course, a clever person might hold on to his euros until after the devaluation before transferring them into his new national currency... making himself some nice profit! The second problem with a return to the old monetary system is that a coffee for five hundred pesetas suddenly sounds like a lot... The chances are that local business would consequently suffer from an alarming drop in custom.
Housing:
January 9th is the seventh anniversary of the demolition of Len and Helen Prior's house in a quiet area outside Vera – an area which is not on the coast, not in a 'flood plain', not in a protected area or indeed in a natural reserve. Since the demolition, carried out under instructions from the Junta de Andalucía, the couple have lived in their garage which escaped the wrecking crew. BoT asked Helen Prior how she felt: 'The Vera ayuntamiento have finally replied to our Barristers' request for compensation (through the courts). This is the final conflict as the Supreme Court said there would be no further appeals. Vera will obviously try to give us as little as possible. Hopefully it will be over in the next few months...'. Meanwhile, expect the foreign media (although not the Spanish) to once again remind their audience about the risks of buying in Spain, a regular activity which must have cost Spain billions... A feature found at The Olive Press deals with the illegal homes issue with a story called 'Nightmare in the sun as home dreams fall apart'. On a larger subject, what a shame that foreign Europeans have no representation in Brussels. We are of course an easy target for unscrupulous politicians!
'Despite the economic crisis, foreign buyers have returned in force to the country’s property market. Britons dominate foreign purchase of Spanish property, according to official statistics, representing the 18.06 per cent of property selling to non-nationals. But with low prices in many areas, more nations are getting in on the act, with the French (10.48 per cent), and Northern Europeans: Russians (7.50 per cent), German (6.45 per cent), Belgian (6.19 per cent) and Swedish (6.08 per cent)...'. From Money Market UK. Similar here.
'Valencia and Madrid have been named as potential property investment hotspots for 2015 as the country’s property market continues its recovery. Madrid is currently undergoing a revival following a rocky ride during the last seven years and Valencia’s position as a key tourist destination mark them out, according to independent real estate agency Lucas Fox International...'. From Property Wire.
'...Port D’Andratx in Mallorca is one of the 25 most exclusive residential areas in the world, with a price tag per square metre reaching 27,000 euros. The prestigious Mallorcan port ranks at number 19, and is the only Spanish destination included in this list...'. From Kyero.
Also from Kyero: 'At the close of the year the price of second hand housing in Spain stood at an average of 1,594 euros per square metre, which represents a decline of 5% compared with a year earlier, according to the latest house price index published by property portal, idealista.com...'.
'Why that cut-price Spanish villa has a nasty tax surprise: Ex-pats warned of extra stamp duty bill on homes bought over the past four years...'. The Daily Mail reports.
A study on the alarming destruction of the habitat in Portmán, next door to Cartagena in Murcia. Ruined by chemical run-offs from the nearby mines closed over twenty years ago, Portmán remains largely uninhabitable today.
Tourism:
The Costa del Sol had its best tourist year ever with 10.2 million visitors, says Hosteltur.
The values of the European Union: the elimination of interior frontiers, a common currency, the liberalization of air transport and so on, have all contributed to increase tourism (with obvious benefits for Spain), says Hosteltur, amid concern for threats to destabilise the region, from Greece to the UK. Article and graphics here.
Finance:
Comparisons are odious! Here's Spain versus other countries in questions of unemployment, the minimum wage against average salary, holidays and how long must you work to pay for your next Big Mac (17.49 minutes).
'Spain emerged timidly from recession in mid-2013 and in the second quarter of 2014 posted its strongest quarterly growth since 2007, expanding by 0.6%...'. An article on the recovery from The Economic Times.
Luis de Guindos, the Minister for the Economy says that 'recuperation will return to our pockets' in 2015. On October 29tth, he was reported in the ABC as saying '2014 will be the year of recuperation'. In La Razón back in November 2012, he said 'Recuperation will begin in 2013'. The three quotes are placed together in a single graphic, here. Indeed, the respectable TVE Informe Semenal ran an interview with de Guindos called '2015, al final del túnel' (article in El Huff Post and original video here) which has been heavily criticised in the Social Media.
'Compared with 2011', says the economics professor and writer José María Gay de Liébana, speaking on La Sexta, 'contributors will be paying an increase in taxes this year of 30,000 million euros'. Story at Bolsamanía.
Rajoy tells the EU that taxes will go up in 2015, 2016 and 2017, says El Confidencial in an unfriendly article here.
Repsol says it may drop further oil exploration off the Canaries following disappointing results. Nevertheless, la Oficina de Acción Global del Cabildo de Lanzarote will continue with its campaign against the drillings. Story here.
Most of Spain's private sector remains with the long work-day, interrupted with a massive lunch/siesta break. Iberdrola, the electricity giant, introduced the compressed working hours system back in 2008, with a 7.15am to 2.50pm day, including 45 minutes off. The result: '...We have reduced absenteeism by 20%, while accidents in the workplace have fallen by 15%'. Should Spain's private sector adopt European working hours? The story at El País in English.
The destruction of jobs, a study found at Público. According to this, Spain has destroyed 3.3 million jobs since the beginning of the Crisis (16% of all jobs in Spain back in 2008), the highest amount of any European country. If Público is far to the left, here on a similar subject, is ABC, equally far to the right: 'Spain creates jobs for the first time since 2007', says a headline, adding that the number of affiliates to the Seguridad Social grew on average in 2014 by 417,574 members. The article adds: '...The fall in unemployment has increased this year, after unemployment figures for 2014 showed a fall of 147,000 people. This contrasts with six consecutive years of increases during 2007-2012...'. El Mundo strikes for the middle ground: 'Employment is up but jobs haven't followed', explaining that some jobs are now shared around with the growth of new part-time jobs. It all looks nice on paper...
Sanctions against Russia are not doing anyone any good, says Wolf Street here.
Politics:
A study here of the longest-serving alcaldes of Spain. Around fifty of our mayors have been in office for thirty years or more. Indeed, we read of the recent death of Licinio Prieto, the 92 year old mayor of Cuevas del Valle, a village in Ávila, who had held office for over fifty years, having originally got the job during the dictadura. Other mayors, still alive, include José Luis Seguí Andrés, 42 years mayor of Almudaina (Alicante); José Rocamora Ruiz, 36 years mayor of Granja de Rocamora (Alicante); Jaume Pascual Pascual, 36 years mayor of L'Alqueria d'Asnar (Alicante) and the notorious Juan Manuel Sánchez Gordillo, 36 years mayor of La Marinaleda (Seville).
Reuters has the results from an opinion poll from last month, showing the Partido Popular leading with 28.6% support, the PSOE coming in second with 23.4% and Podemos in third place with 23.2%.
'Spain and Andorra to sign agreement to combat tax fraud', say the mainstream news-sites after Rajoy visited the tiny country this week (here at El País in English). An independent news-source, El Diario, says different: 'Andorra contradicts the Spanish Government and says that they will not automatically interchange fiscal information with Spain'.
Corruption:
There are 150 corruption cases in court, with over 2,000 accused, as the new year begins, says The Olive Press. Many fresh cases are still coming to light, including one here reported at El País in English featuring once again the notorious banker Miguel Blesa with the headline: 'Caja Madrid board was paid an extra €15 million, says audit. At least 80 percent of over-payments were made to 12 top members of the bank’s board'.
Thirteen anti-corruption laws will be debated in February, when Parliamentarians return to work after their Christmas holidays.
Those 35 trips to the Canary Isles by the President of Extremadura José Monago in 2011 and 2012, allegedly to see his girlfriend, have been 'archived' by the Public Prosecutor.
Courts
The headline in Infolibre: 'The passivity of the Prosecutor in the Bárcenas Case hinders the chances of Judge Pablo Ruz closing the case by March'. The public prosecutor has hardly helped the judge at all, who must leave his post at the Audiencia Nacional in March as the case against the financier of the Partido Popular 'Caja B' falters... (The PP refuses to allow judges in complicated cases extra time, article from El País here).
Essay:
Do foreign buyers face a higher risk of having their house demolished in Almería?
From the AUAN (Web-page here)
A startling 31% of all properties demolished in Almería in the last eight years belonged to British buyers even though that nationality represents less than 3% of the population.
This statistic emerged from information provided by the Provincial Planning Inspectorate in November last year when it revealed that 14 properties were demolished in Almería in the last eight years due to planning irregularities. This figure later grew to 16 properties when two more villas were demolished in Las Terreras, Cantoria on 18th November.
Of the 16 properties demolished to date, the Inspectorate stated that 11 (9 houses and 2 warehouses) belonged to Spanish citizens whilst the remaining 5 houses were the property of British nationals, representing some 31% of the total. This figure becomes significant when one considers that Britons resident in Almería represent some 2.78% of the overall population according to the latest information from the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
‘It appears that foreign buyers are markedly more vulnerable to ending up with an illegal house’ said Maura Hillen, President of the home owners group, AUAN. ‘This is one of a number of issues that our association is asking the European Union to investigate as a matter of urgency’.
‘Of course, behind the dry statistics lies misery for five families. On January 9th Helen and Len Prior will spend their seventh year in their garage without compensation for the loss of their home. This year four more families now share their fate. It begs the question….. How many more demolitions can the market or indeed foreign buyers tolerate? The Government needs to get to the bottom of the problems with the property market and fix them sooner rather than later. Purchasers in good faith need protection.’ she concluded.
Various:
'If you're buying books through Amazon in Spain, you should know that, as of 1 January, you'll pay 21% IVA (VAT). This is the result of an EU directive and is the highest in Europe, comparing with the previous 3%. I'm not sure you can avoid this by ordering from the UK (8%), as the rate seems to depend on where you live'. Found at Colin Davies' Thoughts From Galicia here. Like most of us who like to read these days, BoT buys our books at the local second-hand shop or the market (inevitably, the author and the book company gets nothing from these transactions)...
Murcia's Corvera airport, which remains firmly closed as politicians hesitantly talk about the end of 2015 before things can be straightened our, is the but of a number of jokes. Here's the Young Socialists of Murcia, asking if anyone local knows the way to the airport (From the Round Town News). The unused airport currently costs the region 22,000€ a day.
'The final draft of the new traffic regulation was released yesterday by the traffic police (DGT) and is expected to be approved by the council of ministers shortly, with the changes coming into effect by the spring...'. Says David Jackson here. Essentially, all secondary roads will drop from 100kph to 90kph.
The frequencies for the regular Spanish digital TV, the TDT, are being moved, adjusted and expanded at the present time, with some inconvenience to viewers. Meanwhile, the Government is rushing a law through Parliament to stop 'uncomfortable or foreign' groups from buying a channel. Vozpópuli says the move is primarily to stop the entry of the Qatar based news-channel Al Jazeera, who would weaken the Government's control on content.
Olive oil prices will sky-rocket this year after a bad harvest says The Guardian.
Pictures from the beautiful Ruta de Cares in the Picos de Europa here.
Student internships and registration, apprentice posts... an interesting site here.
The Huffington Post has '20 Reasons to Drop Everything and Go to Spain', in text and stunning photographs here.
Finally:
It was one of those days... Tommy Steele from 1959 (I can't get the tune out of my head!
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