Editorial:
The British involvement with Spain has certainly taken a dive since the Brexit debacle.
We could blame the Schengen rules, or the misleading propaganda leading up to the referendum, or maybe the British sense of entitlement – whichever it is, the result for many of us comes down to inconvenience, bother and frustration.
Tourists will sooner or later have to get a permit to visit Europe. They will of course still be coming for their hols, and it’s only seven euros (good for three years) each. We read that the scheduled 2024 introduction of ETIAS, a special travel authorization covering most of Europe, will now begin sometime in 2025, so next season’s summer stay is saved…
However, another formality called the EES Entry/exit scheme has now been agreed to start from October 6th next year, with the extra obligation to provide fingerprints and facial biometrics at the border (plus the implied inconvenience). Big Brother will be watching.
Visitors who hope for longer stays, but don’t have either special visas or their residence papers, must face the 90/180 rule.
Those bothered by this will likely be the people who own a house here – which, in essence – they can’t fully use. Most of these unfortunates had bought their properties when they were still able to stay here as long as they wanted: that’s to say, pre-Brexit.
The 90/180 rule is frustrating for non-Schengen Area (particularly British) home-owners in Spain. The rule states that (non-EU) foreigners from outside the partnership may only remain anywhere in the borderless zone for ninety days in any 180 days stretch. In short, only European citizens from the 26 Schengen nations (22 within the EU plus Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Iceland) can enter Spain or another member state freely.
It’s not just the Brits, Americans and any other foreigner who suffer with the Schengen rules: Spain loses out as well – on house-sales, business and job creation. Most legal foreigners, at least, spend here with money brought from outside: they buy – or have bought – houses, cars and goods. Those who work here, either in an air-conditioned office or behind a bar (or indeed those poor souls who are in the plastic farms of the South) are bringing wealth to at least someone, along with their taxes and social security paid.
Understandably, there is an active resistance to the 90/180 day rule. A Facebook page called 180 Days in Spain is worth a look. With enough lobbying, maybe things will change.
Those of us who are second-class residents can stay as long as we like; but we are, of course, only resident in the one country – in our case, Spain. Move somewhere else for an extended visit (even if there’s no border control) and we face the same 90/180 issue. Thus – I might fancy moving from Spain to Portugal to live – but what if they catch me? Could I become persona non grata? Indeed I could.
The only thing that hasn’t changed is taking out Spanish nationality. It’s still as long and as tiresome a process as ever it was.
Housing:
Many foreigners now live as residents in Spain. RTVE, in a larger study on where Spaniards migrate to within Spain, looks at the foreigners: At the beginning of 2023, there were 48 million people living in Spain, of which 17% were foreign-born. In the larger cities, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat is 36% extranjero, followed by Barcelona (30%), then Madrid and Palma both with 25%. El Mundo’s take is ‘The foreign population grows 32 times faster than the Spanish population and adds 580,574 foreigners in 2022’.
The popular comedian and political commentator oddly named El Gran Wyoming tells the foreigners moving to Spain: “Don't all pile up on the coast” (La Sexta here with video).
From El Confidencial here (or here): ‘Brussels warns Spain: housing prices are overvalued by around 20%. The technical services of the European Commission affirm that in two thirds of the EU, the prices do not correspond to the income level of the population’.
Tourism:
(Returning to this week’s editorial) From the Majorca Daily Bulletin here: ‘Motion to solve 90-day rule problem receives support of 25 percent of French MPs, pressure still on Spain’, and from the same source: ‘One million Brits would benefit from 90-day rule being scrapped in Spain’.
And for the worst write-up we’ve seen for a long time. GBNews brings us: ‘An expat has spoken about the biggest challenge after moving from the UK to Spain’.
From The Mirror here: ‘Brits on Tenerife holidays told to 'go home' in warnings left by furious locals. The slogan "tourists go home" has been scrawled across Tenerife as locals angry about the rising price of property and environmental damage on the Spanish Canary Island stage protests’.
FITUR – the Spanish tourist and trade fair – will take place in Madrid between the 24th and 28th of January. The Ifema exhibition pavilions will once again be the host.
Finance:
‘The Government announces that it will buy 10% of Telefónica (wiki) for 2,500 million euros and become the majority shareholder to stop the Saudis’ says 20Minutos here. The Saudi Telecom STC recently acquired 9.5% of the company, which was privatised in 1997.
From El País here: ‘The majority of Spanish self-employed workers (los autónomos) contribute for the minimum base, according to the General Treasury of Social Security. This means that when the time comes to retire they will receive the minimum pension, currently estimated at less than 800 euros per month. Until now they could only complement the public pension with individual pension plans that limited the maximum annual amount contributed to 1,500 euros. The new law 12/2022 of June 30, which regulates the promotion of employment pension plans, has changed this situation. This new law allows not only employed workers to have Employment Pension Plans through their companies, but the self-employed can also contract employment pension plans as a participant…’. The new retirement age, says Sur in English here, will increase to 66 and six months from January.
‘The Government approves the new unemployment benefits: which rise from the current 480 to 570 euros during the first six months’ says Activos here.
From Canarian Weekly here: ‘Living a sustainable lifestyle in Spain: financial tips for expats’. The slightly odd article tells readers that ‘…Embracing a sustainable lifestyle in Spain can be a rewarding experience for both the environment and your wallet’.
Banks will no longer be allowed to charge commissions to seniors (over-65s) or the disabled – if they do – for withdrawing cash from the tellers from January 1st says 20Minutos here. Switching mortgages from variable to fixed rates will also be without charge for these collectives.
Politics:
Following on yet from more criticism of the Government by the PP, from 20Minutos (Saturday) here: ‘Pedro Sánchez asks his opponents for dialogue: "The elections have already passed, there is a Government for the next four years. It is time to work, discuss and agree." The president asked the PP for a legislature "with more agreements and fewer insults, because politics, is about building and agreeing, and not about having permanent tantrums. It is time to agree on a new regional financing system, to agree on a reform in our Constitution to give dignity to people with disabilities (Removing references to the offensive word ‘disminuidos’) and also to agree to comply with the rules enshrined in the Constitution and renew the government of the judges – the CGPJ – after five years of blocking it", he said. He has also attacked the opposition for the hundred demonstrations they have called in just twenty days and accuses them of "deteriorating and weakening the cohesion and coexistence in our country."
Pedro Sánchez announced on Wednesday a planned Friday meet with Alberto Núñez Feijóo.
20Minutos notes an apology of sorts from the Vox leader: ‘Santiago Abascal: "I don't want anyone, not even a traitor, to be hanged by their feet"’. Going back on his remarks against Pedro Sánchez made while in Argentina last week. (Meanwhile, far-right supporters have taken to putting Pedro Sánchez’ new book Tierra Firme upside down in bookshop displays).
20Minutos is worried that the EH Bildu people (they’ve just taken the city hall of Pamplona with the support of the PSOE) might be planning to bring the single state of Navarra into the neighbouring Basque Country – as it has long been considered part of Euskadi by the nationalists. Under Constitutional law, this would be permissible. The conservatives in Spain consider EH Bildu as the political arm of ETA.
A Podemos Murcia regional councillor called María Marín gives a powerful speech against the corruption in the PP. On YouTube here.
Morocco:
n article from the far-right Libertad Digital sends confusing messages to its readers under the title ‘The Moroccan secret that can bring down Sánchez’. We read: ‘At the beginning of fresh legislatures in Spain, it has been customary for the new president's first international trip to be to Morocco (when Pedro Sánchez took office, his first visit as Spanish president – and revolving leader of the Council of the EU - was understandably to Tel Aviv). To make matters worse, the leader of the Polisario Front, strongly at odds with Morocco, was treated for his health problems in Spain (in April 2021). This cooled relations between both countries and tensions grew by the minute, until the spying on the cell phones of Pedro Sánchez and Margarita Robles was announced (Pegasus spying in May 2021)…’. Relations have now improved, says the site, although ‘…The Moroccan government does not give up its efforts to claim the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla - which historically belong to Spain and were never in Moroccan hands’. My addenda in italics above.
Diplomacy:
From elDiario.es here, we read that the Minister for Foreign Affairs José Manuel Albares has appointed Ángeles Moreno Bau and Marta Betanzos as ambassadors to Washington and Beijing respectively. A third woman – Susana Sumelzo – becomes Secretary of State for Latin America and the Caribbean. Currently, almost 70% of Spanish diplomats are men and only one in four ambassadors is a woman.
Religion:
The Jehovah’s Witnesses have come in for some punishment this week, with ‘A Madrid judge accepts that Jehovah's Witnesses can be classified as a "destructive sect" and their followers as "victims"’ (20Minutos here) and elDiario.es brings us the story of Joana, ‘…who is one of the almost 200 people who make up the Spanish Association of Victims of Jehovah's Witnesses (AEVTJ), which since 2019 has dedicated itself to denouncing the ostracism to which former members are subjected and the “coercive practices and emotional pressure on the faithful”. An association that is now celebrating after a pioneering ruling that this religion is a “sect” and that it exercises “excessive control” over its members.
Health:
The best and the worst public and private hospitals in Spain – ranked by the Monitor de Reputación Sanitaria at El Huff Post here.
Courts:
El País here: ‘Podemos is already the political party in Spain that has suffered the most from police and judicial persecution in the recent democratic period without anyone having yet assumed responsibility for it’. In an editorial titled ‘The Persecution of Podemos’, the paper says, ‘The judges have dismantled all the cases against the party, but the various false accusers all remain unpunished’. From elDiario.es here: ‘Eight years of accusations without evidence against Podemos: neither false invoices nor illegal financing nor bonuses. The police leadership encouraged by Mariano Rajoy had a crucial role in the dirty war against the party almost since its emergence in 2014’.
‘The Judiciary, outraged by the accusations of practicing 'lawfare', remains silent in the face of their invented war against both Barcelona’s Ada Colau and the Podemos 'Neurona case'.
In the same week in which the two cases apparently designed to persecute political opponents have been dropped, tensions rise between the judicial leadership and those it should be serving...’ Público explains here.
‘Is there ‘lawfare’ in Spain?’ The journalist asks the Podemos ex-minister Irene Montero. ‘Indeed there is’, she answers, ending her remarks with ‘the damage done to Podemos is irreparable’ (video).
The Supreme Court has rejected Podemos' complaint against the judges García-Castellón and Gadea for prevaricación (perversion of justice), maintaining that there are no grounds to take the lawsuit further says El Nacional here.
Media:
The right-wing La Razón reveals the wage for Irene Montero from Podemos if she becomes an MEP in Brussels. Oddly (or perhaps, not so oddly), it’s the same wage that ever other MEP is paid, even the ones from Vox. Público takes the offending article to task here.
Ecology:
From Activos here: ‘Spain has made history and this year for the first time will produce more than half of its electricity from renewables. The boom in new renewable plants pushes the national electricity system to exceed the threshold of 50% in green generation in 2023’.
Andalucía’s warm winter with records broken (once again). Up to 30C in December! Radiocable worries about Global Warming (and next summer’s heat) here.
Xataca warns of a savage anticyclone forming in the Atlantic and moving east – meaning no precipitation likely in Spain over the next few weeks.
From The Olive Press here: ‘The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has removed Andalucia’s Doñana National Park from its green list due to mismanagement’. An irritated reply comes from the Junta de Andalucía, says 20Minutos, claiming that all is well, and further, ‘…that it will "imminently" authorize the purchase of 7,500 hectares of the Veta la Palma farm (here), next to Doñana, for 72.6 million euros. And that, in addition, the action, protection and development plan for this wetland will be done in a "consensual" manner with the Doñana Participation Council’. Wiki notes that ‘…The eco-system has been under constant threat by the draining of the marshes, the use of river water to boost agricultural production by irrigating land along the coast, water pollution by upriver mining, and the expansion of tourist facilities’.
Various:
Karlos Arguiñano is a famous television cook who often appears on TV adverts for cheap supermarket products and is known for his opinions on every subject while knocking out a stew or a paella. Cadena Ser has a recording from their radio show of the genial cook explaining that you might have a couple of masters degrees and two high-paying jobs, but you ain’t worth nothing if you can’t make a decent tortilla. With video and audio.
Informe Semanal is the weekly Spanish national RTVE news magazine. Here, we meet José Luis, who has been living on the street for the past eighteen years: "I have gotten used to the loneliness of my cardboard shelter", he says. ‘In Spain there are 37,000 homeless people, of which 9,000 live on the streets, like José Luis’. With full video.
Churchill and Franco – some recently discovered secret archives reveal the British strategy regarding the Spanish dictator in 1940 at La Vanguardia here.
From The Guardian here: ‘Why is the US far right finding its saviour in Spanish dictator Francisco Franco? The military general led a nationalist revolt against Spain’s democratic republic from 1936-1939, executing 150,000 of his opponents’.
‘Spanish airport workers are arrested for allegedly stealing around 2 million euros in goods from passengers’ luggage’. On Friday, the Guardia Civil announced the arrest of 14 workers at the Reina Sofia, which is located close to the beach town of Santa Cruz de Tenerife says Yahoo Finance here.
From The Olive Press here: ‘Volunteers at a well-known expat charity are raising concerns over how it is run’. Current and former staff tell the newspaper that the president of Estepona Age Concern is running it like a ‘private business’.
From Canarian Weekly here: ‘In a recent update, the VisaGuide.World Passport Index (here) has declared the Spanish passport as the leading travel document among 199 passports worldwide. Boasting passport-free access to 43 countries and visa-free entry to 106 nations, the Spanish passport stands out for its unprecedented travel privileges...’
Movies with RTVE here: A catalogue of over 300 Spanish films complete and free to watch on RTVE Play.
‘Slow Travels in Unsung Spain is a warts n’ all trip through some of Spain’s hidden gems: towns, cities, landscapes and cultural highlights that are typically overlooked by foreign tourists but which the Spanish often keep to themselves...’. Authored by Brett Hetherington, the book (Kindle or paperback) is available at Amazon here.
Dreambeach is a four-day concert usually held in Villaricos (Almería) in early August. Consternation there, says the local paper, as the event has been moved for 2024 to El Toyo, just outside the City of Almería. Around 135,000 people attended the 2023 bash. The Mayoress of Almería is reported to be pleased by the move and calls on the concerned residents of El Toyo for ‘tranquilidad’.
‘Put the recently opened Royal Collections Gallery (wiki) on your to-do list next time you’re in Madrid, even if you think you’ve had enough of Spanish art, or never thrilled to gloomy portraits of grandees in the first place. The sleek building alone is a departure from Europe’s usual low-lit, ornate art temples. Its uncompromisingly contemporary architecture in austere concrete and white granite is all the more striking against the adjacent Almudena Cathedral and the royal palace…’. The Sydney Morning Herald enthuses here.
A Christmas piece of mine: ‘Good Cheer, and Watch out for those Polverones’.
See Spain:
Jerez de la Frontera: The Underrated Gem at Eye on Spain here.
The Pueblos Más Bonitos de España (here) have added another five to their list: Ampudia, Comillas, Parauta, Trevejo and Trujillo.
Letters:
Whoops – I left the wrong date on last week’s BoT.
Hi Lenox,
Another goodie. And very fresh. I needed the Podemos background.
Un abrazo, Dwight.
Finally:
Mägo de Oz here at YouTube with Fiesta Pagana. My son says that you’ll be sure to like it. Something heavy for Christmas 😊
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