From left to right - Angel Medina, Charles Svoboda, Bob Preston, Helen and Len Prior, Lenox Napier. Picture courtesy of Dave Darby. About 380 people attended.
sábado, 3 de mayo de 2008
The Meeting: Property Rights and Wrongs
From left to right - Angel Medina, Charles Svoboda, Bob Preston, Helen and Len Prior, Lenox Napier. Picture courtesy of Dave Darby. About 380 people attended.
viernes, 2 de mayo de 2008
The Property Crisis in Spain
Angel Medina's Speech:
Hotel Best Mojácar, May 3rd 2008
Hello everyone and welcome. I would like to thank you for coming along to this meeting called by Ciudadanos Europeos de Mojácar. This beautiful city of Mojácar, which is some small way, thanks to the Ciudadanos Europeos party, is becoming known in Spain for its fight against unjust treatment against foreigners.
Since it began, Ciudadanos Europeos has had as one of its goals the clear defense of the interests of the large number of foreigners who have chosen to live in Spain. They were not wrong. Spain is a beautiful country, with a good climate, with an excellent health service, with a good and varied selection of food and with friendly and simpático people who are helpful to strangers.
Which is why we can say that the majority of the million northern Europeans who live here amongst us enjoy a high level of comfort and satisfaction in their adopted country.
However. There are exceptions. Yes. There are problems. There are specific problems to do with your homes and the two main parties here in Spain, the PP and the PSOE, have failed to resolve them. Perhaps their disinterest lies in the poor number of votes cast by the Europeans in our local elections.
Ciudadanos Europeos de Mojácar has, since we began a few years back, been trying to help with the various problems which have come up from time to time: large problems like those suffered by the Priors and small problems, such as those which the citizens of Mojácar have reported to us during the present legislation.
Our group doesn’t only meet up just before election time, but more or less monthly when we have our meetings, and residents can talk of their concerns which we then try to resolve - as far as it is in our power to do so.
There are other groups and associations fulfilling a similar function, and I have the highest respect for them. Such as Abusos Urbanisticos No which was began and is today represented by our friend Charles Svoboda, and the AUAN from Albox, led by Bob Preston, and both of them will be speaking today. I say I am both proud and pleased that they are here today.
Everything our friends tell you today will be true, and all of the cases mentioned will have happened as they describe them; but I say to you that things can and should change. Our purpose is not to enter into the game played by the big national parties – who would rather score points off each other than have the necessary regard to the citizens’ basic rights, which is, after all, what politics should be about.
We have discussed the situation of the foreign residents with the AUAN, the AUN and other concerned groups and we are at one with them regarding the proposals that must be made and implemented to try to stop these problems which have arisen from ever happening again.
Our purpose will be to work towards concrete goals, rules and policies to remedy the situation, including the following:
1. A legal protocol should be established for property purchases which must be adhered to – i.e. – a set of steps and checks to be made in every conveyance.
2. Estate agents should be registered, supervised and insured, as well as builders and other professionals. The cowboys must be driven out of the market.
3. Publicity and the public consultation of planning changes must be obligatory and implemented legally.
4. The Spanish land registry should be relied upon to reveal the true real-estate and planning situation of the property.
5. The catastro should be tied up with the land registry, and again, this should be implemented urgently.
6. A state commission or independent body should be set up to consider the current planning problems which have arisen and to make recommendations. Representatives of associations must be included in such a commission.
7. There should be independent agencies to oversee the protection of the environment and human rights.
These seven points will be our goal and we look forward to your support.
As you can see – I am an optimist and positive. This is why we started Ciudadanos Europeos de Mojácar and why we continue to work hard for our ideals.
To get matters into context and look after the real human issue today, we will talk of the Priors as we have done since the day this dreadful story became known.
My message is this: we live in a country which permits us to seek justice. There are cases of corruption, of trickery and of fraud. We must fight against them and help all those who need it to the best of our ability.
Ciudadanos Europeos de Mojácar would like to study these problems and concerns and become the party that defends the interests of the foreign residents in Spain. To this end, I have asked to change the name of our party to Ciudadanos Europeos del Levante, which would allow us to have a national projection. A political party has this clear advantage, we can fight for support across the board to attract attention to these problems, and with popular support, we can bring about those changes which are so urgently needed. Meanwhile, we shall continue with our base of members and shall introduce the party into those towns which are interested.
Once again, thank you all for coming along today.
Angel Medina
Ciudadanos Europeos de Mojacar
http://ciudadanoseuropeosdemojacar.blogspot.com
angelmojacar@yahoo.es
http://www.abusos-no.org AUN
http://www.almanzora-au.org AUAN
http://www.c-euro.org Ciudadanos Europeos
Hotel Best Mojácar, May 3rd 2008
Hello everyone and welcome. I would like to thank you for coming along to this meeting called by Ciudadanos Europeos de Mojácar. This beautiful city of Mojácar, which is some small way, thanks to the Ciudadanos Europeos party, is becoming known in Spain for its fight against unjust treatment against foreigners.
Since it began, Ciudadanos Europeos has had as one of its goals the clear defense of the interests of the large number of foreigners who have chosen to live in Spain. They were not wrong. Spain is a beautiful country, with a good climate, with an excellent health service, with a good and varied selection of food and with friendly and simpático people who are helpful to strangers.
Which is why we can say that the majority of the million northern Europeans who live here amongst us enjoy a high level of comfort and satisfaction in their adopted country.
However. There are exceptions. Yes. There are problems. There are specific problems to do with your homes and the two main parties here in Spain, the PP and the PSOE, have failed to resolve them. Perhaps their disinterest lies in the poor number of votes cast by the Europeans in our local elections.
Ciudadanos Europeos de Mojácar has, since we began a few years back, been trying to help with the various problems which have come up from time to time: large problems like those suffered by the Priors and small problems, such as those which the citizens of Mojácar have reported to us during the present legislation.
Our group doesn’t only meet up just before election time, but more or less monthly when we have our meetings, and residents can talk of their concerns which we then try to resolve - as far as it is in our power to do so.
There are other groups and associations fulfilling a similar function, and I have the highest respect for them. Such as Abusos Urbanisticos No which was began and is today represented by our friend Charles Svoboda, and the AUAN from Albox, led by Bob Preston, and both of them will be speaking today. I say I am both proud and pleased that they are here today.
Everything our friends tell you today will be true, and all of the cases mentioned will have happened as they describe them; but I say to you that things can and should change. Our purpose is not to enter into the game played by the big national parties – who would rather score points off each other than have the necessary regard to the citizens’ basic rights, which is, after all, what politics should be about.
We have discussed the situation of the foreign residents with the AUAN, the AUN and other concerned groups and we are at one with them regarding the proposals that must be made and implemented to try to stop these problems which have arisen from ever happening again.
Our purpose will be to work towards concrete goals, rules and policies to remedy the situation, including the following:
1. A legal protocol should be established for property purchases which must be adhered to – i.e. – a set of steps and checks to be made in every conveyance.
2. Estate agents should be registered, supervised and insured, as well as builders and other professionals. The cowboys must be driven out of the market.
3. Publicity and the public consultation of planning changes must be obligatory and implemented legally.
4. The Spanish land registry should be relied upon to reveal the true real-estate and planning situation of the property.
5. The catastro should be tied up with the land registry, and again, this should be implemented urgently.
6. A state commission or independent body should be set up to consider the current planning problems which have arisen and to make recommendations. Representatives of associations must be included in such a commission.
7. There should be independent agencies to oversee the protection of the environment and human rights.
These seven points will be our goal and we look forward to your support.
As you can see – I am an optimist and positive. This is why we started Ciudadanos Europeos de Mojácar and why we continue to work hard for our ideals.
To get matters into context and look after the real human issue today, we will talk of the Priors as we have done since the day this dreadful story became known.
My message is this: we live in a country which permits us to seek justice. There are cases of corruption, of trickery and of fraud. We must fight against them and help all those who need it to the best of our ability.
Ciudadanos Europeos de Mojácar would like to study these problems and concerns and become the party that defends the interests of the foreign residents in Spain. To this end, I have asked to change the name of our party to Ciudadanos Europeos del Levante, which would allow us to have a national projection. A political party has this clear advantage, we can fight for support across the board to attract attention to these problems, and with popular support, we can bring about those changes which are so urgently needed. Meanwhile, we shall continue with our base of members and shall introduce the party into those towns which are interested.
Once again, thank you all for coming along today.
Angel Medina
Ciudadanos Europeos de Mojacar
http://ciudadanoseuropeosdemojacar.blogspot.com
angelmojacar@yahoo.es
http://www.abusos-no.org AUN
http://www.almanzora-au.org AUAN
http://www.c-euro.org Ciudadanos Europeos
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