Sunday, October 31, 2004
Ambassadors force central government to act on LRAU
BY JAMES PARKES
A JOINT PETITION FROM THE AMBASSADORS OF 17 EUROPEAN COUNTRIES REQUESTING THAT THE PRIME MINISTER, JOSÉ LUIS RODRÍGUEZ ZAPATERO, TAKE ACTION OVER THE CONTROVERSIAL LRAU LAND GRAB LAW IN THE VALENCIA REGION, HAS RESULTED IN TOP LEVEL MINISTERIAL TALKS BETWEEN SPAIN AND THE UK.
The letter, signed by the ambassadors of Great Britain, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Holland, Malta, Luxembourg, Sweden, Slovakia, Finland and Poland, drew the PM's attention to the negative impact the LRAU is having both on their citizens and Spanish nationals living in the Valencia Region.
As a result of the petition, which was passed on to the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Foreign Office in the UK, minister Miguel Angel Moratinos has promised his UK counterpart Jack Straw that central government will be taking measures, including top-level talks with the Valencia government, to protect the rights of British citizens threatened by the LRAU. In a joint press conference held on Wednesday by Sr Moratinos and Mr Straw, the Spanish minister said, "The government will be talking with the Valencia government to find a solution, within the Spanish constitutional framework, to grant full protection to all citizens, may they be British, Spanish or of any other nationality."
AMBASSADOR TRIGGERS ACTION
The ambassadors' petition was promoted by the British ambassador, Stephen Wright. Speaking to Costa Blanca News, the ambassador said, "I'm well aware of how distressing the LRAU law has become for expatriates living in the Valencia Region, which is why the embassy and the consulate in Alicante has and will continue to seek the Spanish government's support on this matter."
Ambassadors warned the government of the interest taken by Brussels in this matter and the recent report delivered by the visiting EU investigation panel in which the LRAU is said to be 'causing grave abuse to thousands of European citizens’ most basic rights'. The letter said that the law 'is causing a large number of Valencia Region residents to be under threat, either by land expropriation or exorbitant economic demands on behalf of promoters'.
Although aware of regional government's jurisdiction over planning matters, the ambassadors requested that 'the Spanish government take on, along with the Valencian government, its corresponding role in a fair and satisfactory reform of the LRAU, guaranteeing the fulfilment of the Spanish state's obligation before the EU and the full exercise of citizens' most elementary rights'.
The LUV law, which is scheduled to replace the LRAU, is still under discussion and no time plan has been given. Critics hope that pressure from the EU and now from Madrid and London will force Valencia to speed up the process.
Courtesy of Costa Blanca News 29 10 2004
BY JAMES PARKES
A JOINT PETITION FROM THE AMBASSADORS OF 17 EUROPEAN COUNTRIES REQUESTING THAT THE PRIME MINISTER, JOSÉ LUIS RODRÍGUEZ ZAPATERO, TAKE ACTION OVER THE CONTROVERSIAL LRAU LAND GRAB LAW IN THE VALENCIA REGION, HAS RESULTED IN TOP LEVEL MINISTERIAL TALKS BETWEEN SPAIN AND THE UK.
The letter, signed by the ambassadors of Great Britain, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Holland, Malta, Luxembourg, Sweden, Slovakia, Finland and Poland, drew the PM's attention to the negative impact the LRAU is having both on their citizens and Spanish nationals living in the Valencia Region.
As a result of the petition, which was passed on to the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Foreign Office in the UK, minister Miguel Angel Moratinos has promised his UK counterpart Jack Straw that central government will be taking measures, including top-level talks with the Valencia government, to protect the rights of British citizens threatened by the LRAU. In a joint press conference held on Wednesday by Sr Moratinos and Mr Straw, the Spanish minister said, "The government will be talking with the Valencia government to find a solution, within the Spanish constitutional framework, to grant full protection to all citizens, may they be British, Spanish or of any other nationality."
AMBASSADOR TRIGGERS ACTION
The ambassadors' petition was promoted by the British ambassador, Stephen Wright. Speaking to Costa Blanca News, the ambassador said, "I'm well aware of how distressing the LRAU law has become for expatriates living in the Valencia Region, which is why the embassy and the consulate in Alicante has and will continue to seek the Spanish government's support on this matter."
Ambassadors warned the government of the interest taken by Brussels in this matter and the recent report delivered by the visiting EU investigation panel in which the LRAU is said to be 'causing grave abuse to thousands of European citizens’ most basic rights'. The letter said that the law 'is causing a large number of Valencia Region residents to be under threat, either by land expropriation or exorbitant economic demands on behalf of promoters'.
Although aware of regional government's jurisdiction over planning matters, the ambassadors requested that 'the Spanish government take on, along with the Valencian government, its corresponding role in a fair and satisfactory reform of the LRAU, guaranteeing the fulfilment of the Spanish state's obligation before the EU and the full exercise of citizens' most elementary rights'.
The LUV law, which is scheduled to replace the LRAU, is still under discussion and no time plan has been given. Critics hope that pressure from the EU and now from Madrid and London will force Valencia to speed up the process.
Courtesy of Costa Blanca News 29 10 2004
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