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Tuesday, October 31, 2006

SPANISH CRACKDOWN AS CORRUPTION CASES ESCALATE

A growing number of senior officials in Spain’s major resorts have been sacked on charges relating to the reclassification of rural land for urban development.

With Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister, María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, announcing to the press last week that the government is adopting a zero tolerance policy against real estate corruption across the country, Typically Spanish reports a massive rise in the number of cases in places like Madrid, Alicante and Murcia.

The report highlights a number of recent cases all over Spain. For example, the Socialist mayor, Pedro Torrejón, has now resigned after being implicated in the illegal reclassification of land for the construction of 5,000 new homes in Madrid. In a separate case, a Deputy Socialist Spokesman in the Madrid regional parliament confirmed that the party was giving evidence to the Real Estate Prosecutor on two multi-million euro deals which allegedly benefited the family of the region’s president, Esperanza Aguirre.

While the Socialist party has so far sacked three mayors from the party in Madrid for their implication in ‘real estate irregularities’, there are currently six cases against Partido Popular officials. These include a €6 million embezzlement case against Luis Díaz Alperi, and the PP councillor Juan Zaragoza; an accusation relating to the ‘use of privileged information’ and the ‘fraudulent collection of commissions’ against Maria Anotonia Torres, PP councillor in Telde, Gran Canaria; and a charge of perversion of the course of justice (and other charges) against José Manuel Medina, PP Mayor of Orihuela, and five other councillors by the anti-corruption prosecutor.

The report also highlights a case in Murcia, where the region’s Chief Prosecutor, Manuel López Bernal, is investigating the Murcia Government about the sale of a protected area of Águilas which was resold at triple the price after reclassification.

What is being done to stop this?
With all of these cases mounting up, Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister, María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, has called for the cooperation of autonomous regions and local town halls in dealing with this corruption. While the local parties appear to making an attempt to get their houses in order at the local level, many hope to see some results from the newly created force of real estate prosecutors and 200 Civil Guards who have been charged with investigating real estate irregularities.

Another measure to prevent further abuse (recently highlighted in the latest issue of World of Property magazine), is the government’s strategy of issuing compulsory purchase orders to buy sections of coastal land of outstanding natural beauty. However, Typically Spanish reports that around 15,000 ‘illegal’ homes built in Chiclana de la Frontera were all awarded an amnesty by the local Socialist Town Hall – which might set a dangerous precedent for other parts of Spain.

Commenting on this, Martin Dell of Kyero.com said: "There's no other course the government can take regarding illegally constructed properties once the constructor has sold them. The problem is this: who will compensate the current owners for the loss of their homes? The developer will have set up a new limited company for the development - that will limit his liability to €2,000! If pressed, the company will be declared bankrupt - a common practice which allows developers to wash their hands of any 'after sales' issues. That leaves the local government to pick up the tab - which they're unlikely to do as effectively, the tax-paying owners (and voters) of legally built developments will be subsidising the shady practices of government and developer.

"Declaring an amnesty on existing developments which have been sold already is the only commercially and politically viable option. Hopefully, the government will focus first on illegal developments currently under construction and be a little more rigorous in issuing new building licences. In cases where the owner himself has built without permission, I have heard of demolition notices being issued - because there's no political or commercial fallout in these cases."

Compensation from the industry
In a recent interview in Spanish paper, Sur in English, the new town planning man for Marbella suggested that agents and developers would be liable for compensation when illegal homes were demolished. José María Ruiz Povedano, who had just taken up his new position in the municipal Urban Planning Office in Marbella (as chief representative of the Office of General Urban Planning) said: "If there has been over-building, either in number of houses or density of housing, we have to extend the parameters with regard to green spaces, parking areas, roads and so on. All this will require compensation to be made, and logically, those people who have benefited from this illegal development will be those required to pay this compensation."

When asked about the proportion of the 30,000 illegal homes that could be made legal, he added: "Initially we are talking about approximately 85% that can become legal, as long as they conform to the criteria we have drawn up in the new plan with regard to compensation for green spaces and basic infrastructure."

While many will have benefitted from this illegal development, it's not going to be easy to prove that they were behaving illegally. Commenting on the recent examples of making certain developments legal by amnesty, Mark Stucklin of SpanishPropertyInsight.com said that some examples would have to be made. "This government has taken the toughest line on real estate corruption and the Marbella authorities want to scare people into changing the culture," he said. "The government cannot afford to demolish all of these homes because too many people will have to be compensated, but examples will be made of some companies where it can be proved they have acted illegally."

A major issue, says Stucklin, is that while there was a culture of gaining permission through bribes, the town hall urban planning department sanctioned all of these projects so agents can argue they acted within the law. However, if agents continued to sell property after becoming aware of an order to halt new projects it will be much harder to plead ignorance.

THE MAYOR OF MONÓVAR IGNORES VALENCIA OVER URBAN DEVELOPMENT

After the recent action over the Catral illegal houses, British residents press Monóvar's mayor to follow the advice of the Valencian minister of territory and housing.

In a televised council meeting British resident Stewart Muir asked the mayor, Salvador Poveda, why he is continuing to pursue four macro-urbanisations and three golf courses and an aerodrome when the Valencia Conselleria had previously given the town hall clear written instructions to 'avoid dispersed urban developments and to 'maintain the model of a compact town'.

Interestingly this information from the Valencia Conselleria was revealed in a letter from the new minister Estaban González Pons to Stewart Muir & Joyce Robson, who represent a group campaigning to save Monóvar from Urban Abuse. Stewart Muir explained "we wrote to the minister in June giving eleven reasons why he should reject the plans from Monóvar town hall. Amongst these reasons was the massive environmental impact of 6,500 houses and the over-exploitation of Monóvar's underground water supply". In his reply González Pons informed the campaigners that his office had not received any urban plans from Monóvar town hall for approval. Neither had he received a General Plan for the future development of the municipality or any individual plans. Furthermore he went on to quote what advice had been sent to the town hall back in 2005 to 'avoid dispersed urban developements' and to 'maintain the model of a compact town'.

Stewart Muir adds "González Pons did not need to give us all this information. We hope this is another example where Valencia is trying to clean up its public image. In which case they should go further and, like Catral, they should remove the licensing powers from Monóvar town hall for plotting urban development that infringes the written authority of Valencia, not to mention European Directives"

The first two macro-urbanisations, PAI Boticaria and PAI Mayorazgo, that had been approved by the majority council in Monóvar on the 18 May, cover an area of 6.5 square kilometres of agricultural land to be reclassified together with two golf courses and an aerodrome. "We handed out a letter to all the councillors making them aware that if they vote in favour of these massive development projects, knowing that the water supply from the El Carche/ Salinas Aquifer has only nine years remaining at the current usage, they would be acting negligently, and would jeopardise the future of the existing agriculture and population of Monóvar"

Then on 5 October the town hall voted to put out for tender two more countryside urbanisations, PAI Secanet and El Belich and another golf course. "The situation is very worrying. By doing this the town hall is squandering our remaining water and devastating vast areas of the inland Spanish countryside " says Stewart Muir.

At the meeting in the reply to the questioning of Stewart Muir the mayor said that "only los monoveros are the owners of their destiny".

Joyce Robson adds "we are going to continue the fight to save Monóvar because we live here and are los monoveros too. We wish to be joint owners of Monóvar's destiny"

STEWART MUIR & JOYCE ROBSON
Monóvar. 687-711-137
stewartmuir@clara.co.uk

Thursday, October 26, 2006

In Spain, a Tide Of Development

Land Laws on Mediterranean Coast Enable a Boom but Bring Corruption

By John Ward Anderson
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, October 25, 2006

BENISSA, Spain -- Belgians Lieve de Cleippel and Hubert van Bel have owned their 150-year-old house on the Spanish Mediterranean for 20 years. Perched on a hilltop surrounded by palm trees and seven acres of terraced vineyards and groves, they long felt insulated from the helter-skelter development that has ravaged vast stretches of Spain's coast.
Last November, when told the local government had approved a new development plan for their area, the couple went to town hall for a look. They were stunned at what they discovered.
"They were going to demolish everything" on their property, said van Bel, 59. "We were going to lose more than half of our land, and on top of that we were going to be charged 700,000 euros," about $900,000, in fees for new roads, drainage, streetlights and other amenities. "We were horrified."
Van Bel said he was never notified of the rezoning -- which was intended to make way for construction of 17 houses -- or given a chance to oppose it. And it was all legal under local development laws.
Their legal nightmare, which is still being played out, is just one example of rampant development pressure along much of Spain's 3,100-mile coast. Environmentalists say a 10-year building boom is fueling corruption and mafia activity, destroying ecosystems and leaving much of the coast an eyesore.
About 3 million houses have been started or built in Spain in the past four years, including 812,000 in 2005, with as many as half of them along the coast. By some estimates, as much as 40 percent of all European construction is occurring in Spain.
The boom is being fueled partly by the demand of northern Europeans for retirement homes on the Mediterranean. Drawn by the temperate climate, relatively inexpensive housing and the ease of avoiding taxes by conducting business under the table, foreigners now account for 70 percent of the population in some Spanish towns.
"They are legalizing illegal buildings, they are urbanizing the entire area. And now they are occupying the sea, literally," by expanding harbors and marinas in environmentally sensitive areas, said Miguel Angel Garcia, a spokesman for the World Wildlife Fund. "These days we don't have any development plans. We just build."
A July report by the environmental advocacy group Greenpeace found that hundreds of thousands of new houses and hotel rooms, 40,000 new boating slips and hundreds of golf courses are planned in areas that are suffering the worst sustained drought in 50 years. In the four regions of Spain that hug the Mediterranean coast, 273 towns with 4.3 million residents have no wastewater treatment.
Faced with complaints by the European Commission, the European Union's executive arm, that the country's public beaches were too polluted, Spain removed 365 of them from its list of approved swimming areas rather than clean them up.
Dozens of criminal investigations are underway. In the holiday town of Marbella, about 35 miles up the coast from Gibraltar, 30,000 houses are in condemnation hearings for allegedly being built illegally, including 1,600 on parkland.
Earlier this year, police launched a sting operation, freezing 1,000 bank accounts and seizing more than $3 billion in assets -- including luxury villas, thoroughbred horses, fighting bulls and 275 works of art -- from politicians, attorneys and other development and planning officials accused of accepting bribes in exchange for granting building permits and rezonings. The town's mayor and 10 other people were arrested; two previous mayors were found guilty of corruption.
The building boom has helped create an underground economy that has attracted billions of euros in illicit funds, experts say. Today, 26 percent of all the 500-euro notes circulating in the European Union are in Spain, according to the Spanish Finance Ministry, largely because of money laundering and corruption in the construction industry, experts believe. Spaniards have dubbed the notes "Bin Ladens" because they know they exist but no one can find them.
"Basically, drug traffickers in the south of Spain have investments in the real estate and development sector because it is an easy sector to launder money with no questions asked," said Alejandra Gomez-Cespedes, a lecturer at Malaga University's Andalusian Institute of Criminology.
In Altea, a seaside resort about 60 miles south of Valencia, an entire cliff has been embedded with concrete, and progressively newer apartment buildings have leapfrogged over older ones to the water's edge.
A new jetty is being extended through a 12-acre underwater forest of Posidonia sea grass in order to double the harbor's capacity to 1,064 boat slips. The government ordered the grasses to be transplanted elsewhere, but 85 percent of the relocated forest has died, according to the World Wildlife Fund's Garcia.
Some of the harshest criticism has targeted the Valencia region's so-called land-grab law, which turns over control of private property to developers, giving them legal means to compel the owners to relinquish the land or buy it back.
"If there is a social purpose for developing land, that predominates over the fundamental right in European law -- the rights of private property," said Charles Svoboda, a retired Canadian diplomat and president of Abusos Urbanisticos NO, a 30,000-member group formed to protect landowners.
The law was investigated by the European Parliament after 15,000 people, many of them retirees from elsewhere in Europe, signed petitions asking for relief. The European Commission has asked Spain to modify the law.
"Let's call it what it is -- land robbery," said Michael Cashman, an English member of the European Parliament who led a panel that investigated Valencia's development laws. "What we are seeing is 18- to 20,000 breaches of individual human rights."
The government of Valencia asked that The Washington Post submit its questions about the laws in writing, but then did not respond to them.
In an interview in Madrid, Spanish Vice President María Teresa Fernández de la Vega said the federal government had little control over housing and urban planning, which she said was in the hands of local authorities. But she said the government has endorsed new zoning regulations to combat land speculation and has budgeted $77 million to buy ecologically sensitive coastal areas and protect them from development.
In Benissa, a town of 12,000 residents about 50 miles south of Valencia, the case of Lieve de Cleippel and Hubert van Bel has been dormant for several months. But Mayor Juan Bautista Rosello said that it would be revisited, under a revised law that would withdraw the threat of demolition of the couple's house but press forward with plans to "urbanize" much of the property under the town's master plan.
He denied that Valencia's law allowed towns to take land. Instead, he said, towns "convert agricultural land into developable land" and then charge the owners for the cost of urbanizing it.
In the case of the Belgian couple and their 7.5 acres, Rosello said, they will be granted about 2.5 acres around their house, with the remaining five acres being declared urban. Under the new law, they will be assessed roughly $1 million in charges for infrastructure improvements, he said.
If the couple does not want those five acres to be developed, Rosello said, they must pay the charges, like everyone with property zoned urban in the new plan. Their other option would be to sell the land to the developer.
"I don't see it as a battle" between public and private interests, Rosello said, but rather a balance between the two. "They're not going to have land taken away with nothing in exchange. . . . In exchange they get land for building houses," which he said would be more valuable.
"We didn't do this for an investment, we did it to live here," said de Cleippel, 56, walking around the outside of the colonial-style house with expansive patios, lush gardens and dramatic views of the sea about a mile away. "We just want to keep our property, not have it taken away to build 17 houses on it."
Correspondent Molly Moore in Madrid contributed to this report.

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

news from Michael Cashman MEP
Labour Member of the European Parliament for the West Midlands Region

13.10.06 For immediate release

COMMISSION BACKS CASHMAN’S FIGHT FOR JUSTICE FOR LAND GRAB VICTIMS IN VALENCIA

The European Commission announced last week (12th October) that it is proceeding with its action against Spain concerning violations of EU law in what has now become known as the infamous "land grab" law in the Valencian region.

The current land laws have been abused by developers and officials and have resulted in property owners paying huge costs or even losing their land and homes. Despite recent moves to modify the land laws, the Spanish authorities have failed to comply with European law.

Michael Cashman MEP, who is Vice-Chair of the Petition’s Committee, has been leading the European Parliament’s charge against the Spanish region where thousands of residents, including many Brits, have seen their dreams turn into nightmares.

On learning of the Commission's “reasoned opinion”, Mr Cashman said:

"I'm delighted to hear the Commission are continuing their actions against Spain in what has become a long and painful fight for justice for many EU citizens of all nationalities who have been affected by this unjust and inhumane law.

“The regional and national governments in Spain have not convinced the European Parliament or the European Commission that their new land laws are any better than their old ones.

“Under EU public procurement law, which regulates the development of land, it is clear to me that Spain is breaching her obligations in Valencia and probably in other regions as well" continued Michael.

“This progress came about as a result of people power and shows that the EU can and does stand up for its citizens fundamental rights. I hope that the Spanish national government will take this legal and political opportunity to resolve the problems as soon as possible."

Spain now has 2 months to provide a satisfactory response to the Commission's justifiable concerns. If no such response if forthcoming, the Commission, supported by the European Parliament, can take Spain to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in order that citizens' fundamental rights to their homes are respected.

Michael added:

“I'd like to give praise to our courageous European citizens who have been so devastatingly affected by this law. It was they who initiated this action by exercising their democratic rights via the European Parliament's petitions process and I want to make sure that we give them our full and active support.”

I will be raising this, through the Petitions Committee, to ensure that this issue will be debated by the Parliament early next year. I hope that the resolve of all those affected by this unjust law in Spain will hold and that continued collaboration between the petitioners, the European Parliament and Commission will see justice done.”

ENDS//

For further comment contact Michael Cashman MEP on 0044 797 336 2811

Monday, October 16, 2006

ALTER IT - OR ELSE (Valencia Life)
The Spanish Government was given an ultimatum by the European Union yesterday over the Valencian Land Laws ( LUV et al) that since last February have replaced the controversial and much disputed LRAU. This latest warning- the second this year - adds that Spain could be taken before the European Court of Justice if she does not alter certain aspects of the LUV within two months. An initial action was taken against Spain last April after considering that the LUV did not remedy the infractions committed under theLRAU, and according to the EU, the integrated action plans [PAI}of the urbanizing programme of the Consell are public contracts and as such should be subject to the European norms of public markets (sic), something with theConsell disputes. Amongst the irregularities in the LUV that are reproached by the EU is that despite the selection process of businesses for any building project being simplified, the end result is still against EUpractices. The EU adds that the authority that grants the building concession could alter the contract during the granting of the contract or after it has been signed, which, according to Brussels, indicates a judicial insecurity for those affected. However, Cristina Serrano, the Valencian Secretary for The Territory stated that the EU 'should take its complaint to the Courts' now, as it ' is completely in line with EU policies and it is a considerable improvement over the previous laws. She also added that the European Norms over public contracts have still not been incorporated into Spanish laws, and added that the Government law contradicts the EUdirectives.

( Land laws: Brussels vs Madrid vs Valencia)
THE REASONS WHY The Valencian Government yesterday went to some considerable pains to outline what formed the basis for the EU action earlier in the week, when it announced that the Madrid Government would be forced to alter the new Valencian land Laws in two months or face the European Court of Justice. Esteban Gonzalez Pons the Conseller for the Territory yesterday revealed that the report to the Madrid Government from Valencia on the new land reforms or LUV gave the full details, yet when the Socialists handed that same document to the EU, several key paragraphs and points were 'missing', and that the report submitted by the Socialist Government did not reflect the true nature of the land reforms. Equally, Mr. Gonzalez Pons told the press following meeting of the Consell yesterday that the central government had undertaken similar exercises in text editing over the land laws for eleven other autonomies including Murcia and Madrid. Mr. Gonzalez Pons added that because of this, the Valencian Government felt 'betrayed' by Madrid and intended to present its own case on the land laws with the correct documents before the European union at the earliest opportunity.

NEW REGISTRY REVEALED
The Valencian Government announced yesterday that it was on the point of creating a special public registry in which the names would figure of all those who have committed infractions against the countryside. On top of that, it was also revealed that those on the new registry would be liable for fines varying from one hundred thousand to 360,000 Euros, and that they would be ordered to correct the damage that they had caused. The new registry will be included in the new law for the Conservation of Rural Spaces which will substitue a similar measure that was passed in 1994. Equally yesterday, the Consell of the Valencian Government approved the creation of a corps of eight Inspectors, whose creation was announced afterthe Catral case first came to light in that in two years the Socialist-dominated Town Hall has allowed the construction of 1,200 homes on non-urbanizable land

Friday, October 13, 2006

EC vs. LRAU/LUV 12 10 2006


Public procurement: Commission requests Spain to modify Valencia town planning law

Contratación pública: La Comisión solicita a las autoridades españolas la modificación de la Ley Urbanística Valenciana

Öffentliches Auftragswesen: Kommission verlangt Änderung des Planungsrechts von Valencia


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Reference: IP/06/1370 Date: 12/10/2006
Brussels, 12 October 2006

The European Commission has sent Spain a further formal request to modify the law on land-and-town planning that applies to the Valencia Community – the Ley Urbanística Valenciana ("LUV"). This request takes the form of an additional "reasoned opinion", the second stage of the infringement procedure laid down in Article 226 of the EC Treaty. If there is no satisfactory reply within two months, the Commission may refer the matter to the European Court of Justice.
The Commission has already sent a letter of formal notice and reasoned opinion (IP/05/1598, 14 December 2005) to Spain regarding law 6/1994 on land-and-town planning ("LRAU") of Valencia. In these, the Commission took the view that the award of integrated action programmes (Programas de Actuación Integrada – "PAI") constitute public works and/or service contracts that should be awarded in accordance with Directives 93/37/EEC and 92/50/EEC (now consolidated and amended by Directive 2004/18/EC). PAI are contracts awarded by local authorities that include the provision of services and performance of public infrastructure works by property developers ("agentes urbanizadores") selected by the local authority. The LRAU was revoked by law 16/2005 ("LUV"), which entered into force on 1 February 2006.
The Commission sent a second letter of formal notice on 4 April 2006 (IP/06/443, 4 April 2006) asking the Spanish authorities for their observations on several provisions of the LUV and on their compliance with previous warnings regarding the continued award of contracts which were based on the LRAU and were in breach of the EU procurement directives.
The Commission now considers that, although the LUV streamlines the procedure to select property developers, it still contravenes the EU procurement Directives in several respects. These include the position of bidders who request contracting authorities to open a procedure to award a PAI; the contents of contract notices and tender documents; some of the criteria for the award of the contract; and the possibility to make various amendments to the contract at the time of the award or during its performance. The Commission further considers that the Spanish authorities did not comply with their EU obligations by failing to adopt measures to prevent the award of contracts based on the LRAU, and in violation of EU legislation, in the run-up to the adoption of the LUV and until its entry into force. Finally, there is still a difference of opinion as regards the core issue of whether PAIs are public contracts subject to the EU procurement rules. The Spanish authorities maintain that PAIs are not public contracts, and therefore, that neither the LRAU nor the LUV contravene the EU Directives. The Commission holds the opposite view.
The latest information on infringement proceedings concerning all Member States is available at: http://ec.europa.eu/community_law/eulaw/index_en.htm
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Contratación pública: La Comisión solicita a las autoridades españolas la modificación de la Ley Urbanística Valenciana
IP/06/1370
Bruselas, 12 de octubre de 2006
Contratación pública: La Comisión solicita a las autoridades españolas la modificación de la Ley Urbanística Valenciana
La Comisión Europea ha enviado a España una solicitud oficial adicional de modificación de la ley sobre planificación territorial y urbana de la Comunidad Valenciana, denominada «Ley Urbanística Valenciana» (LUV). Dicha solicitud, que adopta la forma de dictamen motivado adicional, constituye la segunda fase del procedimiento de infracción incoado en virtud del artículo 226 del Tratado CE. En caso de no recibir una respuesta satisfactoria en el plazo de dos meses, la Comisión podría recurrir ante el Tribunal de Justicia Europeo.
La Comisión había enviado ya una carta de emplazamiento y un dictamen motivado (IP/05/1598, de 14 de diciembre de 2005) a España en relación con la Ley 6/1994 de la Generalitat Valenciana, reguladora de la actividad urbanística (LRAU). En ellos, la Comisión exponía su opinión de que los Programas de Actuación Integrada – (PAI) constituyen contratos públicos de obras y/o servicios que deben adjudicarse de conformidad con lo dispuesto en las Directivas 93/37/CEE y 92/50/CEE (en la actualidad, consolidadas y modificadas por la Directiva 2004/18/CE). Los PAI son contratos adjudicados por las autoridades locales que incluyen la prestación de servicios y la ejecución de obras públicas de infraestructura por parte de agentes urbanizadores seleccionados por dichas autoridades. La LRAU quedó derogada por la ley 16/2005 (LUV), que entró en vigor el 1 de febrero de 2006.
La Comisión envió una segunda carta de emplazamiento el 4 de abril de 2006 (IP/06/443 de 4 de abril de 2006) recabando de las autoridades españolas observaciones sobre algunas disposiciones de la LUV y sobre la forma en que habían tenido en cuenta sus anteriores advertencias respecto de la práctica reiterada de adjudicar contratos con arreglo a la LRAU e infringiendo las directivas sobre contratación pública de la UE.
En la actualidad, la Comisión considera que, si bien la LUV simplifica los procedimientos de selección de los agentes urbanizadores, sigue infringiendo las Directivas de la UE sobre contratación pública en algunos aspectos. Entre ellos, cabe citar: la posición de los licitadores que solicitan a las entidades adjudicadoras el inicio del procedimiento de adjudicación de los PAI; el contenido de los anuncios de contratos y de los documentos de licitación; algunos de los criterios de adjudicación de los contratos, y la posibilidad de introducir diversos cambios en el contrato en el momento de la adjudicación o durante su ejecución. La Comisión considera, asimismo, que las autoridades españolas no han cumplido con las obligaciones que les incumben en virtud de la legislación de la UE al no haber adoptado medidas para evitar la adjudicación de contratos basados en la LRAU y que contravienen la legislación de la UE, durante el proceso de adopción de la LUV y hasta su entrada en vigor.
Por último, se mantienen aún opiniones divergentes respecto de la cuestión fundamental de si los PAI constituyen contratos públicos sujetos a las normas de contratación de la UE. Las autoridades españolas opinan que los PAI no son contratos públicos y que, por consiguiente, ni la LRAU ni la LUV infringen las Directivas comunitarias. La Comisión sostiene lo contrario.
Para obtener la información más reciente respecto de los procedimientos de infracción incoados contra los Estados miembros consulte la siguiente dirección:
http://ec.europa.eu/community_law/eulaw/index_en.htm
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Öffentliches Auftragswesen: Kommission verlangt Änderung des Planungsrechts von Valencia
IP/06/1370
Brüssel, 12. Oktober 2006
Öffentliches Auftragswesen: Kommission verlangt Änderung des Planungsrechts von Valencia
Die Europäische Kommission hat an Spanien ein förmliches Ersuchen zur Änderung des Gesetzes über die Landes- und Stadtplanung der Communidad de Valencia - Ley Urbanística Valenciana (LUV) - gerichtet. Die Aufforderung erging in Form einer zusätzlichen "mit Gründen versehenen Stellungnahme", der zweiten Stufe des Vertragsverletzungsverfahrens nach Artikel 226 EGV. Wenn innerhalb von zwei Monaten keine zufrieden stellende Antwort eingehen sollte, kann die Kommission den Europäischen Gerichtshof damit befassen.
Die Kommission hat bereits am 14. Dezember 2005 ein förmliches Notifizierungsschreiben mit begründeter Stellungnahme (IP/05/1598) betreffend das Gesetz 6/1994 über die Landes- und Stadtplanung (LRAU) der Communidad Valencia gerichtet. Darin vertrat sie die Auffassung, dass die integrierten Aktionsprogramme (Programas de Actuación Integrada – PAI) öffentlichen Beschaffungs- und/oder Dienstleistungsaufträgen gleichen, die gemäß den Richtlinien 93/37/EWG und 92/50/EWG (nunmehr in der geänderten Richtlinie 2004/18/EG konsolidiert) vergeben werden sollten. Die PAI-Aufträge werden von den Gebietskörperschaften vergeben, wozu die Erbringung von Dienstleistungen und die Durchführung öffentlicher Infrastrukturarbeiten durch Bauträger (agentes urbanizadores) gehören, die von den örtlichen Behörden ausgewählt werden. Das LRAU wurde durch das Gesetz 16/2005 (LUV) außer Kraft gesetzt, das am 1. Februar 2006 in Kraft trat.
Die Kommission versandte am 4. April 2006 eine zweite förmliche Notifizierung (IP/06/443) mit der Aufforderung an die spanischen Behörden, ihre Bemerkungen zu verschiedenen Bestimmungen des LUV und ihren Maßnahmen in Bezug auf die vorangehenden Aufforderungen betreffend die fortdauernde Vergabe von Aufträgen auf der Grundlage des LRAU entgegen den Vergaberichtlinien der EU abzugeben.
Die Kommission ist nun der Auffassung, dass mit dem LUV zwar die Verfahren zur Auswahl der Bauträger angepasst werden, diese jedoch in mehreren Hinsichten weiterhin nicht in Einklang mit den Vergaberichtlinien der EU stehen. Hierzu zählen die Stellung der Bieter, die die Vergabebehörden ersuchen, ein Verfahren zur Vergabe eines PAI zu eröffnen; der Inhalt der Auslobungen und Ausschreibungsunterlagen; einige Kriterien für die Zuteilung des Auftrags und die Möglichkeit, verschiedene Änderungen an einem Auftrag zum Zeitpunkt des Zuschlags oder während dessen Ausführung vorzunehmen. Die Kommission ist weiterhin der Auffassung, dass die spanischen Behörden ihren Verpflichtungen aus dem EU-Recht nicht nachgekommen sind, indem sie keine Maßnahmen ergriffen haben, um die Vergabe von Aufträgen auf der Grundlage des LRAU entgegen den EU-Vorschriften in der Zeit bis zum Erlass des LUV und dessen Inkrafttreten zu verhindern.
Schließlich weichen die Auffassungen in der Kernfrage weiterhin voneinander ab, ob die PAI öffentliche Aufträge im Sinne der EU-Vergaberichtlinien sind. Die spanischen Behörden beharren auf ihrer Auffassung, dass es sich hierbei nicht um öffentliche Aufträge handelte, weshalb weder die LRAU noch die LUV im Widerspruch zu den EU-Richtlinien stünden. Die Kommission ist gegenteiliger Auffassung.
Jüngste Informationen über Vertragsverletzungsverfahren betreffend sämtliche Mitgliedstaaten sind abrufbar unter:
http://ec.europa.eu/community_law/eulaw/index_en.htm

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Comments further to the article in El País 12.10.2006. ¨Bruselas lanza hoy otro ultimátum al Consell porque la nueva ley urbanísticano subsana la anterior EP - Bruselas ¨
This is a very important development and essentially says the process of taking the LRAU/LUV to the EU Court of Justice is on track. If the law isn't amended within 60 days, Brussels is saying it will be taken to the Court of Justice. Recently the Minister ( Conseller) Gonzalez Pons says there was no way Valencia would comply-he probably reckoned that Brussels wasn't listening to what he said. The court has the authority to force changes , even in national or regional laws. Failure to comply can mean severe fines, court costs, the withholding of EU subventions, etc. It will be interesting to see how the Valecian Gov't tries to wiggle off this hook. No doubt Madrid will be accused of failing to "transpose" EU directives (true in some instances) to make them national law and the mutual blame game will go on for months. That may play out during the local and regional elections. The negative fall out will be more difficult for the Valencian Gov't simply because the national gov't would not have to face elections for another two years. It will be interesting to see how this will in the end affect the application of similar laws in other regions of Spain. This should also give some backing to the individual cases going forward to the European Court of Human Rights. That is because the European Commission and Commissioners are firmly pointing to serious breaches of EU law, which go beyond such technical questions as Public Contracts into areas of property and human rights. I hope to get an update on those from Irwin Mitchell in London very shortly. It is fair to claim that without our initiative, persistence and hard workover the past few years and the support of the EU Parliament's Petitions Committee, this never would have happened. CVS****

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Illegal !
British families living on the Spanish Costa Blanca face seeing their retirement dreams shattered, after being told that their homes have been built illegally and may have to be demolished. An investigation by Valencia's regional government, has found that more than 1,200 properties have been built on green belt land and a nature reserve, without planning permission. The regional authority claims that Catral town council failed to prevent development in and around the protected area of El Hondo, some 35 miles from Alicante. It has since stripped Catral of its housing powers and has threatened to dissolve the council. For the British living in the area, the future is uncertain. "The problem our solicitors failed to notice was that neither our home or the others on the complex had planning permission," one ex-pat told the 'London Evening Standard'. "The local town hall is now threatening to demolish the lot, leaving us to try to recoup our losses from the solicitor or the builder. "Valencia's Director of Housing, Esteban Gonzalez Pons, has said the region will do what it can to minimise the effect, but warned that "under no circumstances will we legalise any building which stands in El Hondo. "Valencia will also try to identify the people and companies who built the illegal properties, so that their assets can be frozen and compensation provided to the people who bought a home in good faith and now find the house could be demolished. As more and more of British and Irish people seek the sun in Spain, Costa Blanca has become the latest area to suffer from property scandals. Recently, civil servants took charge of Marbella town council after a numberof its councillors were arrested for corruption. Thousands of homes in the area also face demolition.
( Note: For anyone following this story, there is nothing new here in this rather simplified version. What may be the most important thing is the source of this commentary. Web site is http://www.lgib.gov.uk/publications/2006/Committee_of_the_Regions.html Perhaps reports of problems in this region can be copied there. There are links to various EU and other European organizations. CVS)

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Yet again, an e.mail mailing session has resulted in a large amount being returned undelivered. Not for the first time, a good percentage of the returned messages were to Wanadoo addresses.
Various reasons are given for non delilvery, from ´mailbox full´, ´classed as spam´, ´no address exists´ etc. If you have changed your e.mail address please let me know. If a friend/neighbour (who you know to be on the mailing list of AUN) has changed their address please ask them to ensure they let me know.

In the meantime, If you have not received the message sent, and if want a copy of the Minutes of the Meeting at Chez Flo, Benissa (held on 28th September) please let me know. If you need copies for friends/neighbours these Minutes are presently available in English, German and French. Spanish will be available soon.
Jan. mailmaster@abusos-no.org

THE ENEMY AT THE DOOR
Aspe couple reach zero hour in land grab battle
By Tom CainAspe
British couple Terry and Linda Venables, who have been fighting a land grab battle for the past two years, found this week that their efforts to save their property may have been fruitless when the developer told them on Monday that he would be running a trench through their garden and a corner of their house. The developer, who has been able to use the former LRAU land law to relieve the couple of more than 800 square metres of prime land and oblige them to pay 60,000 euros for infrastructure costs, has to give them 15 days' notice of any work to be carried out on their land. This agreement however, has been ignored with continuous unannounced incursions onto their property by surveyors. Despite strong backing from groups opposed to the LRAU and its successor, the LUV, Terry and Linda have been unable to break the legal noose placed around their necks by the development plan, which in real terms means tha tif they refuse to pay they will lose their house; if they stay they face having a road right outside their living room and if they accept the developer's offer they get less than the true value of their home. Costa Blanca News contacted Aspe council on behalf of Terry and Linda. The advice given was to make an appointment with urban development councillor Juan Manuel Padilla Alberola to explain their situation. Following a meeting with Sr Padilla in the presence of their lawyer, the councillor claimed he knew nothing about the development and would investigate.The case of Terry and Linda Venables is now just one in a long list of injustices carried out by developers and local councils in the name of progress using an unfair land law as their shield. Aspe is an area favoured by British expats and urban development in the town is increasing, but as Terry said, "We live here and pay our taxes, yet when it comes to our rights it seems greed has the last word and we don't count for anything."
tomcain@costablancanews.es

Friday, October 06, 2006

I´m not sure we agree with the last line of this message !
Valencia Life 3.10.6
BRINGING IT BACK?
It would appear that the Socialist Government is intent on enacting a new Law of The Land in a forthcoming Cabinet meeting. Commenting on this, Esteban Gonzalez Pons the Conseller for the Territory stated that these new Socialist proposals 'bring back the worst elements of the LRAU land laws and the role of the urbanizer'.
He added that the new proposals do not sufficiently define the role of the urbanizer, and suggested that they instead be based on the Valencian Land Laws or LUV ' as these fully comply with EU directives'.

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Help please - could someone please volunteer to help with translating.
We have received requests for German versions of the minutes of the recent meeting. It would also be polite
if we could also offer Spanish and French versions.

If you could find time to help the society and its members with translating it would be greatly appreciated.

I look forward to hearing from you soon -contact me (Jan) on mailmaster@abusos-no.org

A reporter from RTE Ireland is asking for Irish families caught up in the land problems to contact him. If you have Irish friends/neighbours - please pass on this message.

Please whether your local area is being destroyed by building work, if your property/land is under threat or if development has already begun, please contact Liam - all media publicity is helpful in our fight against the land laws.

contact Liam Moore tel.0034 651451888 or e.mail moorelm@hotmail.com

Abusos Urbanisticos No
Minutes of Meeting
Bar Chez Flo. Benissa. 28.9.6

The meeting began soon after 16.00 with Charles Svoboda introducing the committee members present Lisa Svoboda, Wilhelmina Hardee (Treasurer), Jan Richards (Membership secretary) and Hubert Vockensberger and also Paloma Hoffman (President of the local Benissa Costa Residents Association).

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2006
The AGM for 2006 will be held as in previous years at the Casa de Cultura, Denia, the date could be either 27th October or 10th November – dependant upon the availability of the venue.

This year´s meeting will be an important event with a major shake-up in the organisation of AUN. Charles Svoboda will be stepping down as President and it is hoped that Enrique Climent (presently the Vice-President) will take over the running of the Society. There will also be a change within the Vocales (committee members) with new people offering their services and others resigning. Raquel Paz has put her name forward to be the Society´s Secretary in place of Jonathon Lambert.

Charles Svoboda went on to explain his reasons for standing down as President. The reasons being due to his opinion that the Society should now be led and run by Spanish people following the increase in Spanish members joining the Society, with the upcoming elections (May 2007) which could affect the outcome of the fight against land problems - and no doubt also because he (and his wife Lisa) has spent 24 hours of each and every day for the last five years fighting the LRAU and LUV.

Elections 2007
To avoid any possible problems in voting at the 2007 elections, the membership are advised that they should visit their Town Hall as soon as possible to ensure their names are on the Padron. Next January we should all make another visit to that office to ensure our names are actually on the Voting List.

Paloma Hoffman and Charles Svoboda recommend that members consider the environment and their local communities by supporting independent groups who are running for local government. In most cases majority regimes, be they PP or PSOE tend to disrespect the rights of existing property owners, and minority governments should ensure more checks and balances.

Valencia Superior Tribunal
Despite payments given to solicitors and promises received, after three years there is still no result known regarding the case put to the Valencia Superior Tribunal relating to the Benissa PGOU ( town plan). It reveals incompetance and/ or political games within the legal system.
---------------------------------
At this stage of the meeting, whilst of interest to those present, time was given over to local news for the residents of Benissa.

Two interesting pieces of news were related to the Mayor of Benissa.

Firstly the Mayor had agreed to land being taken for the building of a commercial warehouse. The land taken was in fact part of the local cemetery – the clearing of the land resulted in bones being dug up, moved and dumped as land fill. Local residents are not happy!

Secondly – the Mayor has over the past few years accused Charles and Lisa Svoboda of having an illegal property despite the fact that their paperwork is all in order. It transpires that the Mayor is in the process of having a house built for his own family which is completely illegal with no proper paperwork. He as Mayor, and his deputy, signed the town hall's authorization. The previous "Conseja" for Urbansmo in Benissa quit her high paid post in June, due to such games on the part of the Mayor. (This has left the mayor's party without a majority, which should prevent the approval of any new plans before the elections.)
- - - - -

Paloma Hoffman (President of Benissa Costa Residents Association) then advised the residents present that they should appeal to the Catastro with regard to the increase in local taxes – which in some cases have gone up by some 70% in the past two years. There may be a timeframe in which complaints can be put to the office (possibly 2 months), so families should attend to this as soon as possible. Paloma agreed to prepare a sample letter in Spanish for this purpose.

Due to traffic problems near to the big Pepe La Sal supermarket – at the road to Tico Tico Restaurant, the council has agreed plans to build a roundabout and widen the road. !

It appears people from surrounding towns are using the rubbish collection point at Pedramala to dispose of all items from furniture, garden refuse and normal household garbage, resulting in the area looking very untidy. The Mayor has promised new arrangements-after the next elections.

Approval has been granted by Benissa Town Hall regarding the construction of a new private hospital (affiliated with and similar to the new Levante in Benidorm) which may be built near the new National Health clinic. More health centres are planned to be built locally. There will also be new facilities available for more complex procedures under the social health plan.

A person present asked Paloma for an update on the Fustera area of Benissa and was advised that the work being started is in fact for road-widening. Road widening has begun in various places along the coast road.

The proposed straightening of the N332 in Benissa is again on hold. The original plan agreed involves the demolition of three homes, the second plan recently approved (By the Economic Ministry (Fomento) means the loss of ten houses, various other property and land. There is an application lodged by the town hall to return to the original plan.

At the Ronde Norte area, taxes have increased considerably, families are losing land and people are now beginning to complain and join in the fight against the land laws.
-----------------
Media coverage of land problems
We were advised that the BBC made a very informative programme, subsequently ITV have filmed in the area. The ITV had intended using a small section of a holiday programme to tell the story of the land problems. During their visit they obtained so much footage and information that the Company decided to make an entire programme relating to the land problems – hopefully to be aired in October. Richochet TV are also returning to make a further programme for British TV – this time for nationwide distribution not just local areas of the UK.

Present at the meeting was a reporter from RTE Ireland – who is looking for Irish families caught up in the land problems. Anyone from Ireland is asked to contact Liam Moore tel.0034 651451888 or e.mail moorelm@hotmail.com

Various newspapers, including the Washington Post, have recently shown interest in covering the Valencian land story. THe Correspondent for the Washigton Post (John Anderson who is based in Paris) will be here from October 2-6 . Members are asked to cooperate with him and Eddie Thomas from Ricochet, who will be here later in October.

Whilst there has been considerable coverage of land problems in the Spanish press throughout the summer, the AUN has been lowering its profile in order to save some items to be reported throughout the winter.

Protests re land problems
It will no doubt be necessary for the AUN to organise and take part in a protest march in Valencia - before the next elections - either in March or April 2007.

BRUSSELS
The summer months have been busy for Chuck and Lisa Svoboda due to the continued work involved and the communications needed with the British Legal Firm in arranging cases for the Court of Human Rights. At present the AUN understands there are approximately 40 cases being considered for the ECHR.

Information regarding land problems is regularly passed to the European Commission. The Commission will likely be taking Spain to the European Court of Justice as regards violation of EU rules on Public Contracts . Complaints include the fact that the Commission does not like either the LRAU nor the wording of the LUV laws. A separate complaint is being prepared concerning the violation of human rights-this will also be used for a Council of Europe submission early next year.

Next month MEPs will be meeting the EU Internal Markets Commissioner. The situation here in Valencia regarding the excessive building work, which often involve breaches of EU law, will be one of the items to be discussed.

With the land grab being against Human Rights, infringement of property rights etc the matter will be in the hands of European Commission, the Council of Europe and Strasbourg by the end of this year.

It is interesting that the new countries applying to join the European Union are being told that they must abide by European laws yet Spain, a founder member country, ignores the laws of Europe.

The European Commission is aware of Spain´s activities whereby it is trying to take over companies from other parts of Europe while keeping its own businesses (such as Endesa) entirely Spanish, sanctions and penalties may be put into place.

TITLE INSURANCE
Over a year ago, several firms (both from the UK and USA) were interested in offering insurance protection against land grab for houses where the paperwork was in order and we were told that it was 90% sure that such cover would be possible . However, the same companies are now saying it is impossible to offer insurance cover to property/land owners in Spain, claiming that because of the "legal" land grab, it would be like offering policies on burning buildings .

GOOD NEWS
Whilst wanting to stay modest – it is felt that the AUN has made a significant impact in its fight against the Valencian land laws. The fact that the Government felt it necessary to bring in a new law to supercede the LRAU, the demotion of Sr Blasco plus the fact of the property market being in a state of decline are all no doubt due to the efforts of the AUN.

The Valencian Gvt post held by Sr.Blasco was recently taken over by Gonzalez Pons who immediately asked for a meeting with AUN leaders. Enrique Climent met with Sr Pons in June. Soon after the meeting a letter was received from Mr Pons advising that he would cooperate with the AUN as much as possible. At a different meeting, we are advised by the British Ambassador that the first words from Mr Pons were with regard to the land problems and the fact that he would be keeping in regular contact with the AUN.

Gonzalez Pons has asked for an open debate on Urbanisation to take place before the elections next year. In the meantime at a recent press conference Mr Pons and the President of the Valencian Community said that there would be no changes to the LUV to ensure it conformed to European law. Next month there is to be a meeting of diplomats in Madrid – Mr Pons will be attending – the AUN will be sending various items of information for discussion.

Due to Ministerial intervention (following our letters to him) plans have been suspended in the Rocamora district and also in the area of Gandia. Unfortunately the bad news is that in some other places and despite being told to stop work the builders continue.

There is to be a protest gathering in Valencia on Saturday 30th October relating to the land problems, whilst the AUN is not taking part as a whole, there will be representatives of the Society joining the manifestation.

Before closing the meeting Mr Svoboda advised that while the AUN activities have seemed very quiet in the last few months, there have been several radio interviews, reporters visiting the area, and work has been going on behind the scenes in the constant fight against the land laws.

Following thanks to Malcolm for use of the PA system and Bar Chez Flo for allowing the meeting to take place in their garden area, the meeting closed at approximately 18.00.

Questions followed.

One gentleman asked whether German media is as forthcoming as the British Press/TV in covering the land problems.
The answer being that there have recently been two programmes aired on different German TV stations, (one on ARD being a 30minute programme). ( A correspondent from the second German channel is to come here soon.) This is repeated on a regular basis. The land problem story has also recently been covered by newspapers in France and Belgium. Euronews (which is broadcast in several languages) has also covered the problem and a report has also been shown on Swiss TV.

The second question related to a threatened Plan Parcial where it is to come under LRAU despite work not having yet begun. This problem exists when the plans were approved prior to February 2006 – however if there have been any changes to the original plans then there is reason to make a complaint to the local council and for application to be made for the building work to come under LUV which would normally involve less money and less land being involved.

The third speaker advised that his local council had considered all the homeowners paperwork to be false despite the fact that it is all legally in order. When a complaint was made that the homeowner did not want to cede land at the front of his home, the Council told him to give up the land at the front but to take land at the back from his neighbour in compensation !!!

A suggestion was made that it would be helpful if the European Union had an office in Valencia. There is a n EU office in Madrid which covers the whole of Spain. In Brussels the Valencian region has 11 delegates – the largest representation from any region in an EU member state area. The cost of keeping representatives installed in Brussels , mainly to lobby MEP's and officials is exorbitant, so the cost of eleven delegates does not help with the Valencian region debt which is purported to be 15 billion euros, with the public institutions of the communidad owing a similar amount. Nor has this representation been very effective so far, as last December's vote on the "land grab" investigation revealed.

The next meeting will likely be in December, depending on the date of the AGM.

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