Petition: An Open Letter to David Lidington, Minister for Europe

Thanks Cardifflan. I used the google translate but it doesn't translate this very well, so if there is someone out there who could oblige with a decent translation it would be most appreciated.

The following is a rough translation of the article in El Mundo as requested by Ads:

During the Senate Plenary Session, Minister Blanco answered a query by Jose Manuel Garcia Ballestero who inquired about the road show to sell the stock of housing to foreign investors.  Garcia Ballestero indicated that the British Press has described the road show as an insult and, in his opinion, this is giving a bad image to Spain.  The PP Senator has also said that there are thousands of British nationals that feel swindled by the Government and by their investments in Spain

Blanco is accusing the PP of having backed for years, when they were in Government, legislation that has produced an excess of holiday homes which are mostly located in regions governed by the PP, such as Valencia and Murcia.

The laws backed by the PP, according to the Minister for Development, has made the holiday home sector to have an excessive bearing on the financial sector and this makes it quite difficult to have funds available for financing new construction in places where there is more demand or for businesses and families, due to the vast amounts tied up in holiday home construction.

“You do not understand the excesses and the property bubble to which you want to return for the benefit of speculators as opposed to entrepreneurs” added Blanco.

So, Spanish politicians regard messes made by previous ruling parties as nothing more than ammunition for scoring political points, something to argue about but ultimately to be ignored and swept under the carpet.

 No wonder the youth of Spain are protesting. More Power to them!! 

 Duplicate post deleted.

I agree. Blanco doesn't appear very interested in clearing up the mess which he thinks is created by the previous government. At least though there does appear to be some recognition of the problem now though. Whether they are prepared to do anything about it is another matter.

Let's hope David Lidington will press the point home that Spanish property promotion will never be welcome in the UK until those cheated by the faults of the Spanish government are given justice in the form of money returned them.  There can be no excuses for action not being taken, the evidence is clear, and anything but money returned to those it's been stolen from is nothing more than continued and clear theft by the Spanish government.

I'm sure everyone who ever had an interest in Spain wants to draw a line under the mess that has cheated so many and wrecked Spain's property industry and to some degree their tourist industry, but not before those so clearly cheated are compensated by the Spanish government  who are ultimately responsible for their failings that have created this whole nightmare for so many honest people who just followed the rules and have been hopelessly betrayed by those in positions of trust..

Many thanks for the translation lobin.

It's essential to keep the evidence flowing so let's hope that as many as possible sign Ruth's and Keith's petition.

I agree that no longer can they hide behind misinformation, or denials of responsibility, no matter who was in power.

EU citizens, whether they be foreign nationals or nationals alike, should be protected by a Spanish justice system that remains independent from political influence, and abides by and implements the laws of the land in a fair and reasonable fashion (none of this nonsense of wating YEARS for resolution to appeals etc while those who abuse the law remain unaccountable). Consumer protection has to be seen to be implemented with timely recompense forthcoming, before anyone can consider it "safe" to purchase in Spain.

Neither should a government be able to "move the goalposts" to avoid their responsibilites to innocent purchasers, through retrospective laws, or ignorance or non compliance of existing laws that were in place to protect from the outset (eg law 57/68) without fair compensation.

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/stop-the-spanish-property-roadshow-open-letter-to-davi.html

www.bankguaranteesinspain.com

This message was last edited by ads on 25/05/2011.

This message was last edited by ads on 25/05/2011.