This Week In Spain: 24th September 2010

The news in Spain this week has been dominated by the General Strike (on 29th September), the effects of the Austerity Cuts (with miners striking, bus drivers in Granada striking, police striking over better pay), and the ongoing effects of the recession with one of the most bizarre claims being made by Zapatero when he says that property prices in Spain have reached their lowest level and can only rise from now onwards!

Add the ongoing ‘will they wont they’ ETA peace talks debate and you would be forgiven that you were back in the UK in the 1980′s!

Bullfighting was in the news again: both in terms of mote talk of banning it, and the bizarre and horrific ‘sport’ of ‘Burning Bulls’, which thankfully doesn’t mean they burn the bulls as such, but they do attach burning candles etc to their horns.

Please feel free to read below how the headlines unfolded during the week …..

Saturday 18th

Spain’s paramilitary police protest for better pay

Several thousand Spanish paramilitary police officers protested Saturday in Madrid over salaries and work conditions that they say should at least match the national police force.

Madrid’s top court allowed the officers to hold the demonstration despite normally being forbidden from protesting and opposition from the interior ministry.

Andalucia binning the plastic bag

Andalucia is set to start charging tax for plastic carrier bags, beginning next year.

Shops will charge five cents per carrier bag from January, rising to ten cents by the end of the year.

Thousands march in Spain in support of ETA suspects

Thousands of people marched in Spain’s Basque region on Saturday in support of nine people arrested Tuesday on suspicion of links to the militant separatist group ETA.

In San Sebastian, Bilbao and Vitoria, the three main cities in the Basque Country, demonstrators shouted slogans and carried placards denouncing Spain’s ruling Socialist Party.

Sunday 19th

ETA says ready to go further for peace: report

Basque independence fighters ETA have issued a communique saying they are ready to sail into “deeper waters” to end the bloodshed, a pro-independence newspaper said Saturday, nearly two weeks after a unilateral truce was flatly rejected by Spain for failing to renounce violence forever.

Protesters urge Madrid to adopt debate on bullfighting ban

One hundred protesters gathered Sunday in front of Madrid’s Las Ventas arena, demanding the Spanish regional government to debate a ban on banning bullfighting.

Spain Is Ripe for Cloud Computing but Slow to Adopt

Spain, whose economy has been among the hardest hit by the financial crisis, is seen by many technology experts as fertile ground for developing cloud computing, with its potential to cut fixed costs.

Fifty percent of the country’s gross domestic product and 43 percent of Spanish jobs are in services, which is the area “best positioned to lead the migration to the cloud,”

Almería Cuts 25 Million From Budget

Almería City Council is to apply a cut of 10 percent, about 25 million euro, from the 2011 Municipal budget.

The statement was made to a recent meeting of the Plenary Council by Councillor for Finance Pablo Venzal. “In the current economic climate the principles that will govern next year’s council accounts are “austerity and economic health” he said.

Guardia Civil march in protest in Madrid

Thousands of Guardia Civil, supported by representatives from other police forces in Spain, marched through the streets of Madrid on Saturday shouting for the resignation of the Prime Minister.

Monday 20th

ETA Seeks International Mediation To Resolve Conflict With Spain

Basque separatist group, ETA, has called on the international community to mediate in order to resolve a conflict it has with the Spanish government.

The request came nearly two weeks after Spain’s Socialist government rejected the group’s unilateral cease-fire and described it inadequate until it fully surrenders its arms.

Poor Support For General Strike

The results of a new NC Report opinion poll, and headlines that two out of three workers will not follow the General Strike. It notes that 57% also support a reduction in the numbers of ‘liberados’ union members, and most want to see deputies have their wages cut too should they take part in the stoppage.

Spanish unions want to see no international flights on the day of the General Strike – September 29

Spanish trade unions, CCOO and UGT have said that they do not want to see any international flight connections to Spain on the day of the General Strike, September 29. They also want all national trains to stop, but say that the 25% of Cercanías commuter services and metro trains can run.

Spain dismisses ETA proposal for mediation

Spain’s government Monday dismissed a call by outlawed Basque separatist group ETA for international mediation to end a decades-old conflict, saying the group’s latest statement contains “nothing new”.

ETA, blamed for 829 deaths in a flagging campaign of bombings and shootings to secure an independent Basque homeland, made the offer to accept international mediation in a communique published Sunday in two pro-independence dailies.

Spain approves country’s largest biomass plant

Spain’s government Monday approved the construction of the country’s largest biomass plant, the renewable energy group Ence announced Monday.

Government approval was necessary as the plant, to be built in the southern town of Huelva, will use state aid set aside for renewable energy projects.

The factory will have a capacity of 50 megwatts and will supply green energy to some 400,000 people, Ence said in a statement.

Zapatero calls for tax on plane tickets to raise money for development aid

Spanish Prime Minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, has called for a new tax on flights in Spain to be used in the fight against poverty, and he is also insisting on the imposition of a tax on financial transactions, despite criticism from bankers including Emilio Botín, Chairman of Santander.

Tuesday 21st

Spain grounds Eurofighter jets

Spain has followed Germany’s lead and grounded its Eurofighter combat aircraft until an inquiry into a possible ejector seat problem is completed, a defence ministry spokeswoman said Monday.

The decision was taken on Thursday, she said, one day after Germany grounded its Eurofighter jets as a precaution, saying that “in certain circumstances the ejector seat does not operate faultlessly in case of emergency.”

The problem had been detected during a check and was being taken up with the manufacturers, a German defence ministry spokesman said last week.

France and Spain push for tax on global capitalism

France and Spain called for a tax on global capitalism on Monday, telling the opening day of a UN summit on development the recession has made “innovative financing” essential to help the world’s poor.

Benidorm mystery deaths is a no story

The case of the mysterious deaths following a lads holiday in Benidorm, as revealed by The Sun and The Yorkshire Post last week has now been revealed to have been inaccurate.

British police have investigated the claims that as many as six friends had died following a holiday on the Costa Blanca last March, and have discovered that in fact only four men went on holiday together and that only one of them has died from a heart attack.

General Strike: “Super Minimum” Service Levels

The unions are pushing for “super minimum services” during the 29th September General Strike, which is against the wishes of the Supreme Court.

The main focus seems to be on travel with the cabinet saying they want a guarantee of travel, but the UGT and CCOO want to isolate Spain on September 29 by land, sea and air. They say they want no international flights and just one between airports nationally. Also no AVE high speed or other long distance trains, and just 25% of commuter services.

Spain raises 7 billion euros but at higher rate

Spain raised 7.04 billion euros via an issue of 12-18-month bonds on Tuesday, slightly more than planned but it had to pay higher rates on the debt

Miners march in protest against threat to pits

Around 200 miners began a protest march today in the town of Villablino in the province of León.
It is the second “black march” in the history of Spain, with the first taking place in 1992

Government wants to see 25% of flights on the day of the General Strike

The Ministry for Development has proposed minimum services of 25% for flights and 20% for trains on the day of the General Strike, September 29.

The Minister José Blanco has said that he hopes to reach an agreement with representatives from the CCOO and UGT unions later today.

It’s the same response from the Government as seen from the Aznar administration at the time of the last General Strike in 2002.

55% of the property rentals carried out in Spain are not declared to the taxman

More than 55% of the property rentals carried out in Spain are not declared to the taxman, with most of the cases in Madrid and Cataluña.

The number has been given by Hacienda technicians who say the amount of fraud is increasing given the poor economic climate.

The details are in a Hacienda document, ‘Informe sobre alquileres sumergidos en España’ which has been published today, Tuesday.

Number of foreigners registered with the Spanish Social Security System fell in August

The number of foreigners registered with the Spanish Social Security System fell in August by 22,222. It takes the number of foreigners working to 1,877, 935, which is 1.17% down on the numbers registered in July, and puts an end to six months of increases. Of those registered in August, 1.2 million are from non-EU countries, and 670,267 are from the E.U.

Commercial deficit has increased by 11.5%

The commercial deficit has increased by 11.5% for the year to July compared to last year, with exports increasing more than imports, but remaining smaller in absolute terms. It takes the trade deficit to 30.53 billion €.

Cuevas townhall tries to take control of Desert Springs

Exciting news from Cuevas del Almanzora, whose Mayor has just confirmed that he is intending to launch a legal battle to take control of the La Algarrobina estate, on which local golf resort Desert Springs was built, after local reporters uncovered evidence that Desert Springs was mis sold the land. Excellent reporting from local newspaper Actualidad Almanzora.

Spanish women victims of Franco to get compensation

Many Spanish women who suffered abuse under dictator Francisco Franco can now receive compensation of 1,800 euros each, under a decree passed by the government of southern Andalucia on Tuesday.

It is a way to pay a “moral debt” to these women, who suffered harassment “often for the simple fact of being part of families who were victims of Franco,” said Luis Pizarro, the justice minister in the autonomous Andalucian government.

Spain rejects calls for probes into Franco-era crimes

Spain rejected on Tuesday a call to probe the disappearances of tens of thousands of people during the 1936-39 civil war and the subsequent Franco-era.

During an examination of Spain’s human rights record in May at the UN Human Rights Council, Mexico asked Madrid to investigate cases of forced disappearances, to punish perpetrators and to provide redress to victims.

Wednesday 22nd

Zara Expansion Plans Return Good Profits

Inditex, which owns fashion chain Zara, has beaten forecasts after reporting a 68% rise in first-half net profit.

The Spanish group said profit rose to 628m euros ($835m; £533m), helped by an aggressive growth push. Group net sales rose 14% to 5.5bn euros.

Tax Rises In 2011

Savings banks in Spain have said that tax rises are inevitable in 2011. Their association, FUNCAS, says that costs will have to be cut further and the cabinet will be obliged to increase electricity prices by 5.6% from October.

Tourist numbers up in August

The number of foreign tourists visiting Spain rose 4% in August, “three times the expected rate” according to Miguel Sebastián, the Minister for Industry, Tourism and Commerce.

The minister confirmed that the data released today by Frontur (Encuesta de Movimientos Turísticos en Frontera), considered a reliable barometer for tourism, were “better” than expected and underlined the general trend seen over the past few months.

Brits will decide who is new mayor in many towns

ElAlmeria, the local newspaper, has an interesting article about how in many towns of the Almanzora, the British vote will be decisive in deciding who becomes the new mayor in the local elections, now just 8 months away.

In Arboleas, 64% of the vote belongs to expats (the highest of any town in Spain, I’m told); in Zurgena38%, in Partaloa 59%. Many other villages are in the same situation.

Spain’s Coal Miners Fight for the Right to Keep Digging

Early on Tuesday morning, 200 men in the northern Spanish town of Villablino put on their blue jumpsuits, strapped their helmets to their heads, and lined up in two straight rows. But instead of marching into the coal mines that have been the lifeblood of this region for over a century, they took to the highway. As Villablino’s townspeople sang the traditional miners’ song “Blessed Saint Barbara,” the men solemnly began the eight-day march south toward the provincial capital of León. “Everyone in the town was there,” says retired miner José Manuel Alvarez, who spoke to TIME by phone as he marched. “The entire region is up in arms.”

Talks on minimum service levels on September 29th are continuing

The Ministry of Public Works and the Unions have so far failed to reach agreement on minimum service levels relating to international flights during the General Strike on September 29th. The Ministry is wanting a 40% service, the Unions have been suggesting 0%.

Pension gap at alarming level

Throughout the European Union the annual pension gap stands at 1.9 trillion euros, while it reached 91 billion euros in Turkey this year, according to a report by insurance giant Aviva.

With nearly 50 million customers and 54,000 employees, Aviva is one of the world’s biggest insurance companies. The firm held a press meeting in Istanbul on Wednesday to share the results of research it conducted across 13 countries. According to the report, Turkey must find an additional 91 billion euros in savings each year to close its pension gap. That is nearly equal to 14 percent of its 2010 gross domestic product.

Endesa, Nissan in deal for electric auto recharge points

Spanish energy group Endesa said Wednesday it has signed an agreement with Japanese automaker Nissan to set up a network of recharge points for electric cars.

The announcement comes a day after Endesa said it had inked a deal with Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi Corporation to work together on the development of electric cars.

Fighting obesity in Torrox

The Department of Social Welfare in Torrox has launched a campaign announced last year, ‘For a million steps’, with the aim of promoting sports and healthy habits among the local population and to help fight a major XXI century epidemic, obesity.

Obesity affects about 13% of the population of Andalucia. The mayor of Torrox, Manuel Martín (PP), announced that this project, which has its origin in an occupational centre in Sevilla, has been viewed very positively by the World Health Organization.

Spanish area expected to OK flaming bull festivals

Lawmakers who banned bullfighting this summer in Spain’s Catalonia region will vote Wednesday on a bill that effectively endorses other traditions such as attaching burning poles to bulls’ horns at village festivals or letting the beasts chase human daredevils by seaside marinas and plunge into the water.
Those customs reflect Spaniards’ timeless fascination with bulls and testing their bravery with the snorting animals. Besides watching the deadly duel of matador and bull, Spaniards run with bulls in Pamplona every year, spear them to death from horseback in another northern town and cordon off town squares to let even children dodge feisty calves of the kind used to breed top-grade fighter bulls.

Spanish PM says European debt crisis ‘has passed’

The European debt crisis which pummeled the euro and rattled global markets is over, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said in a newspaper interview published Wednesday.
“I believe that the debt crisis affecting Spain, and the euro zone in general, has passed,” he told the Wall Street Journal.

Spain’s government in deal to pass crucial 2011 budget

Spain’s ruling Socialist Party has struck a deal that should allow it to pass the 2011 budget, crucial to the government’s plan for slashing the public deficit, Spanish national radio said Wednesday.

It said the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) has agreed to vote with the government, which does not hold an absolute majority in parliament, when the budget is presented.

As Spain Struggles, Energy Plan Proves Difficult to Agree On

On one side, angry coal miners are striking to force the government to save their jobs from a torrent of inexpensive imports. On another, the solar power industry, which was once booming, complains that it is being crippled by the mere prospect of an end to generous state subsidies.

Spanish area OKs flaming bull festivals

Lawmakers who banned bullfighting in Spain’s Catalonia region this summer voted Wednesday to endorse other traditions that have been criticized as cruel to bulls, such as attaching burning sticks to their horns as they chase human thrill seekers.

The vote will only affect the Catalonia region of northeast Spain, but it addresses another manifestation of this country’s timeless fascination with bulls and the testing of people’s bravery with the snorting animals.

Electricity Prices To Rise

Electricity prices will have to go up by 5.6% next month, according to the Government tariffs as the move is made to link prices to the cost of raw materials at auction. The auction today closed with prices 11% higher than seen last June.

August Tourist Figures Strong

Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Miguel Sebastián, has said that the number of foreign tourists to arrive in Spain in August was ‘triple that expected’. He said the improvement was down to the British, French and Italian markets as he revealed the figure, which will be officially published shortly, shows a 4% growth in numbers.

Thursday 23rd

Iberia backs BA on pension plan

The merger between Iberia and British Airways has taken a step closer after the Spanish carrier backed BA’s approach to tackling its £3.7bn pension deficit.

Iberia had the right to cancel the tie-up if it felt the hole would be too much of a lag on the merged firm.

Only twenty percent of European flights will run in Spain on the day of the General Strike – September 29

Agreement was reached late on Wednesday night between the Government and the Unions on the minimum transport services which will run in Spain on the day of the General Strike, September 29.

Under the agreement all the country’s airports will open, and that 40% of intercontinental flights will operate, 20% of European flights will take off, along with 10% of National services. There will also be 50% coverage on flights from the mainland to the islands, and on flights between the islands.

Higher Taxes

Prime Minister is to attack high earners to placate the left wing. The paper says income tax IRPF is set to rise for the 165,000 people in the country who earn more than 120,000 € a year, even though the benefit to Hacienda will only be between 180 and 400 million €. It means that in Andalucía and Extremadura some people will pay up to 50% of their income, and in Cataluña it will be 51%.

Spain government inches closer to budget support

Spain’s government has reached a deal with a small opposition party that will help it pass a 2011 budget that is key to getting the deficit down, reassuring markets worried over the country’s finances and its survival in power.

The ruling Socialist party leads a minority government that relies on support from opposition parties on a case-by-case basis to get laws passed. The government has become even more isolated of late as parties criticize its handling of Spain’s economic crisis, marked by a 20 percent jobless rate and listless growth after nearly two years of recession.

Spanish unions to maintain some flights during strike

Spanish unions will allow 20 to 40 percent of international flights to operate during a general strike on September 29 as part of a deal struck with the government Thursday.

Unions and the government brokered the deal on minimum services in the early hours to “guarantee calm during the day of the strike,” Transport Secretary Jose Luis Cachfeiro told an overnight news conference.

Google whacks Spanish TV station in court

A Madrid court has thrown out copyright infringement charges brought against YouTube by Spanish TV station Telecinco.

The judgement, translated by AFP, said it was “impossible to control all the videos that are made available to users, as there are in fact more than 500 million. YouTube is not a supplier of content and therefore has no obligation to control ex-ante the illegality of those.”

Minister for Development guarantees no Gibraltar toll

Minister for Development, José Blanco, has given a guarantee that there will be no toll for access to Gibraltar at La Linea, despite the efforts of the PP Mayor of the town, Alejandro Sánchez, to introduce a 5 € ‘congestion charge’ from October 12.

The Basque Nationalist Party reaches agreement with the Government to support the budget

The PNV Basque Nationalist Party has reached an agreement to support the Government’s budgets for next year in the vote in Congress. It means the Zapatero Government can stay in office until the end of the legislature. Employment policy is now to be devolved to the Basque region, which will also get 472 million € in funding for job creation measures.

The Prime Minister has commented that ‘the pact with the PNV is good for stability and economic confidence’.

French General Strike Disrupts Flights

50 flights between Spain and France from the total 207 operations have been cancelled today as a result of the French General Strike which continues until 8am on Friday. Ryanair has cancelled 66 flights with a French destination, Easyjet has lost 61 and Iberia 34, including last night and today.

House Prices Hit Rock Bottom

The Spanish Prime Minister has said that house prices in Spain have hit bottom. José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero claimed prices would not fall any more, and that the national economy is now improving. Speaking in an interview with the TV channel CNBC, he said that Spain will be very vigilant in the control of public spending.

The Sustainable Economy Law has moved forward in Congres

The Sustainable Economy Law has moved forward in Congress today, after overcoming five amendments which were rejected 176 votes against to 169 in favour. The changes had been presented by the PP, CiU, IU-ICV, UPyD and BNG, but were defeated with the votes of the Government, PNV, and CC.

Spaniards Need To Save For Their Pensions

Every Spaniard will have to save 7,000 € a year to guarantee their retirement, according to the latest figures which place Spain fourth on the list of countries which need to save the most to cover their pensions deficit.

Tourist Figures Released

Spanish hotels registered 39.5 million overnight stays during August, which is a 9.3% jump on last year for the same month. However the data from the National Statistics Institute shows that prices in the sector have been falling for the past 21 months, and were down 0.6% in August. The number of foreigners to visit Spain during the month of August rose by 4% compared to last year, which saw the worst numbers for six years.

Already three out of five tourists come to Spain on low cost airlines. Over the month they carried 3,96 million passengers, 10.5% more than for the same month last year. Traditional companies saw a 2.1% increase.

Busiest airports in Spain for low cost operations are Palma de Mallorca at 831,478 passengers, up 7.2%, Málaga at 473,897 up 10.9%, and Barcelona at 414,384 up 7.4%. Alicante was fourth with 399,212, 1.1% up on last year.

European Commission says it is monitoring whether Spain is discriminating against foreign property owners

The European Justice Commissioner, Viviane Reding, has said that the European Commission is ‘monitoring’ whether Spain is carrying out any sort of discrimination against foreigners, following the high number of complaints presented by the protest groups representing those whose homes are under threat of demolition, be they built in protected areas, or under the regulations of the 1988 Ley de Costas.

Friday 24th

Illegal imigration falls most in Almería

Almería can boast of having become the Spanish province where over illegal immigration has dropped all thanks to the effectiveness of SIVE, the Integrated External Surveillance System, which was visited yesterday by the Secretaries of State for Immigration and Security, and Anna Terron Antonio Camacho, respectively.

Antonio Camacho said anything to get to Almeria “Operation Indalo is a good example of the politics of illegal immigration control is carried out by the Government of Spain.”

Spain Pressured to Show `Hair Shirt’ Budget as Yields Rise

Finance Minister Elena Salgado is under pressure to reassure investors that Spain’s not going soft on austerity when she presents her budget today.

Spain’s hostelry sector suggests the creation of smoking rooms

The hostelry sector in Spain remains concerned about the Government’s plans to toughen the anti-smoking legislation in the New Year, and have now requested that closed rooms be made available for smokers, and that these rooms not be served by the establishments’ personnel.

The industry is concerned of the effects of a total smoking ban, planned for January 1

Unemployment Unlikely To Fall

Unemployment will not fall in 2011, according to INEM, the Spanish Employment Agency budgets.
It will spend 30.14 billion in subsidies and benefits, just 1.5% less than this year. The paper says the number of unemployed will be the same as there will be fewer people getting benefit but more the subsidy.

BA closer to Iberia merger

THE planned merger between British Airways and Iberia moved a step closer yesterday.The Spanish airline approved BA’s plan to deal with a pounds 3.7 billion pension deficit.

Bus strike in Granada

Employees of the transport company Rober S.A. in Granada city are taking part in strike action today, Friday, which means that only an agreed minimum service of 30% of city buses will be running.
The strike is in protest at the Council decision to outsource two infrequently used night lines to another company, Alhambra Bus, as a cosy cutting measure.