ASOCIACIÓN VALENCIANA

EN DEFENSA DE LOS DERECHOS

HUMANOS, MEDIOAMBIENTALES Y

EN CONTRA DE LOS ABUSOS URBANISTICOS

(Abusos Urbanisticos NO)

CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY

Mr. Chairman,

We’re back. For the fourth time in four years…Thank you for inviting Abusos Urbanisticos NO to be here again today to review what has happened in the year or so since the Spanish land law abuses were discussed in this Committee and in the Plenary Session of the Parliament itself. And became the subject of the important Resolution adopted by the Parliament last June 21 ( ref. P6 TA(2007)0281).

Since we have frequently heard this accusation, let me assure you that our Association does not represent any occult interests, nor do we form part of any malevolent plot to divert investment or tourism from Spain.

The very interest of this Parliament and Committee has also resulted in similar attempts to shift blame to your own activities. To answer this oft repeated charge, one must ask, just who really is diverting investment and jobs to other competing markets? The answer is, the large developers and constructors who have, according to Spanish media (and the national tax authority, Hacienda) over the past year or two moved 8,400 and more million euros offshore to fiscal paradises and who are increasingly involved in large tourism and housing projects in northern Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America taking jobs and investments, but not their workers with them. We read now that many Spanish banks and businesses are suffering from the crises of liquidity and confidence , but those large ones with spare cash, rather than keeping their financial resources for investments in Spain are using their profits and collateral to purchase foreign companies outside the Euro zone and thus, the influence of the ECB and EU rules. This is considered to be a clever way of conducting business and rarely has come under criticism.

On earlier occasions here, we warned of the dangers of the economic monoculture centered on construction - the “motor” of the economy - and the pyramid schemes built on land speculation, the overvaluation of land often grabbed with no compensation from small property owners, with the attendant (and ever more frequently reported) bribery, fraud, corruption and money laundering. We also spoke about the folly of massive overbuilding, environmental damage, etc. Well, read the current reports. The economic chickens have come home to roost. While many young Spaniards and families cannot afford homes, hundreds of thousands of dwellings sit empty as the hidden refuge for speculators and ‘black’ money. And because construction now has largely stopped, a million or more workers face unemployment and little by way of social safety nets to fall back upon. House sales are down by 30- 50 %, selling prices are forced to follow suit and foreigners are shunning the Spanish coasts. Clearly something must be done, in the context of EU norms and directives.

Why do we pursue our activities in protection of the rights of small property owners and the environment? Why do we continue to seek support from this Parliament, the Commission and the Courts? Because in most instances, neither relief from arbitrary, even illegal development schemes nor in fact justice from an overloaded, costly, complex and uncertain legal and court system is practically or economically feasible in Spain. The national courts (Supreme and Constitutional) are now entering the third month of a strike involving almost all support staff and some judges. The media report that tens of thousands of cases are sitting in boxes. A Supreme Court judge told us recently that only 6 of the hundreds of cases involving land law disputes were even on court dockets. For this reason our Association is also bringing, in collaboration with a prominent firm of international human rights lawyers, several cases to the Court of Human Rights with accompanying demands for proper compensation denied under the justly criticised and seeming ever receding remedies available in Spain.

Collectively therefore, European institutions including the courts in Luxembourg and Strasbourg, remain as the last, best hope for many who have fallen victim to a perverse and unjust system.

In the past year or so some very important and highly critical reports have emerged on the issues that concern us and this Committee as regards the situation in Spain, especially in the Mediterranean coastal areas. These include the reports of this Parliament, Greenpeace, Transparency International, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Housing, our own regional and national ombudsmen, to say nothing of countless international and Spanish media stories.

However, we did not just complain to this Committee or arrange demonstrations in the streets as some might have you believe. All along our wish has been to make a positive contribution towards solving or better, avoiding, economic and social problems, while making the country a better place for us and others to live in. We have always wanted and still wish to be part of the answer. On four occasions over the past five years of our existence, we have met with Valencian ministers and officials who have dealt with territorial development. We have proposed a number of ways in which some of the current problems might have been averted, ways in which regional laws could have been brought in line with EU norms and directives.

Despite public promises to take account of what we said, our recommendations have largely been ignored. Instead, at least in Valencia, in response to us and the emerging crises we read about in order to placate developers, the government recently promised to approve even more massive development schemes and to simplify the new laws developers suddenly find to be too difficult. And just this past week, several new plans have indeed been approved by Valencia- tens of thousands more houses and several water consuming golf courses included , just as the country is suffering its most severe drought since modern records have been kept for almost a century. Laws, in other words, are written and revised a la carte. Those who complain are blamed for bringing the economy to its knees.

Finally, because this was contested by a representative from the Valencian government at an earlier meeting, I wish to read into the record an excerpt from an important and recent letter from the office of the Commissioner for Internal Markets. It bears on the responsibility of Spain as a sovereign state entering into international law, and thus EU treaties to ensure compliance throughout its entire national territory: “All the authorities of the member state, regardless of their hierarchical level have a duty to ensure the observance of EU law within their spheres of influence. Of course, this includes local and regional authorities in a member state”. It goes on to state that “ it is the responsibility of a local elected authority to prevent the execution of acts which are not in conformity with Community Law…”

The Commission has also concluded that the awarding of contracts under the infamous Valencian land laws, the LRAU and now LUV, which have had “disastrous” consequences for landowners are subject to the EU directives applicable to public contracts and must therefore comply with the principles of equal treatment and transparency. Almost needless to say, the Spanish and regional authorities also contest this and it will fortunately be for the impartial Court of Justice to rule on this matter, and we hope this will be soon. Meanwhile, this Committee is key to giving inspiration and momentum, if not direction to the Commission based on what you have already heard from hundreds of victims of land law and related abuses in Spain. Please continue!

We thank you….