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'LAND GRAB' VICTIMS BRING ARGUMENT TO EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
Wednesday 18th February 2004
Landowners threatened by Valencian property laws will bring their concerns to the European Parliament today.
The Petitions Committee in the Parliament will consider a number of petitions including one signed by over 7,000 property owners, environmentalists and other interested parties. The petitioners are protesting against laws that they allege force homeowners in parts of Spain to give up a percentage of their property to local governments and developers, often with little compensation. They also claim that the laws allow huge infrastructure costs to be levied on homeowners.
The petition seeks the assistance of the European Parliament in bringing an end to the alleged abusive application of the land laws in the Valencian Community and elsewhere in Spain, arguing that the laws infringe upon property rights and damage the environment. It calls for an urgent on-the-spot investigation by a multi-party, multi-national Committee of Inquiry. The Committee would then suggest what measures should be put in place to remedy the situation, plus recommend sanctions in the case of any lack of compliance with EU property rights or environmental legislation.
Timothy Kirkhope, MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber, said:
"These laws have affected British people who have properties in Spain. Many landowners are pensioners who have bought retirement homes in the sun. They are being forced to hand over large parts of their land and are being ordered to pay infrastructure costs they simply cannot afford.
The big issue for the Petitions Committee will be that however offensive the effect of the law may be, is it in breach of any EU Directive? We shall be pushing the European Commission very hard on this and if the law is in breach we shall be demanding tough action."
Notes to Editors: The petition refers to the Valencian Ley Reguladora de la Actividad Urbanistica (LRAU), which have recently been adopted in other areas of Spain.
