Spanish
life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable.
-
Christopher Howse: A Pilgrim in Spain.
If
you've arrived here because of an interest in Galicia or Pontevedra,
see my web page here.
Life
in Spain:-
- As I read about dishonest Spanish mayors et al, it's comforting to know that good old British crooks are also operating here, especially - as ever - down on the Costa del Crime. Here and here are details of some of the latest scams. Mind you, not all of the latter will be British. In contrast to the victims.
- As regards the first of these examples, the UK travel agents' trade association is calling for jail sentences for those convicted. In this regard, it's interesting to note that, in Majorca at least, these would be heavier than those usually inflicted on incredibly corrupt Spanish politicians. I guess it makes sense to someone.
- Assuming the weather folk are better at their job than political forecasters, both crooks and victims alike will be enjoying a hotter than usual summer here in Spain. Vamos a ver. I wouldn't have thought this classified as good news down south.
- Spanish courts, it has to be said, aren't renowned for their speed. And the problem is about to get much worse, as those seeking compensation for illegal mortgage floor-rate clauses are joined by hundred of thousands of disgruntled ex-shareholders in the suddenly defunct, un-bailed-out Banco Popular.
- HT to Lenox of Business Over Tapas for the news of a €50m a year scam centred on royalties on 'new' songs that consist of a single note-change to an existing composition. If you speak Spanish, you can read about this here, and here. Ingenious, of course. Prompting the question: Why can't Spanish talent of this sort go into genuine businesses, rather than frauds on the public? Answers on one side of the paper only, please.
Whatever the future fate of the EU, it can for the moment bask in the glow of being awarded Spain's equivalent of the Nobel Peace Prize. Click here for details. I probably don't need to tell you that - for one reason and another - support for the EU is quite possibly stronger here than anywhere else in Europe. And, whatever I or others say, that isn't going to change any time soon. Perhaps when the transfers have totally ceased and the fines imposed on the country are actually collected.
Finally . . . Doing the drive between Pontevedra and Santiago yesterday, I tried the strategy recommended by, I think, Sierra of using my satnav/GPS to tell me what the hard-to-guess-at speed limits on the N550 were. In a word, hopeless. But give Sierra(?s) his/her due, he/she admitted that it might be so. More observations and 'lessons' on this subject tomorrow. You've been warned . . .
Today's cartoon:-
From a pre-metric UK of light years ago . . . .
ARTICLE
EU Political Class
Rides Roughshod over Citizens’ Concerns & Frustrations as it
Pushes Integration By Don Quijones
Even the “elite”
is not totally on board.
2017 has been a
surprisingly kind year for the European Union — so far! Staunchly
pro-EU candidates not only survived the gauntlet of national
elections in France and the Netherlands but emerged triumphant. The
once-imminent threat of political populism is now on the wane, we are
led to believe. As if to prove that point, even the UK government is
struggling to preserve a united front to see out Brexit after recent
elections delivered a hung parliament.
The governments of the
EU’s two core nations, Germany and France, appear to share a
unified sense of purpose. Merkel has expressed a willingness to go
along with two central French demands — the appointment of a
Eurozone finance minister and the creation of a common budget — as
long as certain conditions are met. “We can of course think about a
Eurozone budget as long as it’s clear that this is really
strengthening structures and achieving sensible results,” she said.
Ms. Merkel’s surprise
overture, however qualified, suggests the stalled process of EU
integration could kick back into life sooner than most experts had
expected. Particularly surprising is the timing of Merkel’s
comments, coming as they do ahead of make-or-break general elections
in September.
Berlin had initially
refused to debate the future of the Eurozone before the vote. Merkel
clearly believes her reelection is more or less in the bag. If so,
for the first time in a very long time, she and her fellow eurocratic
legislators, emboldened by recent political developments, have a
relatively clear path to forge ahead with fiscal and political
integration, unhindered by potentially destabilizing national
political events — at least until Italy’s general elections,
scheduled to take place next year.
Back on the table is a
proposal to upgrade the grossly unaccountable Luxembourg-based
European Stability Mechanism (ESM) into a full-fledged European
Monetary Fund. As we’ve noted before, creating a European
Monetary Fund (EMF) would be an important statement of intent. If
Europe’s core countries are truly set on taking the EU project to a
whole new level, such as by pursuing the creation of an EU army, an
EU border force (with full powers), fiscal union, and ultimately
political union, some form of burden sharing will ultimately be
necessary. The establishment of a fully operational EMF could be an
important move in that direction.
The EMF would
essentially act as a fiscal backdrop to the banking system, something
the Eurozone has desperately needed ever since its creation. As
Bruegel proposes, it would serve as a fiscal counterpart of the
ECB to guarantee the financial stability of the euro area in the
event of a sovereign or banking crisis, or a threat thereof — of
which there are plenty these days, in particular emanating from
Italy’s broken banking system.
Naturally, the creation
of an EMF would deal a further blow to the fading remnants of
national sovereignty in Europe. But that’s a price that many (but
certainly not all) of Europe’s elite is more than happy to pay;
some would say that destroying national sovereignty was the ultimate
goal of the EU all along.
In a survey of more
than 10,000 EU citizens and 1,800 EU elites carried out by
Chatham House, of the elites:
- 37% believe the EU should get more powers,
- 28% want to keep the status quo and
- 31% would prefer to return more powers to individual member countries.
This enthusiasm for a
more centralized, more powerful EU is not shared with equal
enthusiasm by European citizens: 48% want powers returned to the
individual member countries.
Citizens, overall, do
not feel they have benefited from European integration in the same
way Europe’s elite does. Whereas 71% of elites report feeling they
have gained something from the EU, the figure among the public is
only 34%.
Even more worrisome for
national leaders, a clear majority of the public — 54% — feel
that their country was a better place to live 20 years ago, before
the euro existed.
The findings of the
Chatham House survey reflect a growing public frustration with
Brussels’ tendency to ride roughshod over their voices and
concerns. In a recent Pew poll a median of 53% across nine
European countries surveyed, excluding the UK, support having their
own national referendums on continued EU membership. And while most
do not want to leave the bloc altogether, many European citizens want
to ensure that their voices are heard.
That is unlikely to
happen: engagement and consultation have never been Brussels’
strong points. According to Fredrik Erixon, a Brussels-based
economist and co-founder of European Centre for International
Political Economy (ECIPE), the EU’s gaping lack of democratic
accountability and legitimacy and its determination to plow ahead
with integration regardless of popular support (or lack thereof) will
ultimately be its undoing.
“The notion of the
ever-closer union has been very, very strong for more than 60 years,
but it has died,” Erixson said. “It didn’t end with Brexit
nor did it end with Trump’s skepticism about the EU. It ended far
earlier than that – 15 years ago when France and the Netherlands
voted against the constitutional treaty. This was an early warning
about declining support for anything that suggested a deeper
integration.”
Brussels chose not to
listen then, just as it is choosing not to listen now. The risks are
huge. The so-called populist forces of discontent and opposition may
have been contained for now, but they are still bubbling just below
the surface. And in Italy, where those forces are arguably strongest,
conditions are about to get a whole lot more difficult as the banks
are bailed out and, to pay for it, a new austerity regime is
unveiled.
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