Alicante & Castellon Tarragona & Valencia. See anyone you Know?
Maintaining Spanish Property
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Written by Samantha Kett
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Page 1 of 3 Inflation rises for the first time in months
INFLATION went up last month for the first time last month as a result of food, non-alcoholic drinks, gas and packaged holidays going up in price.
The increase in the costs of cigarettes and alcohol also contributed to the IPCA – Spain's answer to the retail prices index – increasing from 1.5 per cent to 1.9 per cent.
Although combined with the IVA rise of July 1, this could lead to households being forced to spend more, it is a sign that the recession is abating since Spain was in deflation until recently as a result of the economic crisis.
More autonomy for teachers in state schools
TEACHERS will have more authority to discipline kids and decide on teaching methods in state schools, the regional government has decided this month.
A new law – the draft of which was approved in Parliament at the end of July – will mean that teachers in state schools have far more autonomy than those in private schools.
The latter only have a certain level of authority to make decisions related to disciplining of children who misbehave.
But teachers in state-run schools will also be allowed to make decisions concerning how to teach certain subjects and how to correct both work and behaviour.
The law will recognise that teachers in state schools are treated in the same manner as 'any other public authority'.
Economy grows for second quarter running
SPAIN'S president, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, says the economy grew more in the second quarter of 2010 than in the first quarter.
Up to March, the economy grew by just 0.1 per cent of the country's GNP, but this is still positive news, says Zapatero.
“For the second quarter running, the economy has grown and we've managed to keep this rhythm going,” he announced last week.
As yet, the growth for the period from April to June has not been calculated, but provisional figures suggest it is higher than in the first quarter of 2010.
“But the main challenge for Spain as a nation is going to be recovering the growth in employment,” Zapatero continued.
He said the higher number of small and medium enterprises in Catalunya meant this region would see even more positive results from the controversial labour reform.
Additionally, the president wants to make it obligatory for all financial institutions to make their solvency levels public.
“This transparency will allow the financial markets to work out, with sufficient accuracy, the situation of the Spanish banking market and its level of resistance in the face of adverse conditions,” explained Zapatero.
Despite suffering from some of the worst unemployment figures and state deficit in the whole of Europe, Spain has not had to step in to prevent any of its banks from going under.
Increase in 'legal' foreign workers last month
THE number of foreign workers 'going legal' increased by over 16,000 in June, reveals the Social Security office.
They say there are now nearly 1.9 million non-Spanish workers – both employed and self-employed – who are 'on the system' and either paying their own social security every month or having it paid by an employer.
This translates to an increase of 0.86 per cent on figures in May this year.
However, the number has dropped considerably since June 2009, when some 30,277 more people were on the social security system.
In other words, the year-on-year figures have fallen by 1.57 per cent.
Drop in tourist numbers blamed on volcanic ash
NUMBERS of tourists travelling to Spain fell in the first half of this year, reports the ministry of industry, commerce and tourism.
Although possibly partially due to the recession, the ministry attributes the drop of 1.8 per cent in holidaymaker figures to the ash cloud that left flights grounded when Iceland's Eyjäfjällajøkull volcano erupted in the early part of 2010.
In total, 23 million tourists visited the country in the first six months of this year.
But during the weeks when European airspace was shut, the number of holidaymakers travelling to the country dropped by 13 per cent.
A year-on-year increase was seen in June of 1.7 per cent, however, following May's increase of 1.1 per cent.
This leads the tourist authority to believe that it was the volcanic eruption that caused traveller numbers to fall rather than the economic crisis.
State of emergency over forest fire risk
THE Comunidad Valenciana is on red-alert over the risk of forest first this summer.
As a result of the influx of vehicles over August, due to the summer holidays, a state of emergency has been declared and any type of fire in the open – including barbecues and paellas – has been banned in all three provinces.
Forestry brigades and firefighters are on maximum alert and ready to drop everything and rush to the scene of any fire at a moment's notice.
The ministry has warned the public not to smoke when walking through rural areas, nor to throw cigarette butts or matches from car windows or let off any king of fireworks or firecrackers.
Anyone who starts a forest fire – even accidentally – could face a massive fine and a prison sentence.
Euribor rises for first time in 18 months
THE Euribor went up again in July by 1.417 per cent, which will mean a very slight increase in monthly mortgage payments.
It means that the gradual fall in mortgages now appears to be at an end, after 18 months of the Eurozone's interest rate having fallen consecutively.
At the close of July, the rate stood at 1.373 per cent.
Manhunt for British killer on Costa del Sol
A WANTED British killer is on the run after reportedly murdering an Irish holidaymaker in Benalmádena (Málaga).
The Dublin-born dad of two, Mr O'Neill, was shot in front of his friends and his partner on the terrace of a bar in Benalmádena last Wednesday.
Police say the 40-year-old had travelled to the Costa del Sol for a friend's wedding, and was shot whilst attempting to resolve an argument.
The brawl began when British-born Darren O'Flaherty started banging forcefully on the door of a cubicle in the men's toilets.
After he was ordered to leave the premises, O'Flaherty, 35, reportedly returned with a .38-calibre pistol and fired five or six shots in and around the bar.
Mr O'Neill was killed instantly as a result of a shot in his back, after which O'Flaherty fled the scene.
The Liverpool-born killer is wanted by British police after fleeing the country to avoid prison for kidnapping and robbery offences.
Police in the UK say the accused threatened a lorry-driver with a knife for several hours back in 2006, after stopping him on a motorway in North Yorkshire.
O'Flaherty then reportedly drove the victim to Liverpool and stole the contents of the lorry, mostly electrical goods, and loaded these into a warehouse.
Next, he drove the victim and his lorry back to Skelmersdale (Lancashire) before releasing the driver and setting the vehicle alight.
It is thought that O'Flaherty had been living in a rented apartment in Benalmádena with a girlfriend, although nobody has seen either party since the shoot-out.
UK officers are in close contact with police on the Costa del Sol and anyone who may have information about the murder or the killer's whereabouts is asked to contact their nearest police station.
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