18th March - Spain approves euthanasia law, becoming the fifth country in the world to regulate the practice.
Spain has today joined the likes of the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Canada, becoming one of the first countries in the world to regulate euthanasia. The legislation will come into force in three months.
Unlike other laws in force elsewhere, however, the Spanish legislation sets out a series of steps that could see the process take up to a month from the moment the patient requests it. This begins with a written request submitted twice over the space of two weeks. In it, the patient must express their clear will to end their life, and they must have been supplied with information about their medical condition and the alternatives that are available to them. Once the process has begun, the patient may change their mind at any time, and once they have received authorization, they can delay its application as long as they want.
Spanish approves euthanasia law
Once the second request has been made, the patient’s doctor must pass the request on to the corresponding regional commission, which will appoint two professionals with no connection to the case for its analysis. The commission will then approve or reject the decision reached by these two specialists. The law does not set out the composition of this commission, which will be determined by each region, apart from it having at least seven people and including medical, legal and nursing experts. The commission has 19 days to reply to a request.
18th December - Spanish Congress approves first euthanasia bill with broad majority - After decades of social debate, Spain will regulate the right to a dignified death.
In a historic vote, Spain’s lower house of parliament on Thursday 17th Dec gave majority backing to the country’s first euthanasia law.
The bill regulating the right to a dignified death attracted cross-party support and was approved on first reading with 198-138 votes and two abstentions. It will now go to the Senate, and if no amendments are introduced, it could go into effect in the early months of 2021. This would make Spain the sixth country in the world to recognize this right after the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Canada and New Zealand. In Switzerland, assisted suicide “from non-selfish motives” is legal.
The law will allow people suffering from a serious, incurable condition to request and receive assistance to end their lives. The petition must be made on four occasions and be backed by medical reports, and healthcare workers will retain their right to conscientious objection. After the procedure is approved by an evaluating committee, the patient must give final consent again. Supporters said these provisions guarantee that euthanasia will be an option but never an imposition as its detractors have claimed.
The text of the bill talks about “serious, chronic and debilitating conditions or serious, incurable diseases causing intolerable suffering” as valid causes for requesting life-ending assistance. While the document does not use the term “assisted suicide,” it contemplates “the direct administration to a patient of a substance by the relevant healthcare professional,” in other words euthanasia, or “supplying a patient with a substance that can be self-administered to cause death,” meaning medically assisted suicide. The procedure may be carried out at public or private health centers, or at the patient’s home, according to the bill.
Surveys show a majority of Spaniards to be in favour of regulating the right to die.
In recent years, the Congress of Deputies had refused to legislate on this matter on up to four occasions.
Dozens of protesters gathered to fight against the bill while brandishing skull and crossbones flags and a banner reading “Government of death”.
One of the protesters said the law “goes against all principles”.
Anti-euthanasia protesters in front of Congress on Thursday, photo credit
Who can ask for it
You have to "have Spanish nationality or legal residence in Spain or certificate of birth certificate that proves a time of stay in Spanish territory longer than 12 months, be of legal age and be able and conscious at the time of application", says the law. If the person does not meet the requirement to be aware, it may apply to him if he has "previously signed an instruction document, living will, advance wills or legally recognized equivalent documents, in which case the provision of aid to die may be facilitated in accordance with the provisions of that document. If you have appointed a representative in that document, you will be the valid interlocutor for the responsible physician." If there is a living will, but it does not appoint a legal representative, "the responsible physician may submit the application for euthanasia". As seen, unlike the laws of the Netherlands and Belgium, minors are not included. As they are adults, it is not included that you need to consult your environment.
Please note the above has been translated from Spanish to English, read the original version here
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March 2022 - Inspectors from the Valencian government tourist department carried out 300 operations to detect illegally rented out tourist property rentals in 2021, and also registered 5,276 new properties that came up to the required standards of safety, cleanliness and suitability, 3,608 of these were in the province of Alicante, which includes Benidorm. it is vital when booking a holiday let, to ensure that the property is properly registered with the tourist authorities, as if not....There is often no comeback if things go wrong.
2019 - Turisme Comunitat Valenciana will hire a specialized external company to increase inspections on the offer of Illegal Property Rentals in the Valencian Community.
The director general of Tourism (Herick Campos) has revealed that his department has already begun the efforts to outsource this work, which will focus its search on social networks, web pages and applications.
The company that is hired will be specialized in this type of search "with the objective of locating Illegal Property Rentals, irregular apartments and accommodation in general"
"We already do that inspection," Campos said, but "we will increase it and verify that they meet the quality standards and that they pay the taxes that correspond to them according to their income, whether they are companies or individuals."
The director general of Tourism has justified the measure because " we have the staff we have and the easiest way is outsourcing."
Campos has indicated that the number of inspections has also increased thanks to agreements with regional and local police, and awareness campaigns .
In addition, he has detailed that the number of inspectors on which there were in 2015 has been increased "because we are aware that these accommodations damage our product , our destinations and quality, and it is also unfair because they do not contribute taxes."
Please note this article has been translated from Spanish, some details may have been slightly lost in this translation... Read the original at www.diarioinformacion.com
Have you rented a Illegal Holiday Apartment?
Illegal Apartment rental – Did you give copies of your passport to the agent on check in and fill out a police form? If not then report them to the local police as it’s a legal requirement.
If you book any apartment or agency apartment they have to have a license number, this should be clearly visible on any form of advertising.... if not it’s illegal.
You must by law hand over your passport on arrival and this information is then submitted to the police within 24 hours. Don’t book unless you have checked the company is in the Touristico approved agents list and the apartment has a registered number so it meets a minimum standard of safety and comfort if not there are massive fines for the owner.
Details on the rules that came out in July 2018 with regards to Registering your property for Holiday Rental can be found HERE
Brits in EU risk losing UK bank accounts. Tens of thousands of British expats who live in Europe run the risk of having their UK bank accounts closed 'in weeks' due to post-Brexit rules.
Lloyds, Barclays and Coutts are among the UK banks starting to give notice to expats to warn their accounts will be closed at 11pm on December 31.
The government has not yet negotiated post-Brexit banking rules so the current regulations will not apply. Stalemate between Britain and Europe in ongoing talks over Brexit has left it a "bureaucratic nightmare" for UK banks to provide services to Brits living abroad.
Banks are making their own decisions as to which EU countries to pull out of and which to continue operating in.
Brits in EU risk losing UK bank accounts
The Treasury has however urged banks to treat customers "fairly" and said pulling accounts is a "commercial decision".
Lloyds Bank confirmed that it will be withdrawing services from Holland, Slovakia, Germany, Ireland, Italy and Portugal - in a move that will affect 13,000 British customers. The bank, which is Britain's biggest banking group, started writing to its customers living in these countries since August, telling them that their UK bank accounts would be shut on December 31st.
“If customers have regular deposits into, or payments out of, their account, they will need to make other arrangements before their account is closed," the bank said.
Barclays also confirmed bank and credit-card customers living in the EU are being warned their accounts may be closed. Customers living in Spain, France and Belgium have received notice their Barclaycards will be cancelled on November 16th
Coutts also confirmed it will be no longer serve customers based in the EU, and told Brits they will have to make "alternative arrangements"
Nationwide says 5,000 accounts belonging to overseas Britons will close, leaving them in financial limbo.
Natwest and Santander have said they currently do not have plans to shut down accounts, but are "considering their options".
Brits in EU risk losing UK bank accounts
Upon the completion of Brexit and the UK's departure from the EU, it will become illegal for UK banks to provide for British customers living the EU without applying for new banking licences.
The government has failed to negotiate post-Brexit banking rules and so pan-European banking rules, known as passporting, will no longer apply to these customers.
Rather than negotiate the specific banking rules of 27 member states, which has been described as a 'bureaucratic nightmare', some banks are closing their customer's accounts.
In a statement, the Treasury said: 'We expect banks to treat their customers fairly and provide timely communications to enable them to make appropriate decisions.'
'However, the provision of banking services is a commercial decision for firms based on a variety of factors, including the local law and regulation of specific EEA countries.'
"In some cases, continuing to serve customers would be incredibly complex, extremely expensive and very time-consuming, and simply would not make economic sense.
"This is passporting — this is the reality of Brexit.”
The above has been reported in many UK newspapers.
What should I do if my account's being closed?
British expats often choose to keep a UK account open if they receive a pension, salary or other income in pounds, as many non-UK accounts have fees or poor exchange rates for converting pounds into local currency.
If your bank's told you it's closing your account and you want to keep it, there are a few things you can try:
Check with your current bank if there's any way of appealing the closure. In most cases, this won't be possible as you'll need a UK residential address to keep the account and it's likely this will need to be your main residential address. But it may be worth checking with the bank what, if any, options you have, depending on your circumstances – for instance, if you do have a suitable UK address that meets the bank's requirements, which might be a solution.
Switch to another UK bank instead (though this comes with a risk). It's worth checking which other UK banks are still operating in the country you live in – some may let you open a new UK account without needing to go into a branch in the UK.
The big warning here is that even if you can open a new account with another UK bank, it is always possible it could later decide to close expat accounts – But if you need a UK bank account and can't keep your own, this may still be your best option.
See if you can use a local bank. An alternative may be to open an account with a bank in the country you live in, though you'll need to check if you can still receive payments you were getting into your UK account and also factor in fees. A UK state pension, for example, can be paid into an overseas bank account, but the money you get will be subject to currency conversion.
Believe it or not, Benidorm has not been recognised by the national government as a tourist town, however, yesterday it was announced that the regional government in Valencia has at last granted recognition to Benidorm as a Tourist Municipality which should mean some extra funds.
Benidorm has now been given the autonomous recognition of tourist municipality, a distinction that at the state level has not been granted to the city and that has become a historical claim. With recognition, Benidorm is the first locality to have this category in the regional framework, under the guidelines that marks the statute published in January.
This distinction will mean for the tourist capital the arrival of additional economic resources, coming from the autonomic coffers. The purpose of these transfers is to compensate localities recognized for their efforts to withstand sporadic population increases during periods of greatest influx of visitors. (the town has approximately 70,000 on its census, but can have 400,000 people using its infrastructures at busy times)
The mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez, pointed out yesterday after announcing the recognition, that it is not yet known when those resources will arrive or the amount to which they will ascend.
Pérez recalls that "Benidorm already had this distinction", however the entry into force of the Law on Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality of the Valencian Community of 2018 was a variation in the parameters that must be met by the localities that aspire to have the consideration of "Tourist Municipality". The Law dates back to 2018, however, it was not until January of this year that the Statute of Recognition of Tourist Municipality of the Valencian Community was issued.
Once the guiding document was released, the Benidorm City Council launched the machinery to request recognition. Thus, on 24 February 2020, the plenary approved of the application which yesterday became a reality for the city.
Photo by David Revenga
Toni Pérez believes that in this recognition they have influenced efforts to make the city the first certified Smart Tourist Destination in the world, as well as the implementation of concepts such as collaborative governance with compliance with the SDS and the 2030 Agenda.
The mayor explained that, although the Regulation does not ensure a specific procedure for determining the amount to be awarded, 'it does point to two avenues of compensation: through a convention or through specific lines to be regulated through a cooperation fund'. On this point he points out that "we are waiting for the economic endowment with the longing that is sufficient"
It also recalls that 'Benidorm stopped receiving these funds in 2014' and hopes that this agreement will 'dilute which line it will be addressed' because 'our expenditures have increased a great deal by 2020'. In that line, it states that 'a heading for the 2020 financial year could already be counted in the Budgets of the Generalitat'.
Even without knowing when these compensations will arrive, the first Benidorm building went ahead that the funds will be earmarked to cover expenses arising from tourist offices, maintenance and conservation of resources, police and citizen security, road cleaning, quality in destination and collaborative governance, urban furniture, orientation to the intelligent tourist destination and tourist planning of the city.
Benidorm receives recognition as a Tourist Municipality
First stage
One of the great outstanding points of the State with Benidorm is its recognition as a tourist municipality, although it is also true that in the regional field this city has always been granted a place of privilege in this sector. Thus, since the Generalitat, explains the mayor, "in 2000, Benidorm was recognized under Law 3/1998, 20 years ago now". It was that, he said, "a law that first entrusted the organisation and tourist regulations of the Community."
In that regard, Pérez noted yesterday that 'at the time, the regional legislature was aware of the important municipal component of Tourism' since a large majority of services are provided with a momentous impact on the competitiveness and commercialization of the sector, therefore that law, points out, 'established figures compensatory to financial effort' and services.
In May 2000, he recalls, Benidorm was declared a Tourist Municipality and "the city has since benefited from these compensatory mechanisms and has been entering into agreements that from 2000 to 2015 reported more than 9 million euros". Now you've retrieved this statement.
Please note this story has been translated from Spanish to English so some detail may be lost in this translation. Read the original story here at DiarioInformacion
Love Holidays also now resign from ABTA
17th Sept
Love Holidays has followed On the Beach in resigning from the leading travel trade association.
Both are unhappy about Abta’s insistence on full refunds for package holidaymakers booked to destinations such as Portugal that are placed on the UK government’s no-go list.
A spokesperson for Love Holidays said:
“The Covid-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented challenges for holidaymakers, which have been exacerbated by frequent changes in travel guidance issued by the UK government.
The current package travel legislation was never designed to deal with disruption on the scale we have seen since March 2020.
On the Beach online travel agency has resigned its membership, taking its Sunshine.co.uk brand with it.
The UK’s leading online travel agent (OTA) On the Beach has resigned from Abta over the association’s policy on refunding customers when the Foreign Office advises against travel to a destination.
The Abta board affirmed the association’s longstanding policy that Foreign Office (FCDO) advice against all but essential travel requires members to cancel bookings and offer customers full refunds last month.
It did so after On the Beach and two other OTAs declined to refund customers the flight element of package bookings to Spain unless the airline had cancelled the flight and made a refund.
A spokesperson for On the Beach said: “The travel industry is facing unprecedented challenges, and changes are inevitable as businesses and trade organisations adapt.
“On the Beach has been an Abta member since 2004, however the current circumstances have presented difficult decisions and different legal interpretations on complex matters.
“As of late last week, On the Beach and Sunshine.co.uk have informed Abta that they will resign their memberships.”
“On the Beach and Sunshine.co.uk package holidays continue to be financially protected by the Atol scheme and our ring-fenced trust account.”
A spokesperson for Abta said: “We’re sorry On the Beach has resigned as a member following ongoing discussions about refunds due to customers when the Foreign Office advice changes to advise against all or all but essential travel to a destination.
“We recognise that the widespread imposition of advisories against travel places many Abta members under enormous pressure regarding refunds.
“But Abta has consistently maintained that the underlying obligation to refund remains, as has been the longstanding practice of the travel industry, and this has not changed as a result of Covid-19.
“Abta believes this is important to ensure consumer confidence in the package holiday market.”
In a statement to customers in August, On the Beach chief executive Simon Cooper said: “Abta is an industry body of which membership for travel businesses is not mandatory.
“It is not a regulator or a lawmaker. Industry practice, mainly driven by Abta’s historic guidance, has been to treat the FCO [advice] as a trigger for full cancellation and refund rights for customers.
“Industry practice is not law. It is something which can and should change and evolve over time and should certainly change in response to this highly unusual situation.”
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Both companies are still ATOL Protected
What does an Atol protected holiday mean?
By law, every UK travel company that sells package holidays and flights is required to hold an Atol certificate, which stands for Air Travel Organiser’s Licence.
If a travel company with an Atol certificate ceases trading, the scheme protects customers who have booked package holidays with the firm, making sure they don't get stranded abroad or end up out of pocket.
It's designed to reassure consumers that their money is safe, and it helps customers if their travel agent goes bust
Atol protection doesn't apply if you buy your flights directly from your airline.
And flight-only bookings through a travel agent are not always protected under the scheme - so make sure you always ask.