European Property Rights and Wrongs - Diana Wallis MEP
European Property Rights and Wrongs - Diana Wallis MEP
European Property Rights and Wrongs - Diana Wallis MEP
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
vouring measures such as freezing EU Regional Development funding streams to<br />
Spain if sufficient progress were not made on tackling the urbanisations problem.<br />
Political reality has meant that funding streams have not been affected, although<br />
some groups continue to lobby for this approach. The Andalucían government at<br />
the time rejected the findings <strong>and</strong> criticised the report as biased. The Opinion note<br />
to the report prepared by the Committee on Legal Affairs takes a narrow view of<br />
the legal basis for the EU to intervene noting that “…the Spanish authorities act<br />
in pursuance of the Spanish Constitution <strong>and</strong> laws enacted <strong>and</strong> pursuant to the<br />
relevant provision of the Constitution. The fact that some of the people affected<br />
by the measures in question were Union citizens who had exercised on of the<br />
freedoms granted by the Treaty has no bearing on the matter. The proper means<br />
of seeking redress is through the Spanish courts <strong>and</strong> ultimately, once all domestic<br />
remedies have been exhausted, the Court of Human <strong>Rights</strong> at Strasbourg.” 15<br />
The lobbying group AUAN (Abusos Urbanisticos Almanzora NO!) brought a<br />
petition in 2011 claiming breach of fundamental rights of the Treaty <strong>and</strong> Charter<br />
of the EU as they were not able to enjoy free movement of persons <strong>and</strong> capital<br />
due to the effect of local planning laws affecting the value of their property. The<br />
value of the Petitions Committee process is that they are able to hear evidence<br />
from those directly affected by the issues who can speak in person to the <strong>MEP</strong>s,<br />
on this occasion they were able to hear evidence from Helen Prior whose home<br />
was demolished in 2008 by the Andalucian regional government <strong>and</strong> has become<br />
a prominent spokesperson on the issues in Andalucia. The Petitions Committee<br />
can make recommendations to the Commission <strong>and</strong> Committees responsible,<br />
where appropriate, as a result of information gathered <strong>and</strong> evidence heard.<br />
The <strong>European</strong> Court of Justice recently ruled on one aspect of the LUV laws;<br />
that of competition law in public procurement. They found that there was no<br />
infringement of competition regulations in the cases presented. Activists were<br />
aiming to take a direct hit at the laws themselves, however following the opinion<br />
of the Advocate General in September 2010, the competency of the Court was<br />
restricted to the competition points 16 .<br />
15 (A6-0082/2009) p31<br />
16 Opinion of the advocate general Jääskinen delivered on 16 September 2010<br />
(C-306/08)<br />
22<br />
<strong>European</strong> <strong>Property</strong> <strong>Wrongs</strong>