31 Amendments of Nicolae Vlad POPA related to 2008/2248(INI)
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas according to the Article 295 EC, the EC Treaty “shall be withoutin no way prejudice to “the rules in Member States governing the system of property ownership” and whereas the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice has confirmeheld that the competenceat provision merely recognises the power of Member States to define this respect must always be applied in conjunction with the fundamental principles of Community law, such as, the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital (see Case C-119/7e rules governing the system of property ownership and does not exclude any influence whatever of Community law on the exercise of national property rights (see, to that effect, Joined Cases 56/64 and 58/64 Consten and Grundig v Commission [1966] ECR 299, p. 345),
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
Ia. whereas, however, the Court of Justice has consistently held that, while the right of property forms part of the general principles of Community law, it is not an absolute right and must be viewed in relation to its social function and whereas, consequently, its exercise may be restricted, provided that those restrictions in fact correspond to objectives of general interest pursued by the Community and do not constitute a disproportionate and intolerable interference, impairing the very substance of the rights guaranteed (Case C-491/01 British American Tobacco (Investments) and Imperial Tobacco [2002] ECR I-11453),
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I b (new)
Recital I b (new)
Ib. whereas, notwithstanding that case- law, the Court of Justice has consistently held that where national provisions fall outside the scope of Community law, there is no Community jurisdiction to assess the compatibility of those provisions with the fundamental rights whose observance the Court ensures (see, for instance, the order of 06/10/2005 in Case C-328/04 Vajnai [2005] I-8577), paras 12 and 13),
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas the first paragraph of Article 1 of the 1first Additional Protocol to the European Convention on Human rights and Fundamental FreedomsCHR declares that “every natural or legal person is entitled to the peaceful enjoyment of his possessions” wherefore “nand that “[N]o one shall be deprived of his possessions except in the public interest and subject to the conditions provided for by law and by the general principles of international law” and that “the right of a State to enforce such laws as it deems necessary” is limited to the pursuit of the objectives “to control the use of property in accordance with the general interest or to secure the payment of tax; whereas the second paragraph of that article states that “The preceding provisions shall not, however, in any way impair the right of a State to enforce such laws as it deems necessary to control the use of property in accordance with the general interest or to secure the payment of taxes or other contributions or penalties”, and whereas, at the time of ratification of the said Protocol, Spain expressed a Reservation in respect of Article 1 in the light of Article 33 of the Spanish Constitution, which stipulates the following: "The right to private property and to inheritance is recognised. 2. The social function of these rights shall determine their scope, as provided for by law. 3. No person shall be deprived of their property or their rights except for a cause recognised as being in the public interest or other contributions or penalties”;in the interest of society and in exchange for fitting compensation as provided for by law",
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas the European Parliament considers that the obligation to cede legitimately acquired private property without due process and dueproper compensation, and the obligation to pay arbitrary costs for unrequested and often unnecessary infrastructure development would, if proven in a court of law, constitute a violation of an individual’'s humanfundamental rights under the European Convention for the 1 Judgment of 23 September 1998; see also Parliament’s resolution of 21 June 2007 on the results of the fact-CHR and in the light of the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights (see, for instance, Aka v. Turkey1), but considers that there is no link between such compulsory purchase and the fiunding mission to the regions of Andalucía, Valencia and Madrid conducted on behalf of the Committee on Petitions (OJ C 146 E, 12.6.2008, p. 340). Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and in the light of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (see Aka v. Turkey)amental principles of Community law, in particular the right of Union citizens to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States, a right which would not be infringed by such compulsory purchase,
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas in the course of this legislature the Petitions Committee has, based upone current parliamentary term the Committee on Petitions, acting in response to the vaery large number of petitions received, has conducted detailed investigations and, has reported three times on the extent of the alleged abuse of the legitimate rights of European citizens to their legally acquired property in Spain, and has also detailed its concerns in relation to the alleged undermining of sustainable development, environmental protection, water quality and provision, procedures concerning public procurement with regard tof urbanisation contracts and insufficient controla somehow poor control of a part of the urbanisation procedures by many local and regional authorities in Spain,the responsible institutions;
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital M
Recital M
M. whereas there is growing evidence that the judicial authorities in Spain have begun to respond to the challenge resulting from excessive urbanisation in many coastal areas, in particular by investigating and bringing charges to bear against corruptsome local officials who have facilitated, by their actions, unprecedented and unregulatuncontrolled urban developments to the detriment of the rights of European citizens, andthereby damaging irretrievably the bio-diversity and environmental integrity of many regions of Spain; whereas Parliament observes, however, in response to charges that procedures remain outrageously slow and that the sentences passedhanded down in many of these cases are unincapable tof being enforced in a way which provides any satisfaction to the victims of such abuse;, that the proper avenue of appeal is to the Court of Human Rights, once domestic remedies have been exhausted,
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital N
Recital N
N. whereas such widespread activity, supported by irresponsible local and regional authorities through inadequate andstate institutions through sometimes unjustified legislation which in many cases is contrary todoes not serve the objectives of several European legislative acts, has been most damaging toin part negatively modified the image of Spain and to its broader economic and political interests in Europe,
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital O
Recital O
O. whereas regional ombudsman, in very difficult circumstances, have frequently acted to defend the interests of European citizens in cases related to urbanization abusissues, even if their efforts have been generally unheednot constantly been sustained by regional governments,
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P
Recital P
P. whereas the Spanish Constitution in Article 33 makes reference to the rights of individuals to their property, and whereas a fullthere have been different interpretations of this article has never been provided by the Constitutional Court, notably as regards the provision for social use of property in relation to the rights of individuals to their legally acquired homes and dwellings,
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital R
Recital R
R. Observes that the Europeanwhereas the Commission, acting uponpursuant to the powers conferred upon it by the EC Treaty in Article 226, has taken Spain to the EuropeanArticle 226 of the EC Treaty, has brought proceedings against Spain before the Court of Justice in a case which is related toinvolving the excessive urbanizsation abuses which have occurred in Spain and which concerns directly the implementation of the Directive on Public Procurement by the Valencian authorities, 1 Directive 2004/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 on the coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts (OJ L 134, 30.4.2004, p. 114).directly concerns the implementation by the Valencian authorities of the Directive on Public Procurement1, although it is doubted whether there is a sufficient causal relationship between the alleged improper implementation of that Directive and the damage allegedly sustained by the petitioners,
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital T
Recital T
T. notes however, that in many documented cases ofn urbanization abuseproblems in Spain the European Commission has failed to act forcefully enough not only as regards the enforcement of the precautionary principle of environmental law, but also because of its weak interpretation of acts by competent local and regional authorities which have a binding legal effect such as the ‘provisional approval’ of an integrated urban development plan by local authority,
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital V
Recital V
V. whereas successive fact-finding visits by the Petitions CommitteeCommittee on Petitions have shown that these objectives arseem to be frequently grossly misunderstood by manysome of the local and regional authorities (not just in the coastal regions) when proposing or agreeing to extensive urbanizsation programmes; and whereas most urbanizsation plans contested by petitions received involves the reclassification of rural land rustic land into urbanisable land- to the considerablinto land zoned for urbanisation – to the economic benefit of the urbanizingsation agent and the developer; and whereas there are also many instances of protected land , or land which should be protected because of its sensitive biodiversity, being de-listed and re-classified , or not being listed at all, precisely to allow an urbanization of the area concernedfor urbanisation of the area concerned, and whereas, however, it is only by bringing judicial proceedings in the national courts - which are also the first courts of Community law - and, if necessary, in the Court of Human Rights that such grievances can be properly addressed in a State governed by the rule of law,
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital W
Recital W
W. whereas such considerations compound the abuse which is felt by thousands ofmany European citizens who, as a result of the plans of the urbanizing agents, consider that they have not only lost their legitimately acquired property but have been forced to pay the arbitrary cost of unwanted, often unnecessary and unwarranted infrastructure projects directly affecting their property rights, the end result of which has been financial and emotional catastrophe of many families,
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital X
Recital X
X. whereas many thousands ofit is further alleged that many European citizens have, in different circumstances, bought property in Spain in good faith acting with local lawyers, town planners and architects, only to find later that they have become victims of urbanization abuse by unscrupulous local authorities and that as a result, their property faces demolition because their homes have been found to be illegally built and therefore worthless and un-saleable,
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital X a (new)
Recital X a (new)
Xa. whereas the only means of obtaining redress in such cases is to bring legal proceedings before the national courts, which alone have jurisdiction over such matters,
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital Y
Recital Y
Y. whereas the natural Mediterranean island and coastal areas of Spain have suffered extensive destrucmodifications in the last decade as cement and concrete hasve saturated these regions in a way which has impacted not only the fragilon the coastal environment – much of which is nominally protected under the Habitats/Natura 2000 and Birds Directives – but also on theand on social and cultural activity of many areas which constitutes a tragic and irretrievable loss tochanging their cultural identity and heritage as well as to their environmental integrity , and all this primarily because of the greed and speculative behaviour of some local authorities and members of the construction industry who have succeeded in deriving massive benefits , most of which has been exported,
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital Z
Recital Z
Z. whereas the building industry, having profited excessivelygrowing profits during the years of rapid economic expansion has become a primary causality of the current collapse of the financial markets itself partly provoked by speculative ventures in the housing sector, and whereas this not only affects the companies themselves who now face bankruptcy but also the tens of thousands of workers in the building industry who now face unemployment because of the unsustainable urbanization policies which were pursued and from which they now have also become victims,
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls upon the competent regional authorities to declare a moratorium onreview and control all new urbanization plans which do not respect the stricttake into consideration the criteria of environmental sustainability and social responsibility and which do not guarantee the respect for the rightful ownership of legitimately acquired property in compliance with the Spanish Constitution; and to halt and cancel all existing developments where criteria contained in EU law, notably as regards the award of urbanization contracts and respect for water and environmental provisions, have not been respected or applied;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. UrgWelcomes the competent national and regional authorities to establish functional judicial and administrative mechanisms, involving the regional ombudsman, which are given the authority to provide means of redress and of compensation for the victims of urbanization abuse for citizens and residents who have suffered underefforts made by the Spanish judicial authorities and calls on aggrieved parties to seek redress in the courts, in particular by challenging the constitutionality of the provisions of existing legislation such as the Ley Reguladora de la Actividad Urbanística and the Ley Urbanística Valenciana if they consider that the application of those laws has violated their fundamental rights;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Requests the competent financial and commercial bodies concerned with the construction and urbanization industry to actively participate with the political authorities in the searchto seek for solutions to the existingwith regard to the problems, resulting from massive and unsustainconsiderable urbanization, which haves affected hundreds of thousands ofnumerous European citizens who have chosen to take advantage of the provisions of the EU-Treaty and who have taken up their rights of establishment under Article 44, in an EUROPEAN member state which is not their country of origin;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Points out that, if aggrieved parties fail to obtain satisfaction in the Spanish courts, they will have to appeal to the Court of Human Rights, given that the alleged violations of the fundamental right to property do not come within the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls upon the Commission, at the same time, to ensure the strict respect for the application of Community law and of the objectives contained in the Directives covered by this report and to be more exigent with the Spanish authorities when it appears that manysome of the local authorities are not fulfilling their obligations to EU citizens;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Expresses its concern and dismay that the legal and judicial authorities in Spain have shown themselves to be largely ill- prepared and inadequateencountered difficulties in dealing with the impact of massive urbanization on peoples` lives, as is witnessed by thousands or representations received by the European Parliament and its responsible committee on this issue;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Believes, nevertheless, that if lack of clarity, precision and certainty relating to individual property rights in existing legislation, and the lack of theany proper and consistent application of environmental law is, are the root cause of many problems related to urbanism and that this, related to aation, combined with a certain laxity in the judicial process, has not only compounded the problem but has also generated a endemic form of corruption where, once again, the European citizen is the primary victim, but where the Spanish state has also lost considerably and compounded by corruption, aggrieved citizens’ only remedies are to press the competent Spanish authorities to change the law and enforce it better and, if necessary, to go to law;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Pays tribute to, and fully supports, the activities the regional ombudsman- `syndic de greuges`-and their staff, as well as to more assiduous investigating magistrates- `fiscal` - who have done an enormousconsiderable amount in the recent period to restore the integrity of some ofcorrect procedures concerning this case by the institutions affected by this issue;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Praises also, the activity of the petitioners, their associations and the local community associations, involving these issues to the attention of the European Parliament and who have been instrumental in safeguarding the fundamental rights of their neighbours and of all those affected by this enormous and complex problem;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Recalls, also that the Commission is empowered by Article 91 of Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 empowers the European Commission,1 to interrupt the payment of structural funding, and by Article 92 to suspend such funding to a mMember sState or region concerned, and to establish corrections in relation to projects in receipt of funding which are subsequently may be deemed not to have fully respectedcomplied with the rules governing the application of relevant EU legislative acts; notes, however, that the Commission has not exercised this power;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Reiterates its conclusions of past resolutions by calling into question the methods of designation of urbanizing agents, and the frequently excessive powers often given to town planners and property developanner in which some of the urbanizing agents, town planners and property developers are given considerable amount of powers by certain local authorities at the expense of communities and the citizens who have their homes in the area;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. UrgeCalls once again, on local authorities to consult their citizens and involve them in urban development projects in order to encourage more acceptable and sustainablea fair and transparent urban development where this is necessary, in the interest of local communities and not in the sole interest of property developers, estate agents and other vested interests;