Labour's Michael Cashman, who has been battling Spain's so-called "landgrab" rules for years,

Spanish laws which have shattered the holiday and retirement home dreams of thousands of Britons must be suspended pending a full EU investigation, a Euro-MP claims.Labour's Michael Cashman, who has been battling Spain's so-called "landgrab" rules for years, said he would pursue the issue to the European Court of Human Rights if necessary.He was speaking as expatriates whose Spanish homes have been demolished and land seized without compensation told their tales to a committee of MEPs in Brussels.The problems began in 1994 when Valencia's regional government introduced rules to boost low-cost housing for locals.
But unscrupulous developers have exploited a loophole which allows them to target property and land owned by foreigners to make way for urban housing schemes - with the expatriates forced to pay their share of installing roads, electricity and other services.Thousands of British, German and Dutch citizens have been browbeaten into ceding part of their gardens - or in extreme cases their entire property - and are now fighting for compensation.Mr Cashman said: "People were assured that deeds to their property were legal as advised by local lawyers, developers and officials. Now because of a combination of corruption and interpretation of new property laws, these people are facing ruin."Homes will either be demolished or people are now being asked to pay even more money for water and electricity supplies, which they were assured their property, would receive."
Now MEPs say the European Commission must step in and uphold the rights of citizens.
Mr Cashman said: "We want a moratorium on any more landgrab decisions and a moratorium on any further demolitions of people's houses. The alternative is to go to the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights."

Posted in: European Commission