Brussels, 03/08/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 3 August, EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding welcomed the efforts being made by Spain both to protect its coast and to improve legal certainty for property owners, both national and foreign, along the coast. “The Spanish Government is right to protect Spain's beautiful coastline and I applaud the care it is now taking to do so in a way that improves legal certainty and due process for citizens who own property on the Spanish coast or who are thinking of doing so”, she said in a press release. She calls on everyone with an interest in this issue to look at the draft law, which is seeking a balance between protecting the environment and the rights of property owners in protected areas, to understand what these changes would mean and to make any necessary comments.
The Spanish Coastal Law (Ley de Costas) affects many European citizens. Some 2.3 million non-Spanish EU nationals reside in Spain, making up 5% of the population of the country: this includes around 367,000 British, 238,000 Germans, 225,000 French, 99,000 Italians, 52,000 Dutch and 17,000 Irish. A summary of the draft law is available in English on the website of the Spanish Ministry for Environment: http://www.magrama.gob.es/en/costas/temas/anteproyecto.aspx (MB/transl.rt)