EUROPE IS GREAT!

ONCE the dust has settled and the full implications of the demise of residencias becomes clear I think we can safely say “that we've never had it so good.” Judging by the various points raised in the official communique from the Spanish government the need for any sort of paper-work in Spain will diminish greatly. In other words your passport will be enough for most people. I am sure that those of us who work will still have to obtain some other form of paper-work apart from our passport, but this is a personal opinion and one which I have not seen printed on any official documents. For those moving to the island to work or just reside things will be much easier. Those who already live here can also contemplate the future with added confidence because this new legislation is aimed at us, the Europeans, and to make our life easier. That is the whole object of the exercise as demanded by Brussels. The process is already far easier than it was, and we can look forward to further improvements. The Spanish government wants to make our life here as easy as possible and I would like to congratulate them for this. It gave me great pleasure to produce Tuesday's front-page with the announcement because, as an expat, I know from personal experience how testing, demanding and worrying the whole process can be. Also, almost overnight those EU expatriates who could never be bothered to legalise their situation, will find themselves in a far better position. Is it good news? Well of course it is, any attempt to make our situation easier is naturally good news. Thank you Spain and thank you Europe. European Union may have some rather unsavoury aspects but if you are a European living in another European country it does make life a lot easier.