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Palma.—Angie Guerrero, the Calvia Council lor for the International Community and the Deputy Mayor of Calvia, Esperanza Catala, held talks with representatives for the Central Government, the National Police and the Immigration department in Palma yesterday but it appears that Guerrero has a fight on her hands. “They turned up with a six-strong delegation and were very understanding and pleasant. They listened carefully as we put our point across that British residents in Calvia, Majorca, the Balearics and across Spain want to see the return of the old residencia ID card with a photograph for practical reasons. “But, according to the Central Government team, in accordance with an European Union initiative, EU identification cards are considered valid forms of ID in Spain, hence there are no plans to restore the residencia card.

Reduced in size “The green paper is being reduced in size so that it easier to carry in a wallet but, as we pointed out time and time again - the British do not have ID cards, something few of the delegation seem to be aware of - and that carrying around a passport is an uncomfortable and dangerous procedure. “We also explained that in the UK, new driving licenses, which carry a photograph, are accepted as ID, although it is very rarely that ID is required to be shown in the UK on a daily basis hence why the Britons would feel more comfortable with the card being reinstated,” Angie Guerrero said yesterday. “What is more, I stressed that losing or having your passport stolen is a serious problem for British citizens and an expensive one to resolve,” she added. “I have to admit, it was not a great start but I'm not giving up. I intend to fight on for the thousands of foreign residents who want the card back. “Yesterday, for example, I was contacted by people in Minorca and Ibiza who wanted to know how the talks went and where we can go from here. “This problem is clearly not going to go away and will not let it drop.
Under the carpet “I will be having another meeting with the Mayor of Calvia today and I will press him on taking up the issue again with the President of the Balearics, Jose Ramon Bauza, who has said that he would look into resolving this problem,” Guerrero said. “We're not going to let this matter be brushed under the carpet and I intend to fight all the way,” she warned.