Barcelona District Set to Trial Universal Income Scheme Worth €13 million

Barcelona District Set to Trial Universal Income Scheme Worth €13 million

People remain divided on the issue of a universal basic income. Many people feel that the idea is impractical. Switzerland recently held a referendum on introducing universal basic income – which would see every adult in the country receive money from the government each month – but the plan was rejected.

The idea lives on however, as one of the poorer regions of Barcelona is to begin a trial scheme where people on the brink of the bread line are given government grants.

The pilot scheme will roll out in the Besós district of the city. €13 million has been set aside for the scheme by the EU. The scheme will look into creative and innovative solutions to the problem of urban property. Barcelona is just one region trialling the new approach. Also getting involved are Helsinki in Finland and Utrecht in the Netherlands.

The grants are going to be available for two years, with the money going to some of the poorest people in Besós. The participants will be randomly chosen from 1,000 households with the lowest income for the district. These participants will be given between €400 and €525 per month.

There are four separate groups in all. The program officials are analysing the four groups living in the area to understand how they spend the money and how they can improve on the idea of providing funding to impoverished areas.

The people selected to participate in the program are also expected to participate in schemes looking to find long-term employment and will be expected to join social inclusion projects. The aim of the program is ascertaining what kind of difference can be made to people in low-income housing after their basic cost of living is taken care of for them.

Barcelona City Hall is looking to monitor the kind of impact the scheme will have after guaranteeing the right to housing for these people. The scheme is intended to revolutionise the current fight against urban poverty, taking it to new places.

It aims to see how poverty can be reduced by providing universal economic support alongside access to a range of services including housing, education, community participation, and working.

The ultimate aim is to create an efficient welfare state not just in Spain, but across the whole EU. The people behind the scheme deserve a round of applause for coming up with such an innovative method of reaching out to the poor people of Spain and finding new ways to understand them and their situation.

Over €2 Billion Invested Into Spain Through Golden Visa Scheme in Three Years

Over €2 Billion Invested Into Spain Through Golden Visa Scheme in Three Years

The introduction of the Golden Visa has been very sucessful

The Golden Visa in Spain – introduced to attract wealthy non-EU investors to the country in 2013 – has generated €2.16 billion for the country in a little over three years, according to the latest official government data.

Around 27,301 residency permits were granted by the government following the 2013 introduction of the Golden Visa.

The Golden Visa gives individuals and their families residence in Spain in return for them investing large sums of money. The minimum investment depends on the form of investment; including a minimum of €2 million invested in treasury bonds, €1 million in deposits or stocks, or a minimum of €500,000 in the Spanish property industry.

It won’t come as much surprise that the majority of the investments were made in real estate – both in residential and commercial property – as 72% of the €2.16 billion generated by the scheme went to the property market.

As far as the actual number of Golden Visas go, there have only been 12,891 issued. The amount of residency permits is much higher, as the wealthy individuals getting Golden Visas also secured residency for their families.

In terms of nationality, the Chinese and the Russians are the main ones taking advantage of Golden Visas, with 60% of all investors coming from these two nations.

China was ahead of the pack with 714 Chinese nationals getting their hands on Golden Visas since they were introduced. Some €716 million was invested by Chinese nationals in Spanish property, business ventures, and financial assets.

Russians invested €567 million themselves, for a total of 685 Golden Visas.

It took a while for the Golden Visa system to really get started. Only 530 took Spain up on their offer during the first year. The Spanish government made the Golden Visa more attractive in 2015 by allowing for direct family members – such as spouses, children, and elderly relatives – to be included on the visa. The residency period allowed by the visa was also extended to 5 years, up from 2.

The data from the Spanish government shows that over 1,700properties were purchased under Golden Visas. Around half of these (893) were purchased in Barcelona, with 348 purchased in the Malaga province; home of the Costa del Sol.

Spain Launches Dog-Poop DNA Scheme to Catch Dog Owners Who Don’t Scoop

Spain Launches Dog-Poop DNA Scheme to Catch Dog Owners Who Don’t Scoop

Great news for Spain as the streets are getting cleaner. 

If we can be a little stereotypical for a second the Spanish are hardly the most agreeable when they’re asked by their Spanish government to tweak their social behaviour.

The smoking ban in Spain is one such recent example. There was some initial resistance to the ban when the UK introduced it in 2007, but it didn’t take too long for people to go along with it. Now Brits can head down to the pub for a pint without stepping into an ashtray.

Things are still a little foggy in Spain when it comes to the smoking ban. There are still old rules that decide what does and doesn’t constitute a place of work. Because of this there is yet to be an acceptance of the ban across the whole country.

The same could be said of dog mess. Culture has evolved in the UK to the point where not cleaning up after your dog has become such a taboo that people are policing themselves these days. There may be fines and warnings, but what keeps owners cleaning up after their dogs is the stigma and the tutting that follows them when they don’t.

While it is an offence to not pick up your dog’s mess in Spain they haven’t adopted the self-policing culture just yet. One authority in east Spain has gotten so fed up of the issue that they’re going to start taking DNA samples from dog mess left lying around. The aim is to find the owner behind it and issue them with a fine.

Officials from Mislata, near Valencia, have confirmed that street cleaners have been told they should collect samples of any dog mess left lying in the street so that it can be sent to a laboratory and inspected.

Dog owners in the town have until the end of the year to have their dog’s DNA registered at the vet free of charge. If they fail to register their dog’s DNA then they’ll be hit with a €300 fine.

After the sample is taken and the DNA is registered owners will be issued a €300 fine every time dog mess found on the street matches with their dog’s DNA in the database.

It might sound a little extreme but if you’ve ever tried to take in the stunning architecture of Spain only to step in  excrement you know how off-putting it can be, with Marbella and other areas following.

‘Golden Visa’ scheme by Spain turns out to be a looming success

‘Golden Visa’ scheme by Spain turns out to be a looming success

First launched in 2013, the Golden Visa scheme by Spain was in rough waters initially, but over a period of few years, it has attracted €911 million in investments of real estate till the end of 2015. This scheme was started by the Spanish Government to get their economy back on track following the real estate crash and economic crisis that was seen in the past decade. Foreign investors are now keen to invest in Spain and over $500,000 worth of investments from each investor have flown in to the reviving Spanish economy, getting it back on track. Spain is now one of the most promising destinations when it comes to investing in Europe.

Golden Visa for Spain and the EU

Until the end of 2015, 1,189 Golden Visas were granted to foreign investors, which allowed them to purchase properties across Spain. This scheme was launched to attract non-EU nationals and their investments towards the luxury property for sale in Spain, as a similar scheme was launched in countries like Portugal and Cyprus, which had become highly successful within a short span of time. The main idea of this scheme was to lure non-EU investors to invest over €500,000 on properties across the country, which would grant them a permanent residency in Spain. Investors found this to be attractive as their residency in Spain was secured, enabling them to freely travel throughout the EU Schengen Zone, which was otherwise a tedious and complicated process owing to hurdles in the bureaucratic and application process.

In this period, the majority of investors belonged to Russia and China, who contributed to over 65% of the overall transactions and they preferred investing in the Malaga region, followed by Barcelona. Of all the Golden Visa transactions that happened, 18% came from Malaga and Costa del Sol. 35% of the properties under Golden Visa transactions were purchased by Russians, owing to their strong economy back then. Investors from China also went aggressive on the Spanish market, investing over €268 million since 2013. Rest of the buyers came from other less preferred locations such as Middle East, Ukraine and Venezuela.

Costa del Sol was one of the most sought after locations among investors under the Golden Visa scheme, all thanks to the cosmopolitan crowd from different nationalities, abundant sunshine and lavish properties available for sale. Due to this, Spain has attracted investors from all over the world to buy investment property in the Costa del Sol.