As crazy as the header sounds, it is true, in essence, the Spanish Government is holding the sun for ransom and I reported on this subject back in July 2013 when this topic first hit the media. At the time, a government official claimed when asked about the new draft of the decree that the goal is to “balance the electric system in a definitive way, to prevent new instabilities and guarantee the consumer’s electric supply at the lowest price possible and in a more transparent way”. These new measures would see a raise in tariffs (what has been called “sun tax”) for those who generate their own electricity at home despite efforts made in numerous countries to increase awareness for green power, not Spain however. This country’s officials prefer to penalize those who take the initiative to do something pro-environment and even go as far as taxing a source of energy that no one person, no institution, government nor monarchy has ownership of.
Right, so this issue has been talked about extensively, debated, caused arguments, tears, frustration and near bloody murder. Instead of spending my time off over Christmas and New Year’s relaxing, I have been reading and re-reading legislation, articles, documents and making further personal enquiries because for the majority, this law makes zero sense and nobody until now has really been able to explain it clearly in a way that can be properly understood (myself included!).
The big question is: Who is obligated to exchange their EU driving license for a Spanish one and why? I hope that by the end of what I hope to be the final and definitive article on this matter, we can lay it to rest for good. Please note that throughout this post, I am only referring to EU licenses as non-EU must follow a different procedure.
It has been a tough few months what with tax season but now that it is behind us here at the office, I can return my attention to Canary Bloggers as it has been pretty much abandoned lately. So much has been happening, regulations that have gone unnoticed in recent years are being discovered so plenty of reading and research is going on at the moment.
Well, this article brings what will hopefully be the start of great news for motorists in Spain. As we all know, Trafico engineers laws to their convenience and not always to the benefit of road users. Some of their campaigns are viewed as an easy way to earn a fast buck than actually creating road safety awareness. Anyway, the point of this article is that AEA, Automovilistas Europeos Asociados or European Motorists Associates has fought and won a long 5 year battle against traffic regulations established in 2010 in Madrid in which agents fine motorists without actually informing them on the spot of their alleged violation, rather, surprised road users receive the dreaded and familiar looking notification by post advising them of their “crime” way after time and the AEA has declared this type of action as completely illegal. According to the Supreme Court, agents must stop the offender at the time the offense has been committed as long as conditions and traffic safety allow it. If it is deemed impossible to detain the offender, the agent must fill in a detailed report explaining what impeded them from taking action.
