Europe Day

THE EMT municipal buses in Palma yesterday were flying European flags as the island marked Europe Day. Now, in my ignorance when I spotted the first bus I sincerely thought that the driver was just trying to underline the fact that two Spanish football teams were competing in last night´s Europa League final! But no the Palma city council were making a point; we are all in Europe and it is time that we should all come together as one under one flag. So taking the opportunity that it is Europe Day I would like to ask the Spanish authorities why they continue to punish non-Spanish Europeans with the “useless” green residence certificate. It is all very well flying the flag for Europe but the authorties should start listening to what non-Spanish Europeans, who have made a home in Majorca, are saying. And it is not only the British. A Spanish colleague is married to a French woman and he is constantly asking me if there are any developments on our campaign to re-introduce the old style residence permits. My German colleagues are also opposed to the green certificate. So why doesn´t the Spanish government see the light? Why don´t they realise that they have made a mistake? Let us hope that by this time next year they will have seen the errors of their ways. The ideal gift for Europe Day will be a nice little card which is also valid ID! It is not much to ask surely and it will certainly make the non-Spanish Europeans happy!