The Bolkstein Directive
Small business owners from across the island were calling for more protection last week as the prospect loomed of big supermarket and retail chains arriving on the island in 2010. Business´ across the island have become frightened by the imminent introduction of a new European directive which is set to limit the controls the Consell Insular and Town Halls´ have over the size of shops and supermarkets.
The Bolkestein Directive is a European Commission initiative aimed at creating a single market for services within the European Union, similar to the single market for goods already in existence. Drafted under the leadership of the former European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Frits Bolkestein, it has been popularly referred to by his name. It is hoped the new legislation will make the EU the world's most dynamic and competitive economy by 2010. European heavyweights want to reduce the barriers to cross-border trade, principally by doing away with the service industry regulations of individual EU Member States, unless those regulations are non-discriminatory; objectively justified on the grounds of public interest. The Commission argues that regulations which do not meet these criteria are unnecessary and pose a barrier to service providers wanting to offer services in other Member States in addition to their country of establishment.
In real terms the new objective will nullify existing legislation in place on the island which currently limits the size of shops. At the moment Ibiza Town Hall allows a maximum shop surface of 700 metres. This is by far the largest of all the municipalities, with Santa Eulalia and San Antonio both allowing a maximum floor space of just 400 metres. The legislation ensures companies such as el Corte Ingles and Ikea stay away from the island as neither sees the benefit of opening shops with such reduced sizes.
The legislation was put in place to protect smaller local business´ who, according to the vice-president of Pimeef Alfonso Rojo, provide a great deal of employment and productivity on the island, the majority of which stays within Ibiza.
However the legislation is in contrast to the new European regulation which seeks to abolish local laws and offer free trade across the continent.

AROUND THE ISLAND

More Funds
The Hotel Association in Ibiza, backed by the Consell Insular, has pleaded with the Tourist Foundation to increase the amount of money received by the island for tourist promotion during 2008. An initial agreement was signed by the Govern Balear during the FITUR Tourism Fair in Madrid, however the deal has been criticised by leading figures on the island. From the total of 7.5 million being distributed between the four islands, Ibiza is to receive just 2.2 million, the same amount as Minorca.
The president of the Hotel Association, Roberto Hortensius, said the division was unacceptable and more funds should be made available. He claimed that with 30,000 more hotel beds, Ibiza should be receiving at least 1 million more. In total the island has around 80,000 beds, compared to 50,000 in Minorca. He added it was not about reducing what Minorca was being offered, but simply increasing what the island was receiving.
His stance was backed by the minister for Tourism, Pepa Mari, who agreed the island needed to be granted more than Minorca. However she said the politics were complicated and did not hold out too much hope.

Possible Direct Flights
The minister for Tourism at the Govern Balear, Francesc Buils, revealed last week his administration were in talks with several low-cost airlines in an attempt to increase direct flights to the island during the winter. However he claimed he could not reveal any further details, as negotiations were still very much on-going and nothing had yet been decided.
The Tourism minister for Ibiza, Pepa Mari, later explained that the meetings had taken place with Air Berlin, Ryanair, Easyjet and Vueling, and hinted that one of the routes being considered involved Ibiza and a British airport. She said improved connections with major European cities was vital to the growth of the island in winter and everything was currently being done to ensure deals are made. She added there was no point in the Consell continuing to promote the island in winter if visitors were not able to get here easily and at a reasonable price.
The Consell Insular has recently started promoting a number of different activities during the winter months to ensure the island becomes an attractive destination twelve months of the year.

Don Pedro to Stay
Merchant marine specialists have raised doubts the sunken ship Don Pedro will ever be re-floated. The comments were made last week as the insurance company responsible for the vessel owned by Iscomar, continued totting up the total amount the disaster has cost them.
Experts revealed the sheer weight of the vessel, estimated at around 41,000 tonnes, meant it would be virtually impossible to re-float the ship. The most powerful crane in the world can lift a weight of just 6,000 tonnes. They added that this complication meant the estimate for salvaging the boat had rocketed to 36 million. The chances of the boat not breaking into pieces while being re-floated was also described as slim.
The insurance company for Iscomar has already had to pay out in the region of 20 million for the clean-up operation and in compensation to the business´ affected by the fuel leak. In total 32 companies have filed for compensation amounting to a total of 1.5 million. However the ferry company Balearia is still to make their claim which will involve the cleaning of five boats which were affected in the days following the fuel leak. The other main costs included the clean-up operation after several tonnes of fuel escaped from the boat and also the actual loss of the ship.

Birds and Bees
The Balearic Health Service is to begin a campaign of sex education after it was revealed that sales of the morning after pill rose by 25.17 percent last year. Within the four islands a total of 9,999 pills were prescribed by doctors, compared to 7,988 the previous year. The majority of recipients were girls between the ages of 17-19. There are currently two brands available in the Balearics, Norlevo and Postinor, both of which cost 20.
The pill works by preventing the ovaries from releasing an egg, as well as altering the lining of the womb, so a fertilised egg cannot embed itself there.
In Spain, as in many other western countries, the pill is regarded as an emergency contraceptive, not an abortion-causing drug - it will not work if you are already pregnant.
The morning-after pill can be taken up to seventy-two hours after unprotected sex but the earlier you take it the better the chances of success. Although it is not 100 per cent effective, the failure rate is about 10 per cent, although these chances improve significantly if it is taken within twenty-four hours.
The Health Department, as well as aiming to teach youngsters the various different contraceptive techniques, also plan to make the pill more easily available and free of charge.

Plans Denied
The Govern announced on Wednesday they would be finishing the airport road without using the land owned by the Airport Authorities (AENA), after once again they were denied use of the land. The PSOE plans for the road included using six-metres of AENA owned land, in order to widen the road and add a pavement and emergency lane on both sides. However permission has again been refused and instead of disputing the decision, the Minister for Public Works, Jaume Carbonero, has decided to abide by the resolution and finish the road the best way possible. This will mean leaving the last 640 metres of the road untouched.
The final part of the airport road has remained unfinished due to permission originally being denied to the previous PP-run Govern. This meant they were unable to continue the project which planned to make the road two lanes in each direction up to the airport. However without the use of the AENA land this proved impossible.
The new PSOE-run Govern announced back in December that they would be reducing the project down to one lane but would still need the AENA owned land due to the added extras they were building (emergency lane and pavements). However they said at the time they were confident of the proposal being accepted. Despite such confidence, just several weeks after making the enquiry, officials from AENA have turned down the request.
The new plans will soon be revealed in the Consell building and will be available for public viewing for a total of fifteen days. It is hoped the project can begin by the end of February in order that it can be finished by the start of summer (which was surprisingly stated as 30th May). Other pending work will also be completed within the next three months including the service roads leading to San Rafael, as well as the drainage systems in all of the tunnels.

Strikes to Continue
Hopes of a deal between the Consell Insular and the Taxi Association in Ibiza looked unlikely last week after a second 24-hour strike took place on Saturday. The decision was taken at the beginning of the week after the Consell drafted the final agreement which will, in the end, grant 136 new taxi licences equally between vehicle owners and paid drivers. After several recent meetings it seemed the position of the two groups was drawing closer. However the move last week by the Transport Minister, Albert Prats, outraged the association who said they would be carrying out a number of strikes including that of last Saturday.
The association is unhappy the licences are being split fifty-fifty and are claiming they should be given the option for all of the temporary permits. They are also unhappy the licences are being given for a duration of three months (1st July-1st October), while they are suggesting a period of just two months (15th July-15th September).
However it seems Prats is ready to push through the controversial legislation, and after meeting with all of the Town Halls´ last week, announced the licences would be distributed as he originally planned with only 50 percent available to the current owners. The licences will be divided between the municipalities as follows 51 in Ibiza Town, 31 in San Antonio, 26 in San Jose, 22 in Santa Eulalia and 6 in San Juan.

More Strikes
The possibility of a strike at Can Misses hospital grew last week after disgruntled medical staff at the institution decided to give the authorities just seven more days in which to offer them a definitive calendar for talks. Medical staff are unhappy at current pay levels which sees them earning almost 60 percent less than similarly trained staff in other regions.
A spokesman for the Medical Union insisted the ball was very firmly in the oppositions´ court and that staff were ready to take strike action, angered by the continued silence of the authorities. However he assured a worried public there was still time to avert action and added that he remained hopeful.

Another Strike
In what seems like the Ibicencan Year of the Strike it was the turn of the Law Courts on the island to come to a standstill last Monday after civil servants took part in strike action over pay. The civil servants are demanding a salary increase of 200 per month, which they say will bring them into line with public sector workers in other areas. The strike was a complete success according to the Union who backed the action which took place across the Balearics. In Ibiza over 90 percent of workers observed the strike with the other 10 percent only working to cover minimum services. In Majorca the number was down to 80 percent.
In Ibiza there are a total of one hundred and fifty civil servants within the justice system. On the first day of the strike they met in front of the court building in Ibiza to ensure their voices were heard.
The Ministry of Justice claimed just 30 percent of workers had observed the strike action, which they described as unsuccessful and precipitated.
However it seems the strike action had some effect as it was announced later on in the week that several cases due to be heard this month had had to be postponed and would now be heard in September.

IBIZA TOWN

Mari Anger
The Govern Balear announced on Friday they had accepted an offer from the Consell Insular to build a water purifier for the growing population of Ibiza Town. However the location, which has been repeatedly discussed over the last few weeks, is set to cause considerable controversy as it was revealed it will be built on land within the municipality of Santa Eulalia. The Environment Minister, Miquel Angel Grimalt, made the comments after a meeting with the Consell and whilst here to open the new purifier in Formentera.
Although the exact location of the purifier remains a mystery, it is believed to be close to el Pla de Vila. However the Consell did not want to reveal anymore information to avoid the alarm being raised amongst the local community. Grimalt revealed he was still waiting for an official report on the area to be made, but an initial technical study showed the area fully complied with all the necessary regulations.
The mayor of Santa Eulalia, however, claimed nothing had yet been decided and he was still to be consulted. An angry Vicent Mari claimed that before agreeing to the deal he wanted to know why the two other options, both in Ibiza Town, had been rejected.

SAN JOSE

Building Gets Go-Ahead
The Govern Balear announced on Tuesday they would not be including ses Roques Males close to Cala Conta as one of their areas of special protection, opening the door to a catalogue of construction over the next few years. The ExC party, which formed a coalition in Ibiza with the PSOE to seize control of the Consell, had proposed changes to the current legislation which would have forbidden any houses being built in the area. However a spokesman for the Govern said the costs of protecting the area, which would involve compensating all of the land-owners, would be far too high and the administration simply could not afford it. They said the work to make the area suitable for urbanisations was already too far advanced and most of the roads, pavements and municipal services had already been completed.
They came in for heavy criticism from both ExC and the environmentalist group GEN, over the decision but claimed they just could not afford the subsequent costs. They added that in an ideal world they would like to protect the entire island, but the realities were far more complicated and involved the payment of huge sums of money to land-owners who suddenly could not build on their properties which had previously been categorised as urbana (suitable for urbanisation).
The Town Hall of San Jose rejected various projects to build in the area late last year but there are already several that have been approved and which are simply waiting for the public work to be complete. They include a plan to build 120 chalets in ses Roques Males, which is due to get underway this year. However the Town Hal announced last week they would be considerably reducing this number and suggested only around fifty would eventually be permitted.
The PSOE´s representative to the Govern, Joan Boned, warned there were several other areas that his administration would be unable to protect. These included Punta Pedrera, close to Port des Torrent, which he claimed would cost more to preserve than Cala Conta and was therefore out of the question. He said the Govern Balear and the Consell Insular were both very keen on protecting as much of the island as possible but unfortunately not all zones could be included in the legislation and some areas would be left out.

After-Hour Laws
After all the recent promises San Jose finally passed new legislation last week which will ensure discotheques and bars will have to close for at least six hours from 6am starting this summer. The subject of after hour clubs has been a hot topic of debate over the last few months as the different institutions try to find the best solution to control this sector of the tourist industry. Ibiza has recently become known as the island where you can party continuously twenty-four hours a-day due to the fact that some of the major clubs now open just as the others are shutting their doors. This has caused the island to gain a reputation which is unsuitable for the more family based tourism it still heavily relies on.
San Antonio was the first municipality to pass legislation restricting the opening hours of bars and clubs. San Jose has now followed suit, an important development considering that the three biggest after hour clubs are all found within the municipality.
The mayor, Josep Mari Ribas, said all bars and clubs would now have to remain closed from 6am until 12pm. He said the legislation had been agreed to ensure continued co-existence between all types of tourism within the municipality. He said they had tried to coincide with the legislation agreed by San Antonio to avoid any misunderstandings and also that he had not ruled out some tweaking of the regulations during the summer to ensure they were having the appropriate effect. The maximum fine for breaking the new law was also increased to 600,000.

New Plans
As the building work in Cala Tarida was finally stopped, the finishing touches were made on Wednesday to the new Land Reforms by San Jose Town Hall. The new plans are set to ensure a great deal less building takes place throughout most of the municipality, with coastal areas far better protected than under the previous administration. The Councillor in charge of the project, Josep Antoni Prats, said the plan would signify a large proportion of land currently classified as Urbano (buildable) will be changed to Rustico, which will ensure much stricter regulations when permits are granted.
The new legislation also complies with promises made during the election campaign in banning golf courses, marinas and camp-sites.
Prats said the previous Land Reforms dated back to 1984 and were made at a time when the personal interests of the politicians and specialists were considered more important than the benefits to the community. He added he would encourage growth within the urban districts of Cala de Bou, Port des Torrent and San Jordi and discourage it in all other areas of the municipality, which need to be protected. Buildable land within the three areas has actually been increased by 7.9 percent, with 769,000 square metres being re-classified as Urbano.
The new reforms also mean the planned Matutes-backed golf course in Playa den Bossa will finally not be given the green light.
Meanwhile the opposition party questioned how the new administration is going to afford the huge compensation costs they will be liable for due to the change in land use, with owners of land which was previously categorised as buildable now liable for some form of recompense.

SANTA EULALIA

Legislation Approved
New building by-laws were agreed by the Town Hall of Santa Eulalia last week with the total support of members of the opposition party. Among the new regulations will be an attempt by the administration to try and restrict the colours of new buildings to the traditional shades including, of course, white, beige and cream. Sources at the Town Hall said too many different tones were being used by promoters to try and distinguish new buildings, with no consideration given to the surrounding environment.
Building sites will also have to put fences in place around construction sites, with current projects being given two months to comply with the new legislation. As well as leaving a gap of at least 70 centimetres on the pavement for pedestrians, fences with potentially dangerous extras including barbed wire will be prohibited.
Building will also be restricted during the summer months with all work in tourist areas having to stop from 1st May-15th October. Likewise in non-tourist zones building work will have to stop between 15th June and 1st September. Sites will have to be cleaned up before work is stopped and fences covered in an appealing type of matting. Failure to abide by any of the above legislation will result in fines of up to 150 per day.
The new by-laws were passed with the support of the opposition party thanks to a further regulation they had insisted on which was included in the act. This states that construction workers will now be forced to clean the wheels of trucks leaving the site to ensure they do not carry dirt across the municipality.
Also in the meeting held last week the mayor, Vicent Mari, agreed to set aside money in his 2009 budget to make improvements to the es Canar road. This will include roundabouts at the junctions for s´Argamassa and Cala Pada. It is estimated the work will cost in the region of 300,000.

CRIME & INCIDENTS

Drugs Seizure
A five-month police investigation ended on Friday with the arrest of four Colombians and the seizure of twenty-four kilos of cocaine. The arrests were all made in Ibiza Town, with two of the men detained at a rented apartment in Avenida Espana, whilst a further two were caught in a car-park in Avenida Isidor Macabich.
The investigation began after police became aware a significant amount of cocaine was being brought on to the island by a gang of Colombians. It was then that Operation Muleta began. However police did not want to reveal the precise details of how the investigation was carried out, as they had not yet ruled out the possibility of more arrests.
The drugs were found in a make-shift laboratory which the gang had set up in Isidor Macabich. The cocaine which had been introduced to the island was in paste form which was then broken down, mixed and distributed in smaller quantities. The amount discovered was the biggest on-land seizure in Ibiza, with all the other previous big hauls being found on boats.
At the apartment in Avenida Espana police found several lap-tops, mobile phones and 32,000 in cash in various different currencies.
The four men were immediately taken to prison where they were awaiting trial.

Knife Attack
A taxi driver was left shaken last weekend after he was robbed at knife-point close to the cafeteria Granja Dunes in Playa den Bossa. The incident began when the man got into the taxi at the rank in Avenida Isidor Macabich in Ibiza Town. He asked the driver to take him to Playa den Bossa and sat in the back of the vehicle where the driver could not see his face. When the car arrived at its destination the man suddenly produced a knife and held it to the throat of the driver. He demanded all of his money, the final amount of which was not revealed. He then made his escape on foot as the driver, recovering from the shock, phoned the police.
However the man was arrested three days later after he tried to repeat a similar attack. This time after being taken to Talamanca by another driver he again produced a knife and demanded money. The driver handed over 30 but also quickly put out an emergency call over his car radio. The thief quickly made his getaway but as police officers arrived at the scene, accompanied by taxi drivers, the man was seen climbing from the water close to Botafoc marina. Police immediately moved in to make the arrest and even had to jump in to the water to stop the man escaping yet again. He was taken in to custody where he awaits trial. Officers said the local man was known to police and was described as having acute drug problems.
He later had to be taken to Can Misses suffering severe withdrawal systems, whilst he was being questioned in court. The following day, however, he was back in court where, after pleading guilty to both attacks, he accepted a sentence of 24 months in prison, which was later reduced to 16 months and a fine of 1,500.

DC-10 Accusation
The owner of DC-10 was in court last week facing charges of violating a municipal seal. The Public Prosecutor is asking for a one year jail term to be handed out after the club owner defied a municipal ban on playing music at the popular after hours club.
The incident began back in October 2006 after police reported to the Town Hall that the club was not complying with the established opening hours. The administration immediately ordered the musical equipment to be sealed, a ban which was broken on 2nd October after police reported they were playing music in the club from a different sound system. This ban was again broken on 1st January 2007.
The lawyer of the defendant claims his client paid 1,500 in to the bank account of the municipality (the maximum fine possible) the day after the initial complaint with which he had presumed the process was over. This, according to his lawyer, is in accordance with legislation which states the complaint becomes annulled if the penalty is voluntarily paid. He therefore has demanded all charges are dropped and his client be found innocent.
The prosecution does not agree and questioned why the owner had not used the equipment which had been sealed by the authorities instead of using new equipment. The trial continues.

By modern day standards Ibiza is an extremely safe place to holiday. This is a weeks worth of news and so its effect is magnified. Please do not fret while you are here you are quite safe!!

If you have any stories for our incidents section then call or fax 971-348-271 or e-mail on: editor@theibizasun.com

NEWS FROM THE MAINLAND

Fatal Tragedy
A mother was being held in custody last week after killing her two children and then trying to take her own life. The exact details of the incident are still being looked into by officers investigating the events of last Wednesday morning, which ended with the deaths of the bothers aged 3 and 7.
The episode took place at their home in Mutilva Alta, near Pamplona (Navarra). The two children died from a huge overdose of medicine administered by their mother, who was found in the garage of the property lying down near the exhaust of her car with the engine running. The woman's two elder children, aged 12 and 14, were also apparently poisoned and were taken to the Virgen del Camino Hospital, where they are said to be out of danger.
The childrens parents separated recently and the mother had been undergoing psychiatric treatment for some time.

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By modern day standards Ibiza is an extremely safe place to holiday. This is a weeks worth of news and so its effect is magnified. Please do not fret while you are here - you are quite safe!!

If you have any stories for our incidents section then call or fax 971-348-271 or e-mail on: editor@theibizasun.com