27 Mar 2013 2:27 PM:

 Buy one from Amazon UK and it will come with English installed and an English keyboard.  All you need is an adapter plug!

Mine took four days to arrive (shipped from Germany) and even including delivery it was cheaper than buying it in Spain.

Thread: Buying a computer in Spain

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25 Mar 2013 3:04 PM:

Is it legal to reduce people's wages, extend their hours and make them work longer before they can claim their pensions, like they've done in Spain?  

Basically they can do whatever they like because they hold all the power.  The needs of the banking sector come first, and the rest of us have to suffer the consequences.

 

This message was last edited by comadreja on 25/03/2013.
Thread: "Dick van Turpin" raids Cypriot Residents Savings. Is it Legal ?

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25 Mar 2013 2:56 PM:

Aliton, they might have been completed in the past ten years but they were planned a long time before that.

I referred to the south and west of Spain which were (and still are) economically the poorest areas of Spain.  So most of the EU regional development funds were directed there.

Isn't the Murcia/Almeria region you mention one of the prime areas of Europe for agricultural production?  Aren't all those cucumbers and tomatoes heading to northern Europe by road?

Thread: Spains deserted Motorways... Prime example of Euro wastage.?

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25 Mar 2013 12:53 PM:

 Aliton, bear in mind that these motorways were first planned in the 80s and 90s when the dream of freedom of movement for goods, people and capital was still regarded as an achievable target, and there were no budgetary constraints.  Spain didn't join the EU till 1986 and its infrastructure was  in a pretty bad state, especially in the south and west of the country.  It made sense to bring it up to the level of the more prosperous member states.

Personally I think tourism is one of the industries that really does benefit from a good road and rail network.  Not just tourists from overseas - Spaniards from Madrid can now get to the coast by lunchtime!

What really is a waste of money is the various airports built as prestige projects by local politicians and still unused (like Castellón in Valencia).  But we can't lay that at the door of the EU.

Thread: Spains deserted Motorways... Prime example of Euro wastage.?

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24 Mar 2013 2:57 PM:

 " Have the Spanish Government been openly taking the P out of EEC funding for years ? "

No.  They were built to benefit the EU as a whole. The EU finances infrastructure projects in underdeveloped regions (like Southern Spain) in order to open up new markets, build new factories, and shift goods from one part of Europe to another easily.

They initially made it a more attractive option for big industries from countries like Germany and France to relocate to places where wages are lower. For example in Cadiz they built  factories like Airbus and Visteon.  Now with the recession a lot of these places have closed and the motorways are nearly empty.   But hopefully they will come back one day.

Thread: Spains deserted Motorways... Prime example of Euro wastage.?

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