Mallorca 17 – 23 August 2023 Issue 1989

Low cost row

THE Spanish Ministry of Consumer Protection has launched sanctions against several low cost airlines for charging additional fees for passengers’ hand luggage. The planned penalties can be up to €1 million for the most serious violations, the ministry announced in a press release on Thursday, August 10.

Procedures for requesting surcharges were also extended to other services that were specifically billed and for which passengers had no choice but to pay. This applies, for example, to reserving a seat next to children or people who need care.

Also, according to the ministry, and contrary to the regulations, the airlines in question do not allow cash payments at the airports when purchasing additional services.

Limited access TRAIN STRIKE THREATENED

THE town hall of Felanitx has announced that it has restricted access to the s’Algar natural area in Portocolom for vehicles, and sand buggies from organised excursions. By doing this, the public paths in the natural area should be affected as little as possible. The town hall also wants to minimise the risk of forest fires. In general, the regulation is about keeping the impact on the environment in the area as low as possible in view of the high volume of vehicles in summer.

However, the new regulation does not apply to everyone. Elderly people or people with restricted mobility, for example, should continue to be able to drive into the nature reserve with their vehicles. The new rule will not be a ban, more a restriction on numbers.

THE employees of the historic Soller train in Mallorca want to go on strike. The company’s works council decided on Thursday, August 10 that work would be stopped around the clock for eight days. The dates are scheduled for August 22, 23, 29, 30 and 31 and September 7, 8 and 9. The UGT, CCOO and STEI­i trade unions have submitted the relevant applications to the Balearic Ministry of Labour and to the Tamib Conciliation and Arbitration Court.

The reason for the walkout is the stalled negotiations on a new collective

agreement. At the beginning of the year, the management announced that a salary increase would only be possible if the General Directorate for Mobility agreed to an increase in ticket prices.

This was waved through just before the regional elections. Since then, according to the works council, negotiations have not made any progress.

The workers are demanding a salary increase of 7 per cent for 2023 and a further 4 per cent for 2024.

In addition, the workers demand a guarantee that

the so­called ‘fijos discontinuos’ runs for nine months a year. The contract model popular on the Balearic Islands stipulates that the workers are permanently employed, but only work for a certain period of time per year. Furthermore, holidays and work schedules should be better regulated.

The company said in a press release that it would offer workers a 5 per cent increase in the first year, a 3.5 per cent increase in the second year, and an additional 3 per cent in the third year.

Credit: Mallorca Tourism

THE SOLLER TRAIN: Workers are demanding a salary increase.

Additional fees for hand luggage.

Credit: RachH/Pixabay

Jo Pugh

THE rescue and first aid services of the Balearic Islands have provided 17,468 rescues and more than 100,000 actions for careless behaviour since May 1, the start of the bathing season. The Ministry of the Presidency and Public Administration reported on Monday, August 14 in a statement that, of the total number of rescues, 17,248 were resolved without the need for going to hospital. The remaining 219 cases were serious incidents.

So far, 385 aquatic rescues have been carried out, 114 due to currents,

Busy lifeguards

red flag. In these cases, 366 people did not need medical assistance.

72 due to waves, 64 due to having moved too far from the beach and 52 due to other circum ­

stances. In this sense, of the total rescues, 184 were carried out with a yellow flag and 11 with a

In relation to actions for reckless behaviour, the most common are related to non­motorised boats in bathing areas (13,237), bathers in boat channels (12,138), users in dangerous areas (13,205) and motor boats in bathing areas. (6,010), among others. As for those drowned on beaches and in swimming pools, the ministry reported seven deaths in Mallorca.

THE Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen is one of the world’s leading orchestras, captivating audiences everywhere with its unique style of music ­ making.

The Estonian conductor Paavo Järvi has been the orchestra’s Artistic Director since 2004.

and Paavo Järvi focused on Robert Schumann’s symphonic works with equal success.

THE latest figures from the national statistics institute INE show a concerning social trend in Mallorca. Although the population is larger than ever, there are fewer and fewer children and young people.

In July 2023, the number of islanders aged 0 to four years was 132,868, which corresponds to around 14 per cent of the population. As of July 2013, there were 135,162 young citizens in the same age bracket, who

Births drop

made up nearly 16 per cent of the island’s total population at the time.

The number of islanders has grown from 862,426 to 947,315 during this period.

In addition, 162,248 people over the age of 65 live on the island , accounting for 17 per cent of the total population.

Ten years ago there were only 131,361 and their share was 15 per cent.

Pere Salvà, emeritus professor of human geography at the Balearic University (UIB), points out there has been a significant decline in the number of births on the islands in recent years.

One of the many highlights of the collaboration with Paavo Järvi has been their Beethoven Project, on which conductor and orchestra concentrated for 10 years.

Their Beethoven interpretations have been acclaimed worldwide by audiences and critics alike as benchmark performances. Following the Beethoven Project, The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen

The latest project of the orchestra and its conductor is the German composer Johannes Brahms. With Symphonies No. 3 and No. 4 released in March 2019, the symphony cycle came to completion. The project’s highlight was the internationally acclaimed performance of A German Requiem on April 10, 2018, at Bremen Cathedral ­ 150 years after the first performance.

They will be in concert on Sunday, August 27.

Tickets are from €24 and can be purchased from https://festival pollenca.com.

RESCUE SERVICE: A lifeguard on duty.

Credit: Marzena P/Pixabay

EURO WEEKLY NEWS is thrilled to announce that our newspaper and website will feature in a TV programme to be filmed in Benidorm.

Hold the Front Page is a programme following two of the UK’s favourite comedians, Josh Widdicombe and Nish Kumar, as they embark on a journey as trainee local journalists attempting to get a story on the front page. Now they are coming to Spain for their training.

Josh and Nick are coming to Benidorm to receive editorial tasks from managing director Michel Euesden, who is the driving force behind Spain’s biggest free English language newspaper group.

They will then be accompanied on a sales drive to see if they can achieve in the world of fast­paced journalism.

Exploring some incredible regions through their local papers, the series is a warm celebration of the world of local journalism besides the people and communities the papers serve.

Being a people’s paper, Euro Weekly News is looking for a charity or community group who would like to be featured

NIBS EXTRA

Weather alert

MIDSUMMER continues in Mallorca. At the start of the week, the Spanish weather service Aemet issued daily heat warnings. Towards the end of the week, the island is tending towards the 40­degree mark again.

Helicopter hell

PEACE was shattered in Colònia de Sant Jordi in the south of Mallorca on Thursday, August 10, when four helicopters landed at a private property. Angry residents said the helicopters flew close to power cables, endangering pedestrians.

Restaurant fire

A FIRE broke out at the Golden Beach Pearl restaurant on the promenade of Playa de Palma in the early hours of Sunday, August 13. The Mallorca fire brigade confirmed the thatched roof and several tables and chairs were damaged in the fire.

Hold the front page

in the programme.

Please contact us by calling 951 386 161 or emailing news desk@euroweeklynews. com to tell us about your needs.

The series is broadcast on Sky Max, a flagship channel in the UK and Ireland, and can be enjoyed on demand on Now TV too.

Series one of the Sky Original show was watched nearly two million times.

Josh and Nish also have a strong and engaged social following of their own on Instagram and Twitter, through which they promote the programme to their combined audience of 1.6 million.

CPL Productions, a Red Arrow Studios company, is one of the most successful TV, radio and podcast production companies in the UK.

The company creates and produces engaging, modern entertainment, factual formats and scripted television.

From primetime entertainment to comedy, drama and factual entertainment, CPL’s impressive roster of shows feature some of the UK’s best talent for broadcasters including Netflix, Sky, BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and E4.

Hiker dies Vandalised

A 33-YEAR-OLD Spanish man died on Saturday, August 12, after falling around 40 metres in the Tramuntana Mountains.

He was with a group of fellow hikers in Fornalutx. Around 9am, it appeared that he leaned over a precipice, slipped and fell.

The emergency services were called immediately. Fire brigade and Guardia Civil rescue units went to the scene, and a Guardia helicopter was called. However, all that the helicopter could do was to recover the hiker’s body.

He has been named as Lluis Martínez Castañer. From Soller, he was well ­ known in the town for a fruit and vegetable stall he had at the market. He was passionate about the mountains and mountain activities. On learning the news, the Balearic Mountaineering Foundation posted a message on social media mourning his loss and adding: “The mountains are beautiful, but at the same time they can be cruel and merciless.”

Jo Pugh

TWO historic watchtowers in the municipality of Andratx have been vandalised with graffiti. On Saturday, August 12, the paintings were discovered on an annex of the tower at Cala En Basset, above Sant Elm.

This was announced by Andratx Council, who condemned “these acts of vandalism”. According to the town hall, the responsible department in the council has already written a report that will now be

YOUR EWN HAS

60 STORIES IN THIS WEEK’S EDITION

Paper mountain

forwarded to the Mallorca Island Council so that it can take the next steps in removing it.

The Cala En Basset tower was not the only one in the municipality to be defaced in August. Earlier this month graffiti was noticed on the tower of Cap Andritxol.

The town hall published an appeal calling on the population to preserve the historical treasures of the place. These are “part of all citizens and stand for the history of our island and our ancestors,” it stated.

AROUND a month after the responsibilities in the island council of Mallorca passed from the socialists to the conservative people’s party PP, it has become known that there are about 4,000 files in the tourism department that have not yet been processed. The oldest have been there since 2021. The new team of the PP found around 1,600 paper files in one room of the headquarters of the tourist department alone. The digitisation of files will now be outsourced in order to get rid of the paper.

Tower at Cala En Basset.

Credit: Andratx

Town Hall

Josh and Nick are coming to Benidorm.

Credit: Sky TV

Jo Pugh

THE Guardia Civil have arrested a middle­aged man of Spanish nationality, accused of theft at the Safari Zoo in sa Coma, in the municipality of Sant Llorenç des Cardessar. The investigation began at the end of July, following a complaint filed by one of the managers of the facilities.

Protecting Posidonia

OVER the past six years, the Posidonia Surveillance Service of the Balearic government has been actively working to prevent the anchoring of vessels in posidonia sea grass meadows, which is prohibited by law.

According to the environment ministry, anchoring is generally well­regulated due to a high level of awareness. Nonetheless, violations still occur, and during this summer, environmental officers have handled 38 cases of such infringements.

The service operates a fleet of six boats deployed across different areas of Mallorca. Its primary objective is to raise awareness and educate people about the significance of posidonia

sea grass while advocating for responsible anchoring practices.

Officers engage with boat users, providing them with essential information. Throughout the summer season, over 3,600 notifications were issued. The largest share of these notifications (1,125) pertained to the Calvia coastline, which experiences the highest concentration of boats and consequently, the greatest number of violations.

Following Calvia, the areas of Andratx and Portocolom rank next in terms of infringements. In the southern region near Es Trenc, there has been relatively less necessity for information sharing.

Theft at zoo

The centre staff reported that they had been victims of the theft of a pony along with its riding equipment. According to the victim, a couple accessed the facilities accompanied by a young girl.

In fact, they had been to visit the safari zoo in a rental van and, after finishing the circuit in the vehicle, they went to the zoo area to rent a pony for a ride for the minor.

THE owner of a property in Palma de Mallorca has had to pay a fine of €20,000 for illegal holiday rentals. A fine procedure initiated by the Balearic Ministry of Tourism has now been judicially confirmed.

The man had offered individual rooms in his property in Palma using the Airbnb portal, but did not have a licence. He had also not submitted a mandatory declaration for holiday rentals .

After observing that time was passing and that the animal had not been returned, they began a search in the vicinity without success. Immediately afterwards, the zoo reported the theft.

The Guardia managed to

Airbnb

In doing so, he made himself doubly punishable. On the one hand, he rented out a private property to holidaymakers without a licence. On the other hand, he rented out individual rooms, which is generally forbidden on the Balearic Islands. The man

PROVERB OF THE WEEK

find out that the horse had been moved to a luxurious property located in the Son Vida urbanisation in Palma. Once the animal was recovered, it was returned to its rightful owners. The defendant was arrested at his home.

Thinhad justified his objection to the fine by saying that he had not rented out the entire property.

The holiday landlord had not been particularly discreet with his illegal offer. Not only did he advertise the rooms on the well ­ known platform, he even responded to the online reviews of his guests. The case was so clear that inspectors did not even have to look at the property to see if it met holiday rental regulations.

Office flood

THREE floors of the Palma City Council offices in Avenidas were flooded after the air conditioning developed a fault on Friday, August 11.

The breakage of an air conditioning ‘hose’ on the fifth floor of the offices, where the urban planning department is located, caused a flood on the third, fourth and fifth floors.

Palma City Council reported on Sunday that the technicians who reviewed the affected floors believe that the fault occurred on Friday afternoon, when the building was already closed, which caused the lower floors to flood.

Technicians have made a first assessment of the damage to the furniture and computer equipment. Until an in­depth evaluation is carried out and job security is confirmed in all plants, the employees of the three affected plants will work from home.

The water has not affected the first floor, where citizens are served, so it will continue to function normally.

Credit: mruizdeassin/Pixabay

CALVIA COASTLINE: Working to prevent vessels anchoring.

SAFARI ZOO: The stolen pony was returned.

Credit: Guardia Civil

“A jack of all trades is master of none.”

A person with some knowledge of several fields (jack of all trades) can’t be a master in any of them. Source - In 1612, the phrase appeared in the book ‘Essays and Characters of a Prison’ by English writer Geffray Mynshul (Minshull), originally published in 1618.

80% of Spaniards live in urban areas

SON BONET: The aim is to reopen the existing sports facilities.

MARRATXI Town Hall

wants to reopen the existing sports facilities in the Son Bonet airport grounds to make them available to the public. For this reason, the councilor for Economic Promotion, Odette Torres, will initiate a conversation with those responsible for Son Bonet and Aena “with the aim of reopening sports facilities.”

To do this, added the

councillor, “different options can be studied, such as agreements, concessions, rent or public­private collaboration.

“The opening of these facilities would cover a clear need for many residents of the towns close to Son Bonet” such as Pont d’Inca, Pont d’Inca Nou, Cas Capità and Pla de na Tesa. “At the same time, it would be a first step to turn the historic centre of Pont d’Inca into

Chickpea crisis

Credit: Rotger/Wikipedia

a benchmark in terms of supply and services,” she said.

The intention of the current municipal government team is to be able to reach agreements with those responsible for the Son Bonet airport since, together with the sports facilities, the space has “many other interests for the residents such as the uses of the adjacent land,” said Torres.

THE number of hectares dedicated to the cultivation of organic chickpeas was reduced by 43 per cent in 2023. The figure raised the alarm among the sector which warned of the ‘decline’ of the cultivation of this product.

The Association of Ecological Agricultural Production of Mallorca (APAEMA) and the Association of Local Varieties have shown their concern about this decrease, which they explain is due to climate change.

“The rainfall and temperature regime has changed and the agricultures that are dedicated to this crop have had very bad harvests for some years, which has caused either that it cannot be harvested, or that not even the seed sown grows,” explained Miquel Coll, president from APAEMA .

With this situation, it has been the producers themselves who have shown

seven have chickpeas to sell. “It no longer pays to plant Mallorcan chickpeas, since the uncertainty of whether or not they can be sold means that some even lose money,” Coll said.

€100,000

CALVIA Council has closed a supermarket in the Punta Balena area of Magaluf and fined the store €100,000 for selling alcohol at night.

The council said on Friday, August 11, that the supermarket which is located in Punta Ballena had remained open at night selling alcohol to the public.

This is an offence classified as very serious in article 16.1 of the Decree of Tourism Excesses, as establishments must remain closed between 9.30pm and 8am. The penalty for this type of serious law infringement ranges from €60,000 to €600,000.

Calvia Local Police officers found the supermarket to be open after hours and selling alcohol in a basement of the shop, out of sight from the exterior.

Bottles of alcohol were displayed, bags were laid out and there was a cash register to serve customers.

The clandestine activity was detected at 10.15pm and, once the case had been opened by the police and the infringement accredited, a fine was imposed and the supermarket was closed.

Sporting wish

EARNING the name of the ‘bridge to nowhere’, a structure in Puerto Alcudia’s Paseo Marítimo has held a rather peculiar status since the pedestrianisation of the waterfront at the close of the previous century.

Serving as more of an elevated pathway offering panoramic views of the port area, the bridge has contributed significantly to capturing picturesque snapshots of the expansive beach alongside the marina and the charming Alcudia beach.

The comprehensive pedestrianisation initiative involved a substantial amount of wood, not solely for the bridge but also for the promenade itself. However, the promenade was replaced some years ago due to its extensive de ­

ALCUDIA PORT: The waterfront is pedestrianised.

terioration. Similarly, the bridge has progressively succumbed to wear and tear. Plans are set to initiate the dismantling process once the ongoing season concludes, with an estimated cost of slightly less than €300,000.

This financial commitment, encompassing pavement restoration and related tasks, will be

Credit: SeeMallorca

OFFICERS of the National Police, in an operation that has had the collaboration of the Interior Attaché in Belgium and the Inspection of the Belgian Ministry of Economy, have recovered four oil paintings stolen in Mallorca.

works were hidden was found, for which an entry and search was carried out that resulted in the immediate recovery of four of the seven works.

the company through which they acted, located in Brussels, is under investigation. The Belgian Prosecutor’s Office has arranged for the delivery of the oil paintings to their owner.

assumed by the Balearic Ports Authority, given its jurisdiction over the Paseo Marítimo.

During a March assembly, Alcudia Town Hall strongly advocated the bridge’s removal, a standpoint that remains unchanged despite a shift in administration. The current consensus firmly aligns with this perspective.

They are four of the seven works, valued at €31,000, by the artists José Cheetham, Marc Badia, Dimitros Tade and Fabio Finamore, that a private individual had exhibited in a gallery in Palma which were fraudulently sold by various people.

The Spanish investigators identified the alleged perpetrators and, through the Belgian Interior Attaché, in collaboration with the Inspection of the Ministry of the Economy, they were finally located on Belgian territory.

Thanks to the rapid action of all the units involved in the investigation, the place where the

Nitx de l’Art Felantix

The exhibition will have more than 200 artists and will be held in different public and private spaces in the centre of the town. In addition to the night of Friday, August 18, the exhibition can also be visited over the weekend.

The Nitx de l’Art will coincide with the beginning of the Sant Agusti festivities.

The night dedicated to art, which has been curated by Sebastià Mascaró, will begin with a performance by the renowned artist Susy Gómez. She will carry out a performance which, under the name of Breaking the Spell, is based on the Felantix legend of the Font de Santa Margalida.

The exhibitions have renowned names of artists, painters and sculptors of international scope who see in the Nitx de l’Art de Felanitx as a reference for showing their work in Mallorca.

Musical performances, educational workshops and microtheatre will complete the Nitx de l’Art.

Bridge to go Paintings recovered

ON Friday, August 18, the town of Felanitx will celebrate a new edition of its well­known and well­attended Nitx de l’Art.

Anna Ellis

THE Special Scheme for the Self­Employed (RETA) closed the seventh month of the year with a monthly loss of 1,314 self­employed workers in Andalucia (0.2 per cent), with Sevilla being the province with the largest loss (­0.6 per cent).

This decline was marked by the fall in enrolment in education (­4.6 per cent) and commerce (­0.2).

The total number of self­employed workers has reached 3,344,562 self­employed workers in Spain and 570,615 in Andalucia.

The president of ATA Andalucia, Rafael Amor, confirmed: “The data known today on enrolment in Andalucia are within normality.

“Of the fall in self­employed workers, more than half are in education, a sector that tends to reduce its activity in the summer months.

“Nevertheless, we continue to be a leading region in terms of the number of self­employed, with more than 570,000.

John Ensor

ON Friday, August 11, the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (Aesan) issued an alert regarding the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in smoked salmon of the brand JOALPESCA, with an expiration date of August

Self-employed

Comparing 2023 with 2022:

In the data on the self­employed, if we compare with July 2022, the Social Security data show that the communities with the greatest weight of tourism have increased their enrolment in Spain over the last year, while nine have lost self­employed workers, in addition to the two autonomous cities.

SELF-EMPLOYED: The numbers are decreasing.

“So far this year, one out of every three self­employed people who have registered in Spain is Andalucian,” said Rafael Amor, who believes that the growth of the self­employed in Andalucia is due to the fact that “Andalucia is a land of entrepreneurship and there are many facilities for starting up your own business.”

In other words, if we compare July 2022 with July 2023, the two archipelagos show an increase of 2.2 per cent in enrolment of the self­employed, and there is also a notable increase in the Autonomous Community of Valencia (+1.1 per cent), Madrid and Andalucia (0.6 per cent) and Catalonia (+0.2 per cent).

The average in Spain is an increase of 0.1 per cent of the self­employed, a total of 3,617 more self­employed.

Food safety warning

14, 2023, according to a news source.

The initial distribution was to the autonomous communities of Madrid, Castilla ­ La Mancha, Castilla y León, Catalonia, and Murcia, but other areas may also be affected.

“The Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (Aesan) issued on Friday an alert on the presence of Listeria monocytogene in smoked salmon brand JOALPESCA with expiration date August 14, 2023,” Aesan announced. They learned of the situation

THE recent wave of thefts from Spanish lorries on French roads has forced the Paris government to take urgent measures.

Specifically, the French gendarmerie has set up the emergency telephone number ’17’ so that hauliers can report lorry theft and police checks can be carried out quickly.

According to sources from

through the Coordinated System for the Rapid Exchange of Information (SCIRI), following an alert notification from the health authorities of the Community of Madrid.

The specific product in question is smoked salmon host c/p­e, of the Joalpesca brand, corresponding to lot E675C1528 three and weighing between 1kg and 1.5 kg. The initial distribution was to the autonomous communities mentioned above, but redistribution to other areas is not ruled out.

Diesel heist

Fenadismer, the transport employers’ association, in recent months there has been a considerable increase in theft from lorries on French territory, especially of diesel fuel from vehicle tanks. Hauliers normally fill up with fuel in

Aesan advises against consuming the product. The information has been transferred to the competent authorities through the Coordinated System for the Rapid Exchange of Information (SCIRI), to ensure the withdrawal of the affected products.

If you have consumed any of the products from the affected lots and are experiencing symptoms of listeriosis (vomiting, diarrhoea or fever), it is recommended to seek medical attention.

Spain (an average of €3,000 worth of fuel) just before crossing the border, as prices are much lower than in the rest of Europe, making them a prime target.

Spanish drivers who are victims of theft on the road, whether of fuel or goods, are being urged to report any theft through the emergency telephone number.

Emergency number 17 connects the caller directly with the National Gendarmerie’s Operations and Intelligence Centre (CORG).

Drivers have been advised to remain with their lorry at the site of the theft to facilitate the French authorities’ intervention. By dialling the emergency number 17, a unit will be deployed on the ground for emergency action.

Planning your retirement in Spain

Spain remains a popular destination for British retirees and if you take specialist advice and follow the procedures correctly, you can continue to live the dream in Spain. Here are eight key wealth management steps to take as part of your journey.

1) Apply for your Spain residence visa

Applying for legal residence in Spain now involves stricter requirements and more advance planning and paperwork – but is generally still possible provided you can support yourself. Retirees can apply for a Spanish non-lucrative visa, or if you have capital to invest locally the ‘Golden Visa’ may be an option. Spain has also now introduced a digital nomad visa.

2) Understand the tax implications of living in Spain

You are a tax resident of Spain if you spend over 183 days here a year, or if your centre of economic or vital (wife/children) interests is in

By Cathal Rochford, Partner,

able for Spanish income, capital gains and annual wealth taxes on worldwide income and assets and subject to the succession tax rules.

3) Timing your move to save tax

The Spanish tax year runs from January to December, whereas the UK is April to April. The two countries apply different capital gains tax rules and rates. Weigh up

assets as a UK or Spanish tax resident, then time your move accordingly.

4) Structure your assets to minimise tax in Spain

A potentially costly mistake is assuming what was tax-efficient in the UK is the same in Spain. ISAs, for example, lose their tax-free status here.

While Spanish taxation can look high, the tax regime presents attractive tax mitigation opportunities. The way you hold your assets can make a significant difference to how much tax you pay.

5) Research how UK pensions

are taxed in Spain

For residents of Spain, UK occupational and state pensions are taxed only in Spain. The taxation of UK private pensions is more complicated so take personalised advice. Government service pensions remain liable only to UK tax (though the income is taken into account in Spain when determining your income tax rate on other income).

able in Spain.

6) Analyse your pension options

Review all the available options and weigh up which is most suitable for you. For example, you might benefit from consolidating several UK pensions into one to provide a coherent, more cost-effective investment platform for your retirement income.

Note that transferring UK pensions to an EU Qualifying Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS), after you are Spanish tax resident will incur a prohibitive tax charge in Spain, so take advice before you move.

Pension rules frequently change so the appropriate solution today may be slightly different tomorrow. The important thing is to take regulated, specialist advice before making decisions.

7) Reviewing your savings and investments

This is the time for a fresh review of your savings and investments.

you today, is designed to meet your aims and risk appetite, and has adequate diversification to reduce risk.

Consider what currency to hold your savings in – keeping assets in Sterling puts you at the mercy of conversion costs and negative exchange rate movements.

8) Don’t forget estate planning

Spanish inheritance tax works very different from UK’s. Spain also restricts who you can leave assets to, though you can plan ahead to get round this.

A helping hand

It pays to do your research, but taking specialist cross-border advice will prove invaluable. Find a firm who can advise you for the longerterm, on all these various aspects, from the planning stages in the UK throughout your new life in Spain, and if you return to the UK in future.

Keep up to date on the financial issues that may affect you on the Blevins Franks news page at

Blevins Franks

The complex case of David Hunter

IN a tragic and emotionally charged case, Cypriot prosecutors are appealing the manslaughter conviction of David Hunter, a British man who ended the life of his seriously ill wife. The

case highlights the complex legal and moral considerations around assisted death, mercy killing, and the boundaries of the law.

David Hunter, a 76year ­ old retired miner

from Northumberland found himself involved in a legal battle after being accused of murdering his 74­year­old wife Janice at their home in Cyprus in 2021. Janice was suffering from cancer and the prosecution alleged that David took her life intentionally. However, during the trial, David maintained that his wife begged him to end her suffering.

The trial concluded with a verdict of manslaughter rather than murder. The three judges that presided over the case ruled the act was not premeditated murder. He was immediately released from custody and he visited his wife’s grave the following day.

The Cypriot prosecutors’ decision to appeal both the verdict and the sentence introduces further complexity to an already heart ­ wrenching case. This appeal raises

the possibility of David facing charges of premeditated murder once again. This case draws attention to broader discussions around euthanasia and assisted death.

In Spain the law allows individuals with serious and incurable illnesses causing intolerable suffering to request aid in dying, subject to specific conditions. This includes being of legal age, having proper medical information, making repeated voluntary requests over a period of time, and having Spanish nationality or legal residence in Spain. Spain’s legislation underscores the complexities in striking a balance between an individual’s right to choose and the need to ensure proper safeguards and procedures.

Public sentiment regarding euthanasia varies across societies. In Spain, surveys show that 86 per

cent of the Spanish population supported the legalisation of euthanasia for terminally ill patients. The opinion held by a resident of Murcia, Encarna Sánchez Moreno, said “Personally, I believe that legalising assisted dying is about giving people the choice and control they deserve at the end of their journey. When someone’s pain becomes too much, having the option to pass

away peacefully surrounded by loved ones is an act of empathy and understanding.”

A Controversial Choice: Exploring assisted dying’s ethical landscape.

91.1% of British residents: English is the first language

BUSINESS EXTRA

Vegan beef

US vegan burger sales fell by approximately a third as Beyond Meat reduced its revenue forecast in a trend also noticed in the UK. After several years of brisk expansion boosted by private equity investment, meat substitutes have disappeared from many UK menus, with sales falling by 6 per cent last year.

Working week

ALMOST three ­ quarters of Spanish firms said the four­day week was “out of touch with reality.” A survey by human resources consultancy Adecco found that although companies had successfully adopted the 32­hour week, 73.5 per cent doubted its viability, while 60 per cent of the self­employed questioned the initiative.

Summer washout

UK retailers have slashed prices to tempt buyers as a cheerless summer and steadily­increasing interest rates discouraged consumer spending in July. Reports from the British Retail Consortium, consultants KPMG and Barclays noted that spending rose slightly in early July but fell once 7.9 per cent inflation entered the equation.

Yoghurt slump

DANONE registered a €10.8 million profit in 2022, 36.8 per cent less than in 2021 despite turnover of €768.9 million, a 9.6 per cent increase on 2021. The company attributed the dropoff to its Local First restructuring project that has given increased autonomy to each country’s Danone subdivision.

Home and dry

FASHION chain Superdry has secured fresh funding with restructuring and refinancing specialist Silco lending the clothing company £25 million (€28.98 million). The deal will provide Superdry with “improved liquidity to help accelerate a turnaround plan and cost­reduction programme”, a spokesperson said.

STAT OF WEEK €1.99 billion

turnover for La Liga, Spain’s top professional football division in 2022, 2.5 per cent more than the previous year, putting it in the black after three years of losses.

Britishvolt complications Open and shut cases

Linda Hall

THE Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has written to more than 20 UK banks, asking how many customer accounts they had recently closed, suspended or denied.

They were also asked to explain why they had withdrawn their services and were given until August 25 to respond. An FCA report is expected by mid­September.

Earlier, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt had called on the FCA to step up its investigation into lenders’ large­scale “debanking” of clients for what he said were their “lawfully held political beliefs.”

Lenders will also be obliged to reveal how many complaints they have received from vetoed customers.

Although the practice is by no means new, it aroused public interest and outrage after Coutts debanked UK leader Nigel

SPAIN’S Ministry of Consumer Affairs announced fines for several airlines not providing a free­phone service for clients.

Even when this did exist, the unnamed airlines “put obstacles” in users’ way, the Ministry explained.

“This means they are not complying with their legal obligations to clients,” a Ministry statement said.

Regulations specify that an airlines' telephone should be accessible to all consumers and not linked to a special tariff or a certain area. It should be free and prefixed by 800 or 900, known technically as “automatic reversed charge.”

As air transport is a “basic service of interest”, companies were obliged to

Private talks

ACCORDING to reports in the Spanish media at the beginning of June, Elon Musk was in talks with the Valencia’s regional government to build a €4.5 billion gigafactory.

Sources close to the deal to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles explained that Tesla owner and chairman Elon Musk was allegedly “infuriated” after what he supposed was a “confidential negotiation” should have attracted so much media attention.

Two months later, the deal seems to be on once more and speeding up the compulsory purchase of land in Cheste (Valencia province).

Farage. The ensuing scandal prompted the resignation of Dame Alison Rose, chief executive of NatWest to which Coutts now belongs.

Farage, who has now launched a website to assist other people ousted by their banks, obtained Coutts documents which

showed that he had not met the bank’s “commercial criteria” for some time.

This requires customers to hold €1.16 million in investments or loans or savings of €3.48 million but the decision to close his accounts was also based on disquiet that Farage’s “views” endangered Coutts’ reputation.

The FCA said that closer monitoring by banks could be partly responsible for the recent increase in shutdowns. It is also suggested that banks have become too cautious and dependent on AI when investigating and flagging fraudulent behaviour.

Freephones not obstacles

introduced to protect consumers considered to be vulnerable.

Failure to observe these modifications will result in fines of between €150 and €10,000 for minor infractions and between €10,001 and €100,000 in cases deemed to be serious.

RECHARGE INDUSTRIES, the Australian company which rescued Britishvolt in February, failed to make the final payment on April 5. Although Britishvolt, based in Blyth (Northumberland), was worth £800 million (€926.18 million) before its collapse, Recharge Industries bought the business and its assets for £8.57 million (€9.92 million) in February.

“The final instalment remains unpaid and overdue. As a result, the buyer is in default of the business sale agreement,” Britishvolt’s administrators EY said.

“We dispute that we are in default,” declared Scale Facilitation, Recharge’s Manhattan­based parent company whose Australian offices were raided by police in June, following tax fraud allegations.

Lithium plans

CORNISH Lithium will extract an annual 8,000 tons of battery­grade lithium from a repurposed China clay pit at Trelavour Downs in Cornwall.

AIRLINES: Should provide freephone lines for customers, government said

make one of these lines available, the Ministry said.

This stipulation came into effect following modifications to the Consumers’ Defence Law during the last legislation,

Time to Zoom back

VIDEO communications platform Zoom, which made it possible to work remotely during the pandemic, wants its employees in the office.

At one stage the company said staff could work from home “indefinitely” but announced recently that it now believed a “structured hybrid approach” was more effective.

The US­based company will introduce the new policy in August and September, with staff living within 80 kilometres of their office working there at least twice a week.

In the US where Zoom is based, 12 per cent of workers were fully remote in July, while 29 per cent split their time between the home and the office.

Meanwhile, Stanford University researchers found that working from home is much more common in the US and English­speaking countries but less usual in Europe and Asia.

In cases where the benefits to an airline not providing a free­phone exceeded the amount of the fine, the sanction could be increased by between 200 and 400 per cent for minor infringements. When considered serious, the fine could be between 400 and 600 per cent higher.

Deal takes the biscuit

CEREALTO SIRO FOOD'S Palencia plant will remain open for another four years.

The Palencia installation was earmarked for closure last year in Madridbased Cerealto Siro Foods’cost­savings plans. The company has now reached agreement with 184 employees who agreed to a €130 per month pay cut in exchange for guaranteeing the immediate future of Siro's Venta de Baños factory.

Juan Manuel Gonzalez­Serna, founder of the indebted household name, sold a 75 per cent stake to Afendis Capital Management and Davidson Kempner Capital Management in 2022 for a reputed €80 million which included debt settlement, while he held the remaining shares.

The company is receiving £53 million (€61.36 million) in a funding package that has been provided by the UK Infrastructure Bank, the Energy & Minerals Group (EMG) and Cornish Lithium's largest shareholder, TechMet.

“The funding will help to support the development of the UK’s critical minerals supply chain and accelerate growth towards the commercial production of lithium, vital for the UK’s transition to netzero,” Treasury minister Andrew Griffith said.

The bright side

A EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK (BCE) survey revealed that the Spanish are generally more positive than other Eurozone citizens. They viewed with optimism their prospects regarding future earnings, property prices and economic growth, with consumer affairs the only area where they were more pessimistic. Spanish optimism regarding earnings increased by 3 per cent, compared with the 1.2 per cent Eurozone average, the BCE said. In the Netherlands, for instance, expectations regarding salaries shrank by 1.5 per cent but rose slightly in Germany by 1.2 per cent.

EXCLUSIVE: Coutts branch in Eton (Berkshire)

Photo credit: CC/Bill Boaden

Photo credit: Pexels/Victor Freitas

DOW JONES

Zielo sale

UBS is selling the upmarket

Zielo shopping centre, located in the affluent Pozuelo de Alarcon (Madrid) suburb which has Spain’s highest per capita income. The bank bought the shopping centre from real estate developers Hines in 2015 for approximately €70 million although market sources maintain that UBS now expects offers of around €60 million.

Next best thing

BUMPER sales for Next prompted a second profits upgrade in just over six weeks. After an exceptionally wet July did not dampen demand, the companywhich has around 550 stores in the UK and Ireland ­ said it expected £845 million (€978.6 million) in annual profits, £10 million (€11.6 million) more than it previously forecast.

Back to the paperchase

DIGITISING the health certificates required to export the UK’s fish and chilled foods to Europe would have saved £3 million (€3.48 million) in post­Brexit paperwork.

Now the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra, has told companies taking part in a 2022 pilot scheme that the trials will end.

The sector had welcomed the electronic certificates which would have reduced the paperwork involved, obliging lorryloads of chilled fish to pass through thirdcountry controls in Boulogne (France).

Grifols tightens its belt

THE Grifols family, which founded the multinational pharmaceuticals firms of the same name, saw their income dwindle by 97 per cent last year.

In 2021, the family­owned firm Deria, the laboratory’s principal shareholder, received €16.4 million in dividends.

In contrast, the company announced that there would be no shareout for 2022, owing to Grifols high level of indebtedness after

buying out German rival, Biotest, increasing its net debt to €9.42 billion by June 2023.

Deria, which has left 25 million shares as collateral with Banco Santander, received €454,784 in 2022, mainly from interest and providing services, but reported losses of €139, 177.

The company also revealed that some board members received €238,333 “in remunerations.”

Settling in

Producers had hoped that the digitised system would have been introduced first in the UK and subsequently in Ireland, the Netherlands and Scandinavia.

Salmon is Britain’s biggest food export and Defra had left companies with ongoing red tape costs, said Salmon Scotland, which represents the farm­raised sector.

“These have already been racking up for more than two and a half years,” Tavish Scott, Salmon Scotland’s chief executive.

“The salmon industry is worth £760 million (€881.41 million) to the economy,” Scott said. “Other sectors selling chilled food, including poultry and cheese, could have also benefited from the digital certification,” he added.

The organisation called on the government to act quickly, given the impact of the extra paperwork and inevitable delays on perishable goods.

SPANISH multinational infrastructure giant Ferrovial recently signed off its first quarterly accounts in Amsterdam after controversially moving its headquarters from Madrid. The company is now seeking new offices in the Dutch capital which will be more central than those that were until now the headquarters of its Netherlands subsidiary, Ferrovial International SE, in Kingsfordweg near the A10 ring­road.

Racing ahead

LOTUS produced a record number of sports cars in the first six months of 2023 as it prepares for a new electric SUV under Chinese owner Geely’s expansion plans. Lotus, founded 75 years ago, produced 2,200 vehicles between January and the end of June at its factory in a former Second World War bomber factory in Hethel (Norfolk).

FARMED SALMON: Britain’s biggest food export

Photo credit: CC/Tim Harrison

Sowing the seed of discontent

WHY is everyone still screaming that Britain needs more diversity? The UK is now recognised as one of the most diverse nations on the planet. Instead of wasting energy by constantly complaining, why don’t those affected welcome this situation with open arms and start acting with some positivity?

As Shakespeare observed; ‘Methinks thou doth protest too much’. I can’t help becoming even more convinced that those who continue to condemn British society actually thrive on animosity, refusing to accept the truth in case they are deprived of something to vent their hatred on! Let’s just have a brief look at these ‘lack of UK diversity’ accusations.

To date, with very few exceptions, almost every family based commercial on British TV depicts a mixed marriage. Practically all the ads that use a number of actors, portray an (often ludicrous) cross section of casts with ethnic backgrounds. Neither of these situations is a true re­

flection of life across the UK and is therefore either a minority appeaser, or some form of majority brainwashing ­ and is also by its very definition blatantly racist! A large number of major league football teams are partially, or in some cases predominately ethnic.

Athletes, particularly runners, are almost all from immigrant heritage and any accusation of racism (predominately aimed at the indigenous population) is dropped on by the law like a ton of bricks. The long suffering British population has bent over backwards to accept and encourage diversity into a country which, after recovering from two World Wars, became open and ready to accept many from other less fortunate cultures. But to see its generosity and welcome rewarded by ‘no go areas’, terrorism, religious fanaticism, culture attack and nothing but insults and ingratitude ­ is quite understandably getting large numbers of them the terrible hump!

The ‘far right’ was initially blamed as instigators of this UK dissent, and was quite rightly chastised for it. Unfortunately, with the blatant, unchecked reversed racism of so called ‘comedians’, plus some of the disgraceful racist material of

SHAGGY DOG STORY OUR VIEW

Rapper culture, exponents of the not­so far right are actually beginning to think those a bit ‘further over’ may have had a point. Almost every award presentation is criticised for not including enough diversity among the winners. Well, possibly there weren’t enough who were worthy of awards!

We cannot fall into the trap of favouring people simply because of their ethnic heritage or gender. If we do, we will not only lower our standards, but also be in real danger of provoking even further disquiet by denying recognition of those who may be far more deserving.

This whole diversity and ‘woke driven’ human rights situation is sowing seeds of discontent that, if unchecked, will continue to grow and flourish into a full scale civil conflict that could leave large sections of the UK’s major cities resembling Beirut. An example of which actually landed in London’s Oxford Street this week!

Exactly the warning I wrote in this column 20 years ago, originally considered ‘another Leapy rant’. Oh really!

MANY Spanish laws which seem a good idea in principle seem to fall at the first hurdle as they are often impossible to enforce except individually.

The latest is the pioneering Animal Welfare Law which comes into force in September and has two major and possibly contentious obligations for dog owners.

Firstly, every owner will be required to obtain third party insurance valid for the lifetime of their pet and the intention is that should their dog be responsible for any injury to another animal or person, there will be an insurance policy in place which will ensure that the victim doesn’t lose out financially. Certain parts of Spain including Madrid already require owners to have such an insurance which also covers the owner against claims alleging their culpability for misbehaviour by their pooch and cost is currently from around €25 to €100 per annum depending on value of cover purchased.

Introducing such a law and enforcing it are two different things and it seems hardly likely that police officers will stop owners walking their dogs and demand to see proof of insurance.

Even if they did, then lack of insurance basically results in a ticking off and only in the most blatant of offences where a third party is injured is there any likelihood of a fine.

Animal shelters are overflowing with abandoned dogs and now that the new law also requires new owners to pass a ‘dog ownership’ test it hardly seems likely that the number finding forever homes can do anything else but drop.

Many lonely elderly people find companionship thanks to a dog but this is just another cost to add to the ever spiralling expense of ownership.

Leapy Lee’s opinions are his own and are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers or sponsors.

LETTERS

LAST week we discussed the latest figures surrounding the issue of 2.8 million television viewers who believe that they should not be required to pay the £159 annual charge for a TV licence as they no longer watch BBC channels or any kind of live television.

The rise of streaming services such as Netflix, Disney Plus and Paramount Plus have been giving traditional channels like BBC and ITV a run for their money over the past few years, with the above figure showing an increase of more than 360,000 people in the previous 12 months.

There’s been a significant uplift in the amount of people who watch live television through social media channels such as

Comments

Pay per view would sort out this antiquated policy, and then the BBC will see the exact figures willing to tune in to the channel.

I object to the BBC using the licence fee as their own bank account paying obscene wages such as £1.3 million to Gary Linaker for hosting a programme for one hour a week, and paying one of their news readers £350,000 for three days work and a total of 12 hours on radio which I never listen to.

William Hughes

Where have you seen these shows already? The licence is free for over 75s in receipt of Pension Credit. You’re on £52k a year so probably too rich to get pensions credit though.

Jase

The BBC has now become a game show channel and a repeat channel with nothing too exciting in the middle.

Les

The BBC send letters to intimidate people who don’t own a licence.

Anonymous

The BBC is a self serving and obsolete service. Yes, they have a few series that are good, but with over three billion from stealth enforcement of li ­

YouTube. According to TV Licensing.co.uk, even if you’re watching live TV through YouTube indirectly, you are still required to have TV licence coverage to be compliant with the law.

Toby Young, the Founder and Director of the Free Speech Union told the Daily Mail: “These figures show that the TV licence fee is not a viable funding model for the BBC going forward.”

He added: “The obvious alternative is to become a subscription­based service like Netflix and Amazon Prime.”

Perhaps, times are changing and preferences are evolving. Will streaming services eventually render traditional live television as irrelevant and outdated?

cence paying they should have! Why it still exists is beyond me and paying 44p is far to much for a generally mediocre service, that unless you want to be hounded by Television Licensing as if you were a criminal, you will pay under duress!

Rob

Why do we have to pay the BBC to watch all the other channels who pay their own way. Shocking.

John

Do away with the TV licence. We live in the 21st century, not the 20th century when BBC was created.

Stephen Nield

It’s disgraceful that the BBC charge pensioners £159 for a TV licence. Shame on you.

John

Repeats and more of them. Then there are the quiz / game shows giving obscene amounts in prize money, that and the astronomical salaries paid to some of their presenters. My husband is over 80, I am in my 70s, the only reason we watch BBC is no adverts, we are not into streaming, so watch more DVDs than TV these days, but still we have to pay the licence fee. We have just over the limit in pension between us not to be able to get pension credits.

Jacqueline Drew

British turn to streaming as 2.8 million claim they no longer need to pay TV licence fee

PETS

Fancy pet-sitting as a way to travel? Horses: Spain’s heartbeat

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If you’re planning a trip register now as a member of our network to find an affordable home and pet care solution. Whether your trip is short or long, you’ll know that sometimes you must leave pets at home. Young and senior pets in particular benefit from staying at home, so they can follow their routines undisturbed. Join our pet and house­sitting network, and the sitters come for free!

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KEEPING pets cool during the hot Spanish summer is essential for their well­being, just like it is ours. Here are some strategies to ensure your animal companions stay comfortable:

Water availability: Always provide fresh, cool water. Consider adding ice cubes to keep it chilled.

Shady spaces : Create

THERE’S something uniquely captivating about the sound of hooves on Spanish cobblestones or the serene sight of a horse grazing in a sun­dappled meadow. In Spain, horses are more than just a cultural icon or a means of transportation. For many, they are cherished members of the family, loved and pampered as any pet would be. Imagine the bond one feels when a horse, with its soulful eyes, gently nuzzles up seeking affection, or the joy of watching it frolic with sheer delight. It’s not just about riding; it’s the conversations whispered between a horse and its owner during quiet moments, the shared sunsets, and the mutual trust.

Caring for a horse is undeniably demanding. It goes beyond providing shelter and food. It’s about understanding their emo­

Cool companions

shaded areas where pets can escape the sun, either indoors or in a sheltered part of the yard.

Cooling products: Invest in cooling mats or bandanas specifically designed for pets.

Avoid hot surfaces: Walk pets during cooler parts of the day to prevent their paws from burning on hot pavements.

Air circulation : Keep air flowing with fans or air con­

ditioning, especially if leaving pets indoors.

Paddling pools : Small pools can offer a fun way for pets to cool down.

Grooming: Regular grooming can help, as matted fur

tions, ensuring they have companions to play with, and tending to their health needs. Yet, ask any horse owner, and they’ll likely say the rewards far outweigh the efforts. Increasingly, city dwellers are finding ways to

traps heat.

Remember, different pets have varying needs, so always observe them for signs of overheating and consult

bring horses into their lives, be it through weekend riding clubs or adopting retired racehorses. The trend underscores a simple truth: In Spain’s rhythm of life, the heartbeat often sounds like galloping hooves.

with a veterinarian for specific advice. Spanish summers can be enjoyable for pets too, with the proper care and attention.

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A paddling pool (or plant pot) can be a great way to cool down.

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England v Spain Final

IS it finally England’s time to shine on the world stage? The Lionesses have made history by reaching the Women’s World Cup final for the first time, defeating Australia 3­1.

On Wednesday, August 16, England triumphed over Australia at Sydney’s Stadium Australia, with goals from Ella Toone, Lauren Hemp, and Alessia Russo. The victory was a significant achievement against the Matildas, a team that had been a thorn in England’s side in recent years, according to a news source.

Facing a boisterous home crowd, England’s women showcased a masterful performance. Australia had been the only team to defeat Sarina Wiegman’s squad in the last 37 matches, but England’s clinical play ensured a spot in the final against Spain.

Toone’s 36th­minute goal was the opener, but it was equalised by Sam Kerr’s brilliant solo effort. However, Hemp and Russo’s goals sealed England’s passage to the final, displaying both skill and determination.

The match saw Wiegman stick with the same starting XI, while Australia’s star Kerr was fit to play. Alanna Kennedy, however, missed the game due to illness.

The first opportunity fell to Kerr, who

was stopped by England’s goalkeeper Mary Earps. England then missed a chance to lead when Georgia Stanway’s volley was saved by Mackenzie Arnold. England’s attack was in fine form, with Russo hitting the side netting and Australia struggling to contain their opponents. A moment of brilliance from Russo set up Toone’s goal, silencing the 75,784­strong crowd.

Australia’s energy increased after halftime, but England remained in control. A missed opportunity by Mille Bright was

World Basketball Champions

THE Spanish basketball team suffered a narrow defeat to the United States in the FEB Centenary Tournament in Malaga.

The two nations clashed in Malaga’s Palacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpena on Sunday, August 13, with the US winning 88­98.

Sergio Scariolo’s players held their own for most of the game against the North Americans, who were the favourites on paper.

Despite the loss, this game served as a superb warm­up for the upcoming FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 which is being hosted jointly by the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia from August 25 to September 10.

Spain will be looking to retain the prestigious Naismith Trophy that they earned after defeating Argentina 75­95 in the 2019 tournament final that was hosted by China.

After a thumping 99­79 victory over Slovenia last Friday, the Spanish are hitting form at just the right time ahead of the tournament. They beat Venezuela in Madrid last week as well.

Willy and Juancho Hernangómez demonstrated their NBA quality on their first appearance back in Europe for a while. In only his third match in the national top, Aldama shone again, while Juan Núñez took another step forward.

punished by Kerr’s stunning 25­yard strike. England’s response was swift, with Lucy Bronze’s cross and Russo’s header threatening the Australian goal. A defensive error allowed Hemp to score, and the scrappy goal was a fitting testament to England’s journey to the final.

The Lionesses had to endure some late scares but continued to attack. A dazzling run from Hemp set up Russo’s goal in the 86th minute, securing England’s place in the first­ever Women’s World Cup final against Spain on Sunday.

The United States gave no quarter and demanded a perfect 40 minutes from Spain. They are desperate to reclaim the crown they lost in China four years ago. Spain fought to the very end under the direction of Juan Núñez, who once again demonstrated why Scariolo has not hesitated to include him in his final World Cup squad.

Although the challenge was enormous when facing the defender of the year, centre Jaren Jackson, Willy Hernángomez was the beacon of the Spanish attack.

The United States demands excellence and when it was not reached, the visitors opened the gap. As a result, Spain lost eight points with four minutes to go. This proved to be a distance that was already impossible to overcome despite a final attempt by the valiant Spanish players.

THE LIONESSES: Through to the World Cup final for the first time.

Credit Lionesses - Twitter.com