An undeniable legal reality
The situation you envision in your decree of January 2, 2018 is no longer legally possible since the ruling of the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) on July 21, 2016.
In this decision, the judges in Barcelona, relying on Legislative Decree 1/1990 of July 13, 1990, recall a fundamental rule:
“The obligation of conservation and maintenance of the urbanization imposed on property owners must last the prescribed period, which may not exceed five years. During this time, the municipal council must take the necessary steps to develop the urbanization or impose taxes in order to assume, after five years, the charges temporarily assigned to the property owners.”
And they conclude:
“Therefore, with the entry into force of Legislative Decree 1/1990 on its publication date in the DOGC, July 13, 1990, the obligation of conservation could no longer be extended beyond five years, a period that has already been largely exceeded […]. It is therefore necessary to uphold the administrative appeal regarding the request for the dissolution of the Collaborative Urbanistic Conservation Entity (EUCC).”
They add:
“It is necessary to declare the dissolution of said EUCC.”
The EUCC is over!
Since July 21, 2016, the EUCC has been legally dissolved. It has been converted into a liquidation entity, as confirmed by the judge of Tarragona in his order of December 12, 2017.
It can no longer exercise any function of conservation or maintenance.
And since the EUCC was an administrative entity under the authority of the Town Hall, it is now the responsibility of the municipal authorities — that is, of you, Mr. Mayor of Pratdip — to bear the burden and responsibility for minimum services.
No, Planas del Rey is not a private urbanization
You keep claiming that Planas del Rey is a private urbanization. But where is that written?
In the appeal file that the Town Hall submitted to the TSJC, not once is Planas referred to as a “private urbanization.” Had that been the case, you could have used it as your main argument to win the case. You did not, because you could not.
Why? Because Planas del Rey is not a private urbanization.
Forty-five years of municipal inaction
From 1970 to 1993, the Town Hall of Pratdip had 23 years to solve the situation of Planas del Rey.
From 1993 to 2016, another 23 years passed during which residents continued to pay undue charges to an entity that had become illegitimate.
Let’s take one example: for a 1,000 m² plot, a resident of Planas paid about €19,000 more than a resident of Pratdip. This is not just unfair. It is discrimination.
Discrimination contrary to European law
When Spain joined the European Union, it incorporated into its legislation the prohibition of double taxation, a fundamental principle of European democracies.
You cannot tax a French, Belgian, Dutch, German, or Spanish citizen differently depending on where they live within the same municipality.
That has a name: discrimination.
And if, against all odds, the Spanish State remained powerless to enforce its own laws and the decisions of its highest courts, then we would bring the case before the European Court of Human Rights.
And in that case, Spain would be condemned.
It is time to respect the law
Mr. Mayor, Pratdip is not a principality. It is neither Andorra nor Monaco. It is a municipality located in Catalonia, Spain, within the European Union.
In 2018, there are laws in this country, and rulings issued by the courts. The Town Hall of Pratdip, like any citizen or institution, must comply with them.
Gérard Marais
Association de Vecinos Les Planes del Rei (SOS Planas)
