Parliament’s Petitions Committee looks at complaints in Spain: Madrid, Catalonia and Elche

This week’s meeting of the European Parliament’s Petitions Committee will vote on whether to keep open a complaint about insecurity in neighbourhoods in Catalonia and debate a petition calling for compensation for those affected by the works on line 7 of the Madrid metro and another on the employment situation of shoe workers in Elche.

This week’s meeting of the European Parliament’s Petitions Committee has on the agenda for Wednesday 25 and Thursday 26 January the vote on a petition denouncing the situation of insecurity suffered by residents in many neighbourhoods of Catalonia. In addition, two other Spanish petitions will be debated: one on relocation and compensation for damages caused by works on the public network of the Madrid metropolitan railway, and another on the working conditions of shoe workers in Elche.

The first petition, which was presented on behalf of the ‘Platform for Safe Neighbourhoods’ on the alleged “decline in law and order experienced by residents of numerous neighbourhoods in Catalonia” will be one of the first items on the agenda, with the opening of an electronic vote to decide whether to keep it open and pass it on to the Spanish authorities or to close it. The initiative argues that the lack of coordination in the exchange of information between law and order authorities should be improved and claims that there is a failure of law enforcement by both the Barcelona municipal and regional authorities in Catalonia, which is causing an increase in crime rates and a public feeling that they are not safe in the neighbourhoods in which they live.

The vote will open the day in the Petitions Committee, which starts at 09.00 on Wednesday 25 and can be followed live.

The second petition, presented on behalf of the ‘Asociación de Afectados Metro de Madrid Rafael Alberti y Presa de San Fernando de Henares’, relates the damage to the homes of several residents of the town of San Fernando de Henares that was allegedly caused by the works that began in 2004 to extend line 7 of the Madrid metro to the towns of Coslada and San Fernando de Henares. The petition states that despite the reviews, inspections and agreements with the government of the Autonomous Community of Madrid and different local entities to repair the situation, the necessary effective measures to temporarily alleviate the situation of habitability for the people and families affected are not being put in place. It therefore calls for the urgent adoption of political and legislative measures by the Spanish authorities and also by the European Parliament to immediately alleviate the situation of loss of housing and evictions caused by these public works.

The debate will also take place in the morning session on Wednesday 25, and can be followed live.

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The third petition, presented on behalf of the Asociación de Aparadoras y Trabajadoras del Calzado, denounces the working conditions of shoe workers in Elche, who, according to the petitioner, work in their homes, in clandestine workshops or in factories, so they are being made invisible, mistreated by the industry and victims of the underground economy, in addition to a high percentage of them suffering from health problems such as muscle pain or psychological disorders, according to a study by the University of Alicante. The petition therefore calls for precariousness to be combated and working and social conditions to be improved.

The debate on this issue will be held in the afternoon session starting at 14:30 on Wednesday 25, which can also be followed live.

Source: Press release – European Parliament