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24 - 30 January 2019
A XARQUÍA - C OSTA T ROPICAL YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION
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Protecting your rights ENSURING the rights of British expatriates will be protected, deal or no-deal Brexit, is a top priority, British Ambassador to Spain Simon Manley has made clear. Speaking exclusively to the Euro Weekly News following the British Parliament’s crushing defeat of Theresa May’s Brexit deal, the Ambassador described the vote as ‘a disappointment.’ But he stressed that whatever the final scenario of the UK’s departure from the European Union, the British government is working to guarantee British nationals in Spain will have the same rights and benefits as they do now. Admitting the agreement reached with the EU is not ideal, Mr Manley did insist it is a good deal, also pointing out, ‘the European Union has been very clear it’s the only deal.’ He insisted that for British nationals in Spain ‘it is a particularly good deal, because it gives the utmost legal certainty. “The things embodied in the Withdrawal Agreement in respect of citizens’ rights are not new; they’re within the political agreements we reached back in December 2017 and then again in March 2018. “But the importance of the Withdrawal Agreement is that it embodies those agreements, the guarantees about the continuity of citizens’ rights in an international legal treaty, and therefore gives you greater force of law. So that’s why particularly in respect to citizens’ rights we want to ensure we
get that deal.” On the matter of whether a no-deal Brexit is now a real possibility, the Ambassador commented, “It is true to say the risk of no-deal has risen as a result of the vote,” but added: “As the prime minister made clear it is not, has not been and will not be the government’s intention to leave without a deal, and the government will strive to come to a deal which can have the support of the House of Commons.” Mr Manley stressed that deal or no-deal, the ‘good news’ for British nationals living here is that the UK government has said it will protect the rights of EU 27 nationals currently resident in Britain, at the heart of which is the EU Settlement Scheme, and now the Spanish government has come up a with a similar statement of intent. It has published details in the form of a basis of what will become a royal decree, also establishing a ‘prepared for Brexit’ section on its Moncloa website, which went live last week. “It is fair to say there are areas where we’d like a bit more clarity on what is intended,” the Ambassador said, but made it clear discussions were taking place ‘to ensure the Spanish offer is genuinely reciprocal of what we’re doing in the UK.’ “We want to make sure people can enjoy the same rights and benefits in the two countries.” See page 10.
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Rescue efforts for Julen restart By D Kuner / S Underwood DRILLING to rescue Julen, the two-year-old boy who fell into a well in Totalán (Málaga) 11 days ago today, restarted yesterday. By Wednesday morning the difficulties encountered on Tuesday with the casing of a parallel tunnel designed to lead to the child had been remedied and by lunchtime it was possible to fit 42 metres of casing to the tunnel bored. Without it, it would be too dangerous for eight members of Hunosa Miners’ Rescue Brigade to descend and dig the final four-metre tunnel that would reach the toddler. As of 2pm yesterday there were still 20 more metres to go before the point where the team - described as the best specialist miners - could start the laborious process of connecting the rescue tunnel to the well. This final stage was expected to take about 24 hours with the hope being to reach Julen sometime today (Thursday). The miners planned to descend the new tunnel two by two and would then have to work either kneeling or lying
Credit: Twitter/Guardia Civil
ISSUE NO. 1751
Newspaper in Spain 2017 & 2018
DELAYED: A ‘miscalculation’ could slow rescue efforts. down in shifts of 40 minutes to one hour. Meanwhile, a court in Malaga has opened an investigation into exactly how Julen came to fall into the hole. According to Spanish media, the inquiry began after the Guardia Civil took statements from Julen’s parents, Vicky Garcia and Jose
Rosello, as well as the man thought to be responsible for drilling the hole, Antonio Sanchez. Vicky allegedly told police she was on her phone and Jose was looking for kindling to start a fire to make paella as Julen played just metres away with his small cousin before
falling down the 110-metre hole. The incident occurred in the Sierra de Totalan while Julen was on a trip with his family. The width of the hole, which measures 25 centimetres in diameter, has made rescue attempts lengthy and complicated.