The
OLIVE PRESS
No entry! BRITS arriving in Mallorca without proof of a negative PCR result for coronavirus will be sent home. This warning was laid down by Balearic government president Francina Armengol on the day PCR tests became required for international travellers flying to Spain. “We have the power to repatriate anyone who does not comply with this mandatory measure,” said Armengol. As the first flight jetted into the island on Monday, six passengers failed to present their ‘fit to fly’ documentation. All were ordered to take an antigen test by contracted airport staff and slapped with a €600 fine. Meanwhile, local business unions have criticised the enforcement of the PCR test in belief that they are too expensive and will put off tourists from travelling. In collaboration with the Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation, the Mallorcan Hotel Association has launched a campaign requesting the government to instead ask travellers to take an antigen test. In a letter sent to Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez they said: “PCR’s will generate tremendous problems for many because they are excessively expensive and not available in some countries.” Earlier this month, the Spanish government announced fines of up to €6,000 for any traveller arriving to Spain by sea or air. It applies to countries deemed ‘at risk’ and includes most European nations, with a requirement for the test to be taken up to 72 hours before the trip. The measure came despite studies revealing that only 0.08% of cases originated from international arrivals.
Future perfect
We examine the coming motoring revolution Page 7
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Vol. 4 Issue 94 www.theolivepress.es November 27th - December 10th 2020
Lockdown Lock-in EXCLUSIVE UNABLE to have his regular Friday night down the boozer during lockdown, expat Conor Wilde hit on a novel idea for this one - to build his own pub! The Irish expat, 46, got his mates over and converted his garden shed into what he claims is Spain’s smallFORGET THE DRAUGHT: Conor est watering hole. Measuring 2.4m by 2.5m, it counts and pals at makeshift local
on a cornucopia of Emerald Isle collectibles… and it even has Guinness on draught. “After being cooped up like a man in solitary in March I came up with a plan,” the Valencia-based real estate consultant told the Olive Press. “I had an old shed in the garden. I got the lads over – Tuejar, El Gallego & Champ – and we set about
turning it into Spain’s smallest pub. And if I say so myself, we’ve done a grand job.” Called El Irlandes, after his favourite Martin Scorsese film, it happily fits his closest pals in for the usual Friday night Blarney. Wilde, from Skerries, near Dublin, has run the Found Valencia agency for two decades.
Landing Brexit TALKS: Michel Barnier and PM Johnson
GOOD HAUL: Compromise with French fishermen could help set up a Brexit deal by this weekend hints MEP Christophe Hansen
A TRADE deal between the EU and Britain is on the verge of being finalised, after the EU looked set to cave in on fishing rights. An MEP b r o k e ranks to say that it looked likely the French w o u l d have to c o m promise with Boris Johnson’s de-
By Dilip Kuner
mands over UK waters. Christophe Hansen said the EU would have to meet the UK’s demands to clinch an agreement. “There will be compromises to be made on fisheries. The status quo, that is somewhere we’re not going to land,” he told an event. French fishermen are understood to have backed a compromise despite losing out on access to certain fishing grounds. It came after the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier told them to compromise in order to get the trade talks if there is to be an agreement.
Landmark trade deal is within days of being signed after fishing rights issue appeared solved
France had previously been refusing to back down on any fishing deal, demanding near-parity to the UK’s coastal waters. It comes as the governor of the Bank of England warned that a no-deal Brexit would be more economically damaging than COVID to the UK. Andrew Bailey said failure to get a deal signed would create a massive cross-border trade blockage and damage goodwill between Brussels and the UK. Meanwhile, Ireland leader Micheal Martin said on Monday he was hopeful that a Brexit deal would be completed this week. See page 7-10-16 Taoiseach Martin said ‘by the end of this week we could see the outlines of a deal’.
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He said it would come down to ‘political will, both in the United Kingdom and I’m clear the political will is there from the European Union’. EU ambassadors were told over the weekend that a trade deal with Britain is on the verge of being finalised. They were told the majority of the 11 main negotiation issues have ‘joint legal texts with fewer and fewer outstanding points’.
Progress The European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, struck a positive note, saying: “After difficult weeks with very, very slow progress now we have seen in the last days better progress, more movement on important files. This is good.”