Marta Andreasen

You are receiving this email because you contacted Marta Andreasen’s office regarding the Spanish property scandal. I am Marta's parliamentary assistant, dedicated to this issue.

Here, I aim to explain Marta’s motivations and action.

Although elected by the South East of England, Marta has vowed to fight for this issue on behalf of all victims of this appalling affair, regardless of nationality or political constituency.

Marta Andreasen has taken on this problem, as she knows of the devastation caused by the corruption and badly drafted laws.

She feels strongly that homeowners are being treated unjustly and are receiving no protection from any of the responsible parties involved, the regional government, the Spanish government, their own government or the European Union.

Her office monitors the situation and is informed daily of developments through local contacts, amongst which we count property owners, journalists, lawyers and activists.

What is Marta doing? Since she confronted Prime Minister Zapatero in the opening session of the Spanish presidency, she has been busy gathering cross-party support to get the question debated at the European parliament.

She brought the matter up in the chamber not only to highlight the problem before the entire EU but also to let all parties know that she intends to pursue the matter.

Unlike Chris Bryant, the UK’s Europe minister, Marta remains unconditionally on the side of the all homeowners without admonishing, and is willing to challenge Spain (see http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatnews/7392959/Bulldozing-expats-will-hurt-Spain-Foreign-Office-minister-cautions.html)

How can Marta help me? Her aim is to apply enough pressure on the Spanish government to seek a fair and balanced treatment of all affected. Marta is listening and looking for a settlement for all, but cannot get involved in individual cases.

Marta's action complements those of the individual homeowners as she is determined to apply political pressure through whatever means she has, including campaigning for the removal of subsidies. Her involvement is at the European political level.

What can I do? Carry on your defending your home! We would not be able to succeed without the pressure applied on the Spanish authorities by the victims of this appalling affair; we are asking people to keep going through their existing legal teams, and see the processes through.

You can also write your MEP, and keep reminding them of the issue. We cannot fight this from a single political party base.

What next? We will do everything we can until we have exhausted all avenues, but will stop short of making promises we cannot keep. We promise transparency in our action.

We will shortly start issuing regular information and will include you on the list. Feel free to contact me if you know of any news/cases that we could use.

Marta has become a member of the Petitions Committee of the European parliament, and will ensure that upcoming requests are given the importance they deserve.

She will also attend a march in Malaga on March 17, and meet with some of you (at a later date, to be announced).