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Like other Italian towns selling 1 euro houses, Pratola Peligna has a steadily declining population. While the town had approximately 13,000 residents in the 1930s, that number has fallen to today’s population of around 7,000 as many residents left looking for better and higher paying jobs.
Some of the abandoned houses are in relatively good condition. On the other hand, many are in need of significant restoration while others are, essentially, ruins. In fact, the municipality has issued more than 40 warnings to owners noting that the house is in imminent danger of collapse, according to 1eurohouses.com.
In response, some owners have deeded houses to local authorities to avoid the burden and cost of maintaining buildings. That’s why Pratola Peligna is now able to sell houses for 1 euro.
Other towns selling 1 euro houses typically require buyers to pay a deposit of thousands of dollars to guarantee they will actually renovate their new home. Pratola Peligna, however, will instead simply issue the new owner a fine of 10,000 euros (approximately $11,500) if they fail to register a detailed plan of restoration with the town within 6 months.
“This is really in a worst-case scenario,” Di Bacco told CNN. “We just want to make sure buyers actually follow through on their commitment and don’t simply purchase a house for 1 euro and then disappear.”
The president of the European Council does not usually make news when addressing the UN General Assembly. In fact, the current occupant of the post, Charles Michel might be used to giving UN addresses that attract minimal attention. He is, after all, a former prime minister of Belgium.
However, today was different. Michel told the world that the European Union has made its choice in the emerging strategic contest between the United States and China:
Since I became President of the European Council, I have often been asked a question that is both simple and brutal: “In the new rivalry between the United States and China, which side is the European Union on?” My answer is the following…
We are deeply connected with the United States. We share ideals, values and a mutual affection that have been strengthened through the trials of history. They remain embodied today in a vital transatlantic alliance. This does not prevent us from occasionally having divergent approaches or interests.
We do not share the values on which the political and economic system in China is based. And we will not stop promoting respect for universal human rights. Including those of minorities such as the Uighurs. Or in Hong Kong, where international commitments guaranteeing the rule of law and democracy are being questioned.
Michel’s remarks might sound like a statement of the obvious, but the speech is noteworthy for two reasons. First, it’s actually not that obvious. It dispenses with a rhetorical trick used by top European politicians in the early years of the Trump administration. It was commonplace to hear certain leaders, such as Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron, refer, in a single breath, to the United States, China, and Russia as global challenges to be surmounted. //
That said, it’s also worth considering that China’s coronavirus-era misconduct has become an enormous factor in European diplomacy, too. U.S. popularity in Europe ebbs and flows with each administration — Republican presidents aren’t really admired on the continent. But the Chinese Communist Party has done much to help the Trump administration convince its European counterparts to take a stand on everything from 5G to Xinjiang and Hong Kong.
With 3,650,780 seats available on scheduled flights between Barcelona El Prat and Madrid Barajas in 2019, this route between Spain’s two most populous cities is Europe’s busiest by a margin of almost 500,000. Second in the list is Turkey’s Izmir-Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen, with 3,171,479 seats, with the third busiest (3,041,975) linking Izmir and Istanbul Atatürk.
The above figure represents 10,000 seats available on scheduled flights every day. The route, known as the ‘Puente Aéreo’ (Air Bridge), is served by Spanish flag carrier Iberia, as well as the country’s second and third largest airlines, low-cost carrier Vueling and Air Europa. Flights are scheduled to take around an hour and a half. However, the airlines have more to compete with than just each other.
Since its opening in February 2008, the 386-mile Madrid–Barcelona high-speed rail line has added an extra dynamic to this competitive corridor. Journeys along this line, whose trains are capable of 333 km/h (207mph), take just two and a half hours.
This represents a strong alternative, particularly for city center to city center journeys.