Froma
few boxes to whole house removals.
We can
offer Vans up to 17 cubic metres and one man crew to transport your
furniture and boxes between
UK and Europe. In London area we
can arrange additional
help and
packaging services. All our vans are equipped with blankets and straps
to secure your load. All goods are fully insured.
With
our door to door
service
you can have
a stress free move. We will inform you on
the progress of your delivery so you can exactly know where is your
load.
We
will transport
your house furniture, ship
motorcycle (motorbike), send
ride on
mowers and
other garden equipment, mobility
scooter, quad and other small
vehicle.We
can transport them on their own or as part
of
your removalto Europeor UK
Major cities we cover in Europe: Amsterdam,
Rotterdam, 's-Gravenhage (The Hague),
Utrecht, Eindhoven, Tilburg, Groningen, Almere, Breda, Nijmegen,
Apeldoorn, Enschede, Haarlem, Arnhem, E Zaanstad, 's-Hertogenbosch,
Amersfoort, Haarlemmermeer and Maastricht Major
cities include Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Sevilla (Seville),
Zaragoza, Malaga, Murcia, Bilbao, Valladolid, Cordoba, Alicante, Vigo,
Gijon, Granada, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat and Vitoria.
17
autonomous communities (comunidades autonomas, singular - comunidad
autonoma) and 2 autonomous cities* (ciudades autonomas, singular -
ciudad autonoma); Andalucia, Aragon, Asturias, Baleares (Balearic
Islands), Ceuta*, Canarias (Canary Islands), Cantabria, Castilla-La
Mancha, Castilla y Leon, Cataluna (Catalonia), Comunidad Valenciana
(Valencian Community), Extremadura, Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid,
Melilla*, Murcia, Navarra, Pais Vasco (Basque Country)
You
can send your
furniture toEuropewith no
stress and if
you want it - we can ship it back to UK at lower price. We
can
offer extra discounts for businesses and returning customers.
From
part load removals to full shipments and
scooter transports. Part loads are always more cost effective but we
need more time to arrange them, with full load we can deliver anywhere
in Europe up to 36 hours.
All
goods are fully insured up
to £20.000 and insurance is always included in our price. We
hold
a
professional policy for removers provided by AXA
We
can help you
to organise
your office relocation from Europe and UK.
Professional way to
transport your office equipment. Sideboard, filing cabinets, desks,
chairs, computers - everything safely loaded and transported to the
destination.
We
provide care full handling for computer equipment as well as office
desks and filing cabinets. We can take care of all
dismantling
and
putting your
furniture back up
again.
We
can organise car transport with
professional equipment and experienced drivers.
We
can arrange transport for students from Universities across Europe,
with as little as a couple of boxes of personal equipment to trunks of
books and musical instrument. Directly from your room.
We
can send your excess
baggage and ship
small furniture
toEurope or UK.
Door
to door service -
direct and
professional way to transport your belongings.
Transport
your scooter and
motorbike from Europeto UK
Parcels
express
Shipping
and
sending parcels
to Europe.
Great rates
and quick delivery.
From next day
service to cheap economical
delivery.
Now we can
offer you up to 8 different
services to suit your needs.
Parcel
delivery to Europefrom only £17,75
all inclusive
Parcel
delivery UK Collection &
delivery from only £11.99
all inclusive
Parcel
delivery
Europe
Collection &
delivery from only£17.13
all inclusive
Parcel
delivery USA & Canada Collection
& delivery from only £14.95
all inclusive
Parcel
delivery Far East Collection
& delivery from only £27.45
all inclusive
Parcel
delivery Australia Collection
& delivery from only £27.45
all inclusive
Parcel
delivery rest of the World Collection &
delivery from only £66.95
all
inclusive
Looking
for a professional, efficient and experienced removals and transport
services? Look
no further. We
will
arrange any kind of transport in Europe. We
can
provide complete and professional UK and European transport services
and removals.We
also have
storage solutions for
any storage needs you might have. Small
and light removals
- London
and
surrounding areas. Flats,
offices and student removals at competitive
prices.
European Removals
Motorbike
transport, furniture
delivery, student moves.
Poland’s territory
extends across several geographical regions.
In the
northwest is the Baltic seacoast, which extends from the Bay of
Pomerania to the Gulf of Gdansk. This coast is marked by several spits,
coastal lakes, and dunes. The largely straight coastline is indented by
the Szczecin Lagoon, the Bay of Puck, and the Vistula Lagoon. The
center and parts of the north lie within the North European Plain.
Rising gently above these lowlands is a geographical region comprising
the four hilly districts of moraines and moraine-dammed lakes formed
during and after the Pleistocene ice age.
After the 2nd World
war, the Soviet Union instituted a new Communist government and
military alignment within the Warsaw Pact. The People's Republic of
Poland was officially proclaimed in 1952. In 1956, the
régime of
Wladyslaw Gomulka became temporarily more liberal, freeing many people
from prison and expanding some personal freedoms. Similar situation
repeated itself in the 1970s under Edward Gierek, but most of the time
persecution of communist opposition persisted.
Poland
has pursued a policy of economic liberalization since 1990 and
today stands out as a success story among transition economies. In
2008, GDP grew an estimated 5.3%, based on rising private consumption,
a jump in corporate investment, and EU funds inflows. GDP per capita is
still much below the EU average, but is similar to that of the three
Baltic states. Since 2004, EU membership and access to EU structural
funds have provided a major boost to the economy. Unemployment is
falling rapidly, though at roughly 9.7% in 2008, it remains above the
EU average. In 2008 inflation reached 4.3%, more than the upper limit
of the National Bank of Poland's
target range, but has been falling due
to global economic slowdown. Poland's economic performance could
improve further if the country addresses some of the remaining
deficiencies in its business environment. An inefficient commercial
court system, a rigid labor code, bureaucratic red tape, and persistent
low-level corruption keep the private sector from performing up to its
full potential. Rising transport
demands to
fund health care, education, and the
state pension system present a challenge to the Polish Government's
effort to hold the consolidated public sector budget deficit under 3.0%
of GDP, a target which was achieved in 2007-08. The PO/PSL coalition
government which came to power in November 2007 plans to further reduce
the budget deficit with the aim of eventually
adopting the euro by
2012. The new government has also announced its intention to enact
business-friendly reforms, reduce public sector spending growth, lower
taxes, and accelerate privatization. The government, however, has moved
slowly on major reforms. Pension and health-care bills passed through
the legislature, but the legislature failed to overturn a presidential
veto.
Labour turmoil in
1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union "Solidarity",
which over time became a political force. Despite persecution and
imposition of martial law in 1981, it eroded the dominance of the
Communist Party and by 1989 had triumphed in parliamentary elections.
Lech Walesa, a Solidarity candidate, eventually won the presidency in
1990. The Solidarity movement heralded the collapse of communism across
Eastern Europe.
Major
cities include Warszawa (Warsaw), Wroclaw, Lubin, Kraków,
Szczecin, Bydgoszcz, Lublin, Katowice, Gdynia, Sosnowiec, Radom,
Kielce, Gliwice, Bytom and Zabrze.
Although
ultimately a victor in World Wars I and II, France
suffered extensive losses in its empire, wealth, manpower, and rank as
a dominant nation-state. Nevertheless, France today is one of the most
modern countries in the world and is a leader among European nations.
Since 1958, it has constructed a hybrid presidential-parliamentary
governing system resistant to the instabilities experienced in earlier
more purely parliamentary administrations. In recent years, its
reconciliation and cooperation with Germany have proved central to the
economic integration of Europe, including the introduction of a common
exchange currency, the euro, in January 1999. At present, France is at
the forefront of efforts to develop the EU's military capabilities to
supplement progress toward an EU foreign policy.
France has borders with Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland,
Italy, Monaco, Andorra, and Spain. Due to its overseas territories it
also shares land borders with Brazil and Suriname (bordering French
Guiana) , and the Netherlands Antilles (bordering Saint-Martin). France
is also linked to the UK by the Channel Tunnel, which passes underneath
the English Channel. Student
removals
and excess
baggage, House removals
and transport services
Major
cities include Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Nice, Nantes,
Strasbourg, Montpellier, Bordeaux, Rennes, Le Havre, Reims, Lille,
Saint-Étienne, Toulon, Grenoble, Angers, Brest, Le Mans and
Dijon.
French people often refer to Metropolitan France
as L’Hexagone (The Hexagon) because of the geometric shape of
the
country.
26
regions (regions, singular - region); Alsace, Aquitaine, Auvergne,
Basse-Normandie (Lower Normandy), Bourgogne (Burgundy), Bretagne
(Brittany), Centre, Champagne-Ardenne, Corse (Corsica), Franche-Comte,
Guadeloupe, Guyane (French Guiana), Haute-Normandie (Upper Normandy),
Ile-de-France, Languedoc-Roussillon, Limousin, Lorraine, Martinique,
Midi-Pyrenees, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Pays de la Loire, Picardie,
Poitou-Charentes, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, Reunion, Rhone-Alpes
note: France is divided into 22 metropolitan regions (including the
"territorial collectivity" of Corse or Corsica) and 4 overseas regions
(including French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Reunion) and is
subdivided into 96 metropolitan departments and 4 overseas departments
(which are the same as the overseas regions)
France is in the midst of transition from a well-to-do modern economy
that has featured extensive government ownership and intervention to
one that relies more on market mechanisms. The government has partially
or fully privatized many large companies, banks, and insurers, and has
ceded stakes in such leading firms as Air France, France
Telecom,
Renault, and Thales. It maintains a strong presence in some sectors,
particularly power, public transport, and defense industries. The
telecommunications sector is gradually being opened to competition.
France's leaders remain committed to a capitalism in which they
maintain social equity by means of laws, tax policies, and social
spending that reduce income disparity and the impact of free markets on
public health and welfare. Widespread opposition to labor reform has in
recent years hampered the government's ability to revitalize the
economy. During 2007-08, the government implemented several important
labor reforms, including a de facto extension of the 35-hour workweek
by allowing employees to work longer overtime hours. During 2009, the
government is expected to delay or even renounce other reform efforts
due to the on-going financial crisis. GDP growth dropped to 0.7% in
2008; the transport
French
government plans
to increase public investment and
continue injecting capital into the banking sector to alleviate the
negative effects of the crisis during 2009. As a result of lower fiscal
revenues and increased expenditures the general government deficit is
expected to exceed the eurozone's ceiling 3% of GDP. France's tax
burden remains one of the highest in Europe - at nearly 50% of GDP in
2005. With at least 75 million foreign tourists per year, France is the
most visited country in the world and maintains the third largest
income in the world from tourism. Student
removals
and excess
baggage, House removals
and transport services
GERMANY
As
Europe's largest economy and second most populous nation (after
Russia), Germany
is a key member of the continent's economic,
political, and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed
Germany in two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th
century and left the country occupied by the victorious Allied powers
of the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945. With the advent of
the Cold War, two German states were formed in 1949: the western
Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German Democratic
Republic (GDR). The democratic FRG embedded itself in key Western
economic and security organizations, the EC, which became the EU, and
NATO, while the Communist GDR was on the front line of the Soviet-led
Warsaw Pact. The decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War
allowed for German unification in 1990. Since then, Germany has
expended considerable funds to bring Eastern productivity and wages up
to Western standards. In January 1999, Germany and 10 other EU
countries introduced a common European exchange currency, the euro.
Germany is in central Europe and has borders with Denmark, Poland, the
Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and
the Netherlands. The country covers covers 357,021 km² and has
a
temperate seasonal climate. It has the largest population among the
member states of the European Union with over 82 million inhabitants
and is home to the third-largest number of international migrants
worldwide.
Major
cities in Germany include Berlin, Hamburg,
München
(Munich), Köln (Cologne), Frankfurt, Dortmund,
Stuttgart,
Düsseldorf (Duesseldorf, Dusseldorf), Bremen, Hannover,
Duisburg,
Nürnberg (Nuernberg, Nuremberg) , Leipzig, Dresden, Bochum,
Wuppertal,
Bielefeld, Bonn and Mannheim.
16
states (Laender, singular - Land); Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bayern
(Bavaria), Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen,
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania), Niedersachsen
(Lower Saxony), Nordrhein-Westfalen (North Rhine-Westphalia),
Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate), Saarland, Sachsen (Saxony),
Sachsen-Anhalt (Saxony-Anhalt), Schleswig-Holstein, Thueringen
(Thuringia); note - Bayern, Sachsen, and Thueringen refer to themselves
as free states (Freistaaten, singular - Freistaat)
The German transport
economy - the fifth
largest economy in the world in PPP
terms and Europe's
largest - began to contract in the second quarter of
2008 as the strong euro, high oil prices, tighter credit markets, and
slowing growth abroad took their toll on Germany's export-dependent
economy. At 1.7% in 2008, GDP growth is expected to be negative in
2009. Recent stimulus and lender relief efforts will make demands on
Germany's federal budget and undercut plans to balance its budget by
2011. Strong growth in 2007 led unemployment in 2008 to fall below 8%,
a new post-reunification low. This suggested the reforms launched by
the former government of Chancellor Gerhard SCHOEDER, deemed necessary
due to chronically high unemployment and low average growth, had had
the desired effect. The current government of Chancellor Angela MERKEL
has initiated other reform measures, such as a gradual increase in the
mandatory retirement age from 65 to 67 and measures to increase female
participation in the labor market. Germany's aging population, combined
with high chronic unemployment, has pushed social security outlays to a
level exceeding contributions, but higher government revenues from the
cyclical upturn in 2006-07 and a 3% rise in the value-added tax cut
Germany's budget deficit to within the EU's 3% debt limit. The
modernization and integration of the eastern German economy - where
unemployment exceeds 30% in some municipalities - continues to be a
costly long-term process, however, with annual transfers from west to
east amounting to roughly $80 billion. While corporate restructuring
and growing capital markets have set strong foundations to help Germany
meet the longer-term challenges of European economic integration and
globalization, Germany's
export-oriented economy has proved a
disadvantage in the context of weak global demand. Student
removals
and excess
baggage, House removals
and transport services
ITALY
Italy
became a
nation-state in 1861 when the regional states of the
peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King
Victor EMMANUEL II. An era of parliamentary government came to a close
in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI established a Fascist
dictatorship. His alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy's defeat in
World War II. A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and
economic revival followed. Italy was a charter member of NATO and the
European Economic Community (EEC). It has been at the forefront of European
economic and political unification, joining the Transport and
Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include illegal
immigration, organized crime, corruption, high unemployment, sluggish
economic growth, and the low incomes and technical standards of
southern Italy compared with the prosperous north.
Italy is a place of
unbelievable diversity. It
is the home of culture,
some of soccer's finest teams and the Roman Catholic church. Museums
display some of the most beautiful art works ever made; but the living,
breathing Italy that operates outside museum doors has enough beauty to
suffice the average visitor. Stroll down the streets of Rome, Florence,
Naples or Venice, and you will be struck by the wealth of history and
culture tied up in the cobbled streets, baroque styled buildings, or
beautiful chapels.
Italy
occupies a long,
boot-shaped peninsula,
surrounded on the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea and on the east by the
Adriatic Sea. It is bounded by France, Switzerland, Austria and
Slovenia to the north. The Apennine Mountains form the peninsula's
backbone; the Alps form its northern boundary. The largest of its
northern lakes is Garda. There are several active volcanoes in Italy:
Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe; Vulcano; Stromboli; and
Vesuvius, the only active volcano on the mainland of Europe.
Major
cities
include Roma (Rome), Milano (Milan), Napoli (Naples), Torino
(Turin), Genova, Bologna, Firenze (Florence), Bari, Venezia (Venice),
Verona, Trieste, Padova, Taranto, Brescia, Reggio di Calabria, Modena
and Prato
Italy
has a diversified
industrial economy, which is divided into a
developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and a
less-developed, welfare-dependent, agricultural south, with high
unemployment. The Italian economy is driven in large part by the
manufacture of high-quality consumer goods produced by small and
medium-sized enterprises. Italy also has a sizable underground economy,
which by some estimates accounts for as much as 15% of GDP. These
activities are most common within the agriculture, construction, and
service sectors. Italy has moved
slowly on implementing needed
structural reforms, such as lightening the high tax burden and
overhauling Italy's rigid labor market and
over-generous pension system
and these conditions will be exacerbated by the recent global financial
crisis. The Italian
government is seeking to rein in government
spending, but the leadership faces a severe economic constraint:
Italy's official debt remains above 100% of GDP, and the fiscal deficit
- 1.5% of GDP in 2007 - could approach 3% in 2009 as political pressure
to stimulate the economy and the costs of servicing Italy's debt rise.
The economy will continue to contract through 2009 as the global demand
for exports drop. Student
removals
and excess
baggage, House removals
and transport services NETHERLANDS
The
Dutch United
Provinces declared their independence from Spain in
1579; during the 17th century, they became a leading seafaring and
commercial power, with settlements and colonies around the world. After
a 20-year French occupation, a Kingdom of the Netherlands was formed in
1815. In 1830 Belgium seceded and formed a separate kingdom. The
Netherlands remained neutral in World War I, but suffered invasion and
occupation by Germany in World War II. A modern, industrialized nation,
the Netherlands is also a large
exporter of agricultural products. The
country was a founding member of NATO and the EEC (now the EU), and
participated in the introduction of the euro in 1999.
The Netherlands
is the European
part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands,
which consists of the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba
in the Caribbean.
The
Netherlands is often called Holland
however North and South Holland are merely two of its twelve provinces.
The word Dutch is used to refer to the people, the language, and
anything indigenous to the Netherlands. Student
removals
and excess
baggage, House removals
and transport services
The
Netherlands is
famous for being low-lying. About 27% of its area and 60% of its
population is located below sea level. Many areas have been gained
through land reclamation and preserved through an elaborate systems of
polders and dikes. Most of the country is very flat, with the exception
of foothills of the Ardennes in the far south–east and
several
low-hill
ranges in the central parts created by ice-age glaciers.
The
Netherlands is a densely populated country. It is popular for its
traditional windmills, tulips, cheese, clogs (wooden shoes), delftware
and gouda pottery, for its bicycles, and in addition, traditional
values and civil virtues such as its classic social tolerance.
Major
cities include Amsterdam, Rotterdam, 's-Gravenhage (The Hague),
Utrecht, Eindhoven, Tilburg, Groningen, Almere, Breda, Nijmegen,
Apeldoorn, Enschede, Haarlem, Arnhem, E Zaanstad, 's-Hertogenbosch,
Amersfoort, Haarlemmermeer and Maastricht
12
provinces (provincies, singular - provincie); Drenthe, Flevoland,
Friesland (Fryslan), Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg, Noord-Brabant
(North Brabant), Noord-Holland (North Holland), Overijssel, Utrecht,
Zeeland (Zealand), Zuid-Holland (South Holland)
The Netherlands
has a prosperous and open economy, which depends
heavily on foreign trade. The economy is noted for stable industrial
relations, moderate unemployment and inflation, a sizable current
account surplus, and an important role as a European transportation
hub. Industrial activity is predominantly in food processing,
chemicals, petroleum refining, and electrical machinery. A highly
mechanized agricultural sector employs no more than 3% of the labor
force but provides large surpluses for the food-processing and transport industry and
for exports. The Netherlands, along with 11 of its EU
partners, began
circulating the euro currency on 1 January 2002. The country has been
one of the leading European nations for attracting foreign direct
investment and is one of the four largest investors in the US. The pace
of job growth reached 10-year highs in 2007, but economic growth fell
sharply in 2008 as fallout from the world financial crisis constricted
demand and raised the specter of a recession in 2009.Student
removals
and excess
baggage, House removals
and transport services
PORTUGAL
Portugal,
officially the Portuguese Republic is a country on the
Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe,
Portugal is the
westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic
Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east. The
Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are also part of
Portugal.
The
land within the
borders of today's Portuguese
Republic has been continuously settled since prehistoric times. Some of
the earliest civilizations include Lusitanians and Celtic societies.
Incorporation into the Roman Republic dominions took place in the 2nd
century BC. The region was ruled and colonized by Germanic peoples,
such as the Suebi and the Visigoths, from the 5th to the 8th century.
From this era, some vestiges of the Alans were also found. The Muslim
Moors arrived in the early 8th century and conquered the Christian
Germanic kingdoms, eventually occupying most of the Iberian Peninsula.
In the early 1100s, during the Christian Reconquista, Portugal appeared
as a kingdom independent of its neighbour, the Kingdom of
León
and
Galicia. In a little over a century, in 1249, Portugal would establish
almost its entire modern-day borders by conquering territory from the
Moors.
Major cities include
Lisboa (Lisbon), Porto, Amadora,
Braga, Coimbra, Queluz, Agualva-Cac, Vila Nova de Gaia, Loures, Algueir
o-Mem Martins, Odivelas, Barreiro, Aveiro, Amora, Rio Tinto, Corroios
and Rio de Mouro
Following
its heyday as
a
global maritime power during the 15th and
16th centuries, Portugal
lost much of its
wealth and status with the
destruction of Lisbon in a 1755 earthquake, occupation during the
Napoleonic Wars, and the independence of its wealthiest colony of
Brazil in 1822. A 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy; for most of the
next six decades, repressive governments ran the country. In 1974, a
left-wing military coup installed broad democratic reforms. The
following year, Portugal granted independence to all of its African
colonies. Portugal
is a founding member of NATO and entered the EC (now
the EU) in 1986.
Portugal
has become a
diversified and increasingly service-based
economy since joining the European Community in 1986. Over the past two
decades, successive governments have privatized many state-controlled
firms and liberalized key areas of the economy, including the financial
and telecommunications sectors. The country qualified for the European
Monetary Union (EMU) in 1998 and began circulating the euro on 1
January 2002 along with 11 other EU member economies. Economic growth
had been above the EU average for much of the 1990s, but fell back in
2001-08. GDP per capita stands at roughly two-thirds of the EU-27
average. A poor educational system, in particular, has been an obstacle
to greater productivity and growth. Portugal
has been increasingly
overshadowed by lower-cost producers in Central Europe and Asia as a
target for foreign direct investment. The transport
budget
deficit surged to
an
all-time high of 6% of GDP in 2005, but the government reduced the
deficit to 2.6% in 2007 - a year ahead of Portugal's targeted schedule.
Nonetheless, the government faces tough choices in its attempts to
boost the economy, which grew by 0.9% in 2008, while keeping the budget
deficit within the eurozone's 3%-of-GDP Student
removals
and excess
baggage, House removals
and transport services SPAIN
Spain's
powerful world empire
of the 16th and 17th centuries ultimately
yielded command of the seas to England. Subsequent failure to embrace
the mercantile and industrial revolutions caused the country to fall
behind Britain, France, and Germany in economic and political power.
Spain remained neutral in World Wars I and II but suffered through a
devastating civil war (1936-39). A peaceful transition to democracy
following the death of dictator Francisco FRANCO in 1975, and rapid
economic modernization (Spain
joined the EU in
1986) gave Spain
a
dynamic and rapidly growing economy and made it a global champion of
freedom and human rights. The government continues to battle the Basque
Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) terrorist organization, but its major
focus for the immediate future will be on measures to reverse the
severe economic recession that started in mid-2008.
Spain
- the favoured destination for UK holidaymakers. From
the
Costa del Sol to the Costa Blanca, from the Beaches to the Mountains,
from the bars to the water parks you will find lobster coloured Brits.
But that is not Spain. Spain
is the world's 51st largest country and
has an exteremely diverse culture, climate, geography and history.
Suprisingly there are four languages which are officially recognised in
various parts of the country:
Aranese
(aranés) (a variant of Occitan), in
Catalonia;
Basque
(euskera) in the Basque Country and Navarre;
Catalan
(català) in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands; Valencian
(valencià), a
distinct variant of Catalan, is official in the Valencian Community
Galician
(galego) in Galicia.
Major
cities include Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Sevilla (Seville),
Zaragoza, Malaga, Murcia, Bilbao, Valladolid, Cordoba, Alicante, Vigo,
Gijon, Granada, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat and Vitoria.
17
autonomous communities (comunidades autonomas, singular - comunidad
autonoma) and 2 autonomous cities* (ciudades autonomas, singular -
ciudad autonoma); Andalucia, Aragon, Asturias, Baleares (Balearic
Islands), Ceuta*, Canarias (Canary Islands), Cantabria, Castilla-La
Mancha, Castilla y Leon, Cataluna (Catalonia), Comunidad Valenciana
(Valencian Community), Extremadura, Galicia, La Rioja, Madrid,
Melilla*, Murcia, Navarra, Pais Vasco (Basque Country) note:
the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla plus
three small islands of Islas Chafarinas, Penon de Alhucemas, and Penon
de Velez de la Gomera, administered directly by the Spanish central
government, are all along the coast of Morocco and are collectively
referred to as Places of Sovereignty (Plazas de Soberania)
The Spanish
economy grew every year from 1994 through 2008 before
entering a recession that started in the third quarter of 2008. Spain's
mixed capitalist economy supports a GDP that on a per capita basis is
approaching that of the largest West European
economies. The Socialist
president, Jose Luis Rodriguez ZAPATERO, in office since 2004, has made
mixed progress in carrying out key structural reforms. The economy was
greatly affected, especially after Zapatero's second term began in
April 2008, by the bursting of the housing bubble and construction boom
that had fueled much of the economic growth between 2001 and 2007. The
global financial crisis exacerbated the economic downturn. GDP growth
in 2008 was 1.3%, well below the 3% or higher growth the country
enjoyed from 1997 through 2007. The Spanish banking system is
considered solid, thanks in part to conservative oversight by the
Europeantransport
Central
Bank, and
government intervention to rescue banks on
the scale seen elsewhere in Europe in 2008 was not necessary. After
considerable success since the mid-1990s in reducing unemployment to a
2007 low of 8%, Spain suffered a major spike in unemployment in the
last few months of 2008, finishing the year with an unemployment rate
over 13%. Student
removals
and excess
baggage, House removals
and transport services
0844 209 2131
