Is the EU destroying or promoting boating?

[Nostrodamus]

With all the rules and regulations in the EU which seem to change from country to country is boating an easy target.
Yes we have freedom of movement between member states if you are a citizen but only as long as we stay there a limited time. Most of us don't want to live in a country, only stay there a while and are happy to contribute to our stay through marinas and the buying of goods so why 183 days?

We made some good friends with some Americans but they say the EU and it's expansion is killing their ability to visit various countries in the EU as they have to keep leaving.

Should there be exemptions for cruisers?

 

[macd]

We made some good friends with some Americans but they say the EU and it's expansion is killing their ability to visit various countries in the EU as they have to keep leaving.

Tried sailing into the US lately? I certainly have sympathy for your American friends, but if the boot were on the other foot they'd be even more brassed off.

 

[dgadee]

With all the rules and regulations in the EU which seem to change from country to country is boating an easy target.
Yes we have freedom of movement between member states if you are a citizen but only as long as we stay there a limited time. Most of us don't want to live in a country, only stay there a while and are happy to contribute to our stay through marinas and the buying of goods so why 183 days?

We made some good friends with some Americans but they say the EU and it's expansion is killing their ability to visit various countries in the EU as they have to keep leaving.

Should there be exemptions for cruisers?

Not sure I understand what the difference between the US and EU is. Are they complaining that the EU is getting bigger and that 183 days isn't enough to see the sights? How many days would you get with a visitor's visa to the US?

 

[Nostrodamus]

It is a complaint about both really. we had to leave Spain this year to stop us going over the six month rule. We didn't see nearly as much as we would of liked. We are also going to run into the same problem again. We continually move and have no intention what so ever of living here but have not got any choice.

I know our American friends had to leave the EU for three months and seeing the countries they would have liked becomes very difficult.

 

[macd]

It is a complaint about both really. we had to leave Spain this year to stop us going over the six month rule. We didn't see nearly as much as we would of liked. We are also going to run into the same problem again. We continually move and have no intention what so ever of living here but have not got any choice.

I know our American friends had to leave the EU for three months and seeing the countries they would have liked becomes very difficult.

Again, I sympathise with you but you're in a small minority in taking the 183 day rule into consideration, in Spain or elsewhere. Perhaps you've been in an area where it's periodically policed, because in most places it seems not to be?

That said, it's never been easier for EU/EEA citizens to move freely around Europe. I can see how it's more difficult for Yanks, since there are fewer and fewer places outside the EU to 'refresh' their status. But they have a far fewer hoops to jump through than would an EU boat sailing into the USA.

I'd add that countries do not exist to be "seen": they exist to promote what they see as their interests, always have and always will. That may or may not include tourism revenue.

 

[Koeketiene]

We made some good friends with some Americans but they say the EU and it's expansion is killing their ability to visit various countries in the EU as they have to keep leaving.

Just remind your US friends that there's no EU equivalent of the 'Department of Homeland Security'.

 

[Nostrodamus]

Certainly in La Linea they have been taking a lot more intrest in boats and how long they have been here. We have all had photos taken and two boats have had the tax forms slapped on them.. beware.

Guapa and Guapo..

 

[prv]

So what would your clearing in and out experience have been like before the EU? How long could you have stayed in each country then? (Answer for each country, obviously, as the rules would have been different instead of consistent.) Would you have needed visas to visit some places?

What is it you actually have to do after being in a place six months? My understanding is that the EU only requires that you register your presence, not become formally resident or acquire citizenship or anything like that. Maybe (quite likely) some countries are attaching their own onerous rules at the six month point, but again that's a country decision not EU, and every likelihood they'd do the same without it.

Pete

 

[Tranona]

It is a complaint about both really. we had to leave Spain this year to stop us going over the six month rule. We didn't see nearly as much as we would of liked. We are also going to run into the same problem again. We continually move and have no intention what so ever of living here but have not got any choice.

I know our American friends had to leave the EU for three months and seeing the countries they would have liked becomes very difficult.

The 6 months "rule" is only very loosely enforced for travellers such as yourself and is not specifically aimed at cruising yachtspeople. It applies to everybody who moves residence from one EU state to another. The inconsistencies in the rules related to pleasure boats are largely because the laws and rules governing shipping are set internationally not by the EU. The only significant EU regulation is the RCD for new boats and this is more to do with trade than the boat itself. Most other attempts at harmonising rules such as safety equipment, licences etc have really not got anywhere, again largely because they are currently derived from international (rather than EU) treaties and agreements.

As to the freedom of American citizens to move in the EU, there is nothing new about restrictions placed on non nationals. They are essentially no different from the range of constraints imposed on visitors by most countries. For example I have just been looking at spending more time in New Zealand and similar restrictions exist for me on the time I can be there as a visitor and the limits on what I can import temporarily (for example a car or a boat). In fact the EU and Shengen restrictions on American citizens and their boats are more generous than the other way round.

Those of us with long memories can only marvel at the freedom of movement for most EU citizens compared with what it used to be. Of course there are some constraints that we would rather not have, and some people who are more affected than others, but overall this is one aspect of the EU that has mostly lived up to expectations.

 

[Nostrodamus]

I think what I am saying is that we are being penalised in a way because we have assets.. ie our boats.
There are many brits living in La Linea that work in Gibraltar. They have no assets in Spain as they tend to rent property and pay tax in Gib. A lot have been doing the same for many years. We don't work, want to see the country but if we stay too long there is a chance our homes (boats) may be impounded and we MAY be forced to pay tax on them.

 

[Tranona]

I think what I am saying is that we are being penalised in a way because we have assets.. ie our boats.
There are many brits living in La Linea that work in Gibraltar. They have no assets in Spain as they tend to rent property and pay tax in Gib. A lot have been doing the same for many years. We don't work, want to see the country but if we stay too long there is a chance our homes (boats) may be impounded and we MAY be forced to pay tax on them.

It is not a question of being penalised (unless you have a persecution complex). There are benefits and constraints related to any individual's choice of lifestyle. The rules are not specifically aimed at you. They exist and you adjust to living within them as you have no influence over them.

You can legitimately complain about the uncertainty and inconsistency about the way they are implemented and enforced, but as this usually works in your favour, just get on and enjoy what you have.