Evacuation plan for Brits in Spain amid warning euro collapse could leave them stranded

Mirror ^ | 12/19/2011 | James Lyon

[JohnKinAK]

EMERGENCY evacuation plans for Brits living in Spain and Portugal are being drawn up amid fears of the euro collapsing. The drastic proposals emerged as a former Security Minister warned expats could be left stranded and destitute by the break-up of the single currency. Brits who invested their savings in their adopted countries may not be able to withdraw cash and could even lose their homes if banks call in loans, worried ministers are warning.

The Foreign Office is preparing to bring them back from Spain and Portugal if the two countries are forced out of the euro, triggering a banking collapse.

A million Brits live in Spain and 50,000 in neighbouring Portugal – plus a million in the other eurozone countries.

And Baroness Neville-Jones, who only stepped down as a minister in May, called the situation “very, very worrying”.

The Tory peer – who once chaired the Joint Intelligence Committee for MI5, MI6 and other security agencies – said: “Spain is clearly a vulnerable area. If that happens, one of the things that will happen in a crash of that kind, is that the banks would close their doors. You would find that there are people there, including our own citizens, a lot of them, who couldn’t get money out to live on. So you would have a destitution problem.” Brits living in Europe Map

British planes, ships and coaches could be sent to pluck our citizens from debt-ridden Spain and Portugal

Commenting on the evacuation plans, she added: “I think they are right to be doing that. I think this is a real contingency that they need to plan against – very, very worrying.”

[JohnKinAK]

I wouldn't wanna be traveling if and when a collapse happens.

[gleeaikin]

How would this affect foreigners who do not own property, but have been working in Spain, but have lost their job. I have a friend who is currently working with the police and her bank to get back money defrauded from her by a so-called boyfriend. She has no money to leave unless she gets the money back that was taken out of her accounts fraudulently.

[JohnKinAK]

That’s a bad situation; I would contact the nearest embassy or consulate for assistance getting back home.

[EBH]

It is just surreal to read headlines like these.

I know I've been trying to prepare and logically realize that a euro collapse will affect the United States, but it is so difficult to get my head around the idea ...the fact really...this is going to happen.

Can one even imagine what living in these countries must be like right now? I've attempted to imagine what I would do the day that the euro is announced dead. Will there be anything to do at that point?

And then deep down in my heart, I remind myself...life will go on. It always does and it always has. Life will continue, babies will be born, people will fall in love and the world isn't going to just stop turning.

We will go through and we will get through. Each evolution has resulted in a better time, a better world, but we must go through this to shake off the trappings that bind us.