XVII Spanish Federation National Convention
THE XVII National Convention of the Federation of the Spanish Confederate Savings Banks Pensioners and Retired Staff Associations was held in Marbella from the 6th to the 8th of March, 2007. The General Assembly was held on the 7th of March in the conference room at the Aparthotel Caledonia Golf in Marbella. It was attended by 70 people representing 16 Associations as well as another 262 people who took part in the recreational activities.
The convention was opened by the Federation's President, Mrs Maria Victoria Lopesino, who welcomed and gave thanks to all those attending. She made a point of highlighting the united spirit that prevails within the Federation and stated that the power of the vote is a symbol of our presence in society, one which is needed to defend both our own rights and those of elderly people, she emphasized that our slogan must be, 'live a quality life'.
The points on the Agenda were then discussed.
• The minutes from the previous Assembly held in La Coruña in May. 2006 were unanimously approved. Antonio Lozano, Treasurer of the Federation, presented the financial report with the 2006 balance sheet and income statement as well as the budget for the financial year 2007. They were unanimously approved.
• The Executive Vice president of the Euro
pean Group, José Roberto López, stated that the web site which is completely operative was presented in Benidorm in 2006. It contains all the articles from the November 2006 EuroMeetings Magazine as well as those from the previous editions: the whole 11 edition collection. The web site also includes the papers and communiqués that were presented in the 2006 Euromeeting, these include the conclusions made about the Law on Disability. The Executive Vice President gave all the Associations access to the web site, inviting them to visit it and make any suggestions for improvement that they thought might be appropriate. He went on to mention that the first Euromeeting abroad would be held on the Island of Sicily from the 20th to the 27th of April, and also talked about the arrangements for the next meeting to be held on the island of Sardinia in 2008. He concluded his speech by reminding all the participants that the European Group, made up of all the Associations and Federations was founded in 1993 thanks to the hard work, effort and perseverance of the Spanish Federation, at that time chaired by Mr Francisco Bernabeu Penalva.
After this the President announced a future reform on the Law on the Saving ´s Banks Board, of Directors going on to say that the oliticians influence within the governing odies would hopefully be reduced to 33% and mentioned that the Autonomous Region of Galicia only has 25% in the General Assembly.
Mr. Manuel Berzal Lobo, President of the Retired Staff of the Segovia Saving's Bank Association was the next to speak in the conference. He talked about his Association's experience to get representation within his Saving's Bank Governing Bodies. They currently have two representatives on the Board of Directors and one on the Control Committee.
To conclude, the President informed listeners about the formal Convention Dinner in which Mr. Vignau Azcárate, ex-president of the Guipúzcoa Pensioners Association, KUTXA, would be awarded the Federation Gold Medal for all his hard work and effort spent on our federal organization.
