Germanyโs Baerbock cautions on Syria as EU signals sanctions relief
Syria’s transitional government โsounds good so far,” Germany’s foreign minister told POLITICO โ but actions speak louder than words.
Spain
As Trump enters the fray, the danger is that a nationalist Europe will fragment, not stick together | Nathalie Tocci
Rightwing leaders such as Meloni and Orbรกn set themselves up as Trump whisperers โ but they only want to preserve their own interests A far-right wind is blowing across the Atlantic. While the rise of the populist right in Europe predated Donald Trumpโ…
Northern Irish nun killed in Ecuador earthquake takes step towards sainthood
Beatification ceremony for Clare Crockett, former party girl from Derry, draws more than 100 people to MadridA nun from Northern Ireland who was killed in an earthquake while she was teaching music in Ecuador has taken a step closer to sainthood.A cere…
Spain approached 50th anniversary of Franco’s death divided
Socialist Pedro Sanchez’s government opened the commemorations of the dictator’s death on Wednesday, in the absence of the far-right and right-wing opposition.
Football on TV: fans โpaying almost 60% more to watch all big games than in 2020โ
Analysis shows rise from ยฃ89.23 a month to ยฃ140.21 between 2019-2020 and 2024-2025 seasonsFootball superfans are paying almost 60% more than they were five years ago to watch the 15 most popular tournaments and leagues, as the number of broadcasters an…
โEach year you delay giving a phone is a big winโ: child screen-time solutions from around the world
From stringent legislation to grassroots action, Australia and Spain lead the way in tackling childrenโs use of mobile phones and tabletsIf the advent of the affordable mobile phone has given parents a new way to stay in touch with their ยญchildren, it …
โIt was extraordinaryโ: Spanish captain recalls rescue of woman who gave birth in dinghy
Mother and newborn saved from inflatable boat off Canary Islands, on a route on which thousands have diedThe call that would lead to one of the most poignant images of the humanitarian emergency in the deadly waters off the Canary Islands came at 4am.I…
Hungarian energy bid under review over Russia concerns, says Romanian minister
Bucharest could mirror Spainโs recent decision to block a takeover on security grounds, says Sebastian Burduja
World โteetering on edgeโ of breaching Paris Agreement, scientists say
2024 was the first year to break through the 1.5C temperature barrier, an EU agency finds.
Murder investigation in Spain after body of missing Belfast man found
Family โheartbrokenโ after discovery of body of John George, 37, who went missing in Alicante area in DecemberA murder investigation is under way in Spain after the body of a 37-year-old man from Northern Ireland was found three weeks after he went mis…
A reality check for Trump, would-be-ruler of Greenland
Here is what the president-elect can do with the autonomous territory.
Doctors present first barrier for rare diseaseย patientsย
Overcoming the doctor’s ego is a first hurdle for many rare disease patients in search of a diagnosis.
Brussels will be watching whether Musk breaks EU law in far-right livestream
Up to 150 experts in Brussels and Seville will be checking whether Musk’s livestream interview boosts the German far right.
Baby born on crowded small boat crossing from Africa to Canary Islands
The boy and his mother as well as dozens of others were rescued off the coast of Lanzarote, SpainA baby boy has been born on a small, crowded boat carrying 60 people on the deadly Atlantic migration route from Africa to the Canary Islands.The boat was …
Spanish PM Pedro Sรกnchez denounces Elon Musk at Franco anniversary event
Sรกnchez accuses X owner of inciting hatred as country marks 50 years since start of its return to democracyPedro Sรกnchez has hit out at Elon Musk and his allies for โopenly attacking our institutions, inciting hatred and openly calling for people to su…
Hundreds of migrants arrive in Spain’s Canary Islands continuing the record-breaking influx
Hundreds of migrants arrive in Spain’s Canary Islands continuing the record-breaking influx
The Transnistria crisis explained
In todayโs edition of the Capitals, find out more about Strasbourg court rules against Bulgaria over unfair trial of MEP Elena Yoncheva, the soaring support for Spain’s far-right parties, and so much more.ย
The post The Transnistria crisis explained ap…
Eurozone inflation bumps up again causing political discomfort
Increasing prices for energy and services drive the raise.
Tusk positive about Polish presidency, despite presidential snub
In todayโs edition of the Capitals, find out more about Spain’s PSOE already eyeing the 2027 regional elections, Tusk saying the EU is “lucky” to have the Polish presidency for the next six months, and so much more.ย
The post Tusk positive about Polish…
Saving a species: The slow return of the Iberian lynx
After edging close to extinction, there are now some 2,000 Iberian lynxes in Spain and Portugal.
Saving a species: The slow return of the Iberian lynx
After edging close to extinction, there are now some 2,000 Iberian lynxes in Spain and Portugal.
Saving a species: The slow return of the Iberian lynx
After edging close to extinction, there are now some 2,000 Iberian lynxes in Spain and Portugal.
Ripe for the picking? Irish wine on the up โ but โnobody will retire richโ
Global heating has made conditions more favourable for growing grapes โ and finding the right variety is keyHeard the one about Irish wine? Like its English counterpart, it is no longer a joke, with more than a dozen vineyards now producing bottles to …
Barcelona to fine e-scooter users up to โฌ500 for riding on pavements
Council to crack down on antisocial behaviour linked to rapid rise of e-scooter riders in city Anyone riding an electric scooter on the pavement or without a helmet in Barcelona faces a fine of up to โฌ500 (ยฃ415) from 1 February as part of a crackdown o…
Venezuela puts a price on the head of exiled opposition candidate
Spain granted Edmundo Gonzรกlez Urrutia asylum on 20 December after Venezuela announced charges of conspiracy and racketeering against him.
The post Venezuela puts a price on the head of exiled opposition candidate appeared first on Euractiv.
Number of migrants arriving in Canary Islands by sea set new record in 2024
Total of 46,843 people broke the 2023 record, with nationals from Mali, Senegal and Morocco the most commonA record 46,843 people reached the Canary Islands illegally in 2024 via the increasingly deadly Atlantic route, the second consecutive year of un…
Jeff Koons on why he has drawn a red line on AI in art: โI donโt want to be lazyโ
Worldโs most expensive artist, who is exhibiting at the Alhambra in Granada, sees his work as embedded in biology His hands-off approach to the production of his famous balloon dogs and stainless steel rabbits has been criticised in the past but Jeff K…
I love to travel Europe by train. But here’s what a joined-up 21st-century network needs | Marรญa Ramรญrez
Passenger numbers are rising, but competing with budget airlines will take work on ticket prices, infrastructure and integrationLast August, I took the train from Trieste to Ljubljana, following a route once used by the Orient Express. Along the way, I…
Phew! Turtle doves shoot ban triggers bird species recovery
Western European population has risen 25% with ban and some UK sites have seen promising increasesThere are signs of hope for the turtle dove, one of the most endangered birds that has been plummeting towards extinction in Britain.After a temporary ban…
Testament to Spainโs golden age to open up its secret spaces after โฌ6m revamp
Unesco-listed San Lorenzo de El Escorial was fulfilment of Philip IIโs dream of raising monastery in a โdesertโDespite perching imperiously on a mountainside near Madrid for the better part of five centuries, the royal monastery of San Lorenzo de El Es…
POLITICOโs most-read stories of 2024
Elections, war and porn: The stories that captured your attention over the past 12 months.
Europeโs slow but โinevitableโ march to allow assisted dying
The U.K. is the latest country to move toward legalizing the controversial yet evermore popular practice.
In Spain, hundreds of anonymous testimonies of sexual assaults are sparking controversy
Feminist activist Cristina Fallaras is compiling messages on her Instagram page from women who are alleged victims of inappropriate behavior. However, the unsourced and unverified claims raise questions about the legitimacy of her approach.
More than 60 migrants died after boat capsizes near Spain, Malian minister says
More than 60 migrants died after boat capsizes near Spain, Malian minister says
WHO chief at Yemen airport during deadly Israeli air strike
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was about to board his plane when the airport was hit.
2024: A year in pictures
OPTICS 2024: A year in pictures Photos by: Jalaa Marey, K M Asad, Miguel J. Rodriguez, Carrillo, Andy Buchanan, Bashar Taleb, Jeff Pachoud, Cristina Quicler, Luis Acosta, Thomas Kienzle, Theo Rouby, Bakr al Kassem, Gagan Nayar, Giorgi Arjevanidze, Anselmo Cunh, Luis Tato/AFP & Peter Nicholls, Kate Green, Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
How Madrid became a laboratory for ultraliberalism at odds with the rest of Spain
Spain’s fast-growing capital region is stepping up tax cuts and deregulation to boost its attractiveness โ to the point of irritating Pedro Sanchez’s Socialist government and other regions.
Aid group says more than 10,000 migrants died at sea while trying to reach Spain in 2024
Aid group says more than 10,000 migrants died at sea while trying to reach Spain in 2024
Support for Ukraine โuntil it winsโ falls sharply in western Europe, poll finds
YouGov survey finds negotiated end to war with Russia is preferred option in four out of seven countriesReadiness to support Ukraine โuntil it winsโ has fallen sharply across western Europe at a critical time for the country, a survey suggests, as Dona…
Ukraine war briefing: Biden slams Russiaโs โoutrageousโ Christmas Day assault on Ukraine
President reaffirms US weapons support to Kyiv after Russian attacks on energy infrastructure, which Zelenskyy condemned as โinhumanโ. What we know on day 1,037See all our Ukraine war coverageJoe Biden has asked the US defence department to continue it…
Russia blames ‘terrorism’ for sinking of cargo ship off the Spanish coast
Russian authorities on Wednesday blamed the sinking of a cargo ship off the coast of Spain on a “terrorist act” but did not offer evidence to support the claim. The Ursa Major vessel from the Oboronlogistika company,ย which belongs to the Russian defen…
Russian cargo shipโs owner says sinking in Mediterranean was โact of terrorismโ
Three explosions caused Ursa Major to sink off Spanish coast, says company linked to Russian defence ministryA Russian cargo ship that sank on Tuesday in the Mediterranean Sea was the target of an โact of terrorismโ, according to the vesselโs owner.The…
Russian cargo ship sinks in Mediterranean after explosion
Oboronligistica, a company part of the Defence ministry, said the ship was carrying specialised port cranes due to be installed at the port of Vladivostok as well as parts for new ice-breakers.
The post Russian cargo ship sinks in Mediterranean after e…
6 times food diplomacy went wrong
From menu complaints to vomiting incidents, some spreads have left hosts โ or guests โย in a pickle.
DJ Alfredo, icon of Ibizaโs dance music scene, dies aged 71
DJ whose anything-goes spirit had a huge influence on British club culture had suffered a stroke in 2021DJ Alfredo, who had a significant influence on Ibiza becoming a global centre for dance music culture, has died aged 71.Amnesia, the club where he h…
Russian cargo ship sinks off the coast of Spain
According to analysts, the ship was part of a mission evacuating Russian bases in Syria.
Russian ship under US sanctions sinks after engine room blast
Ursa Major ran into trouble in the Mediterranean between Spain and Algeria, with two crew still missing.
Russian cargo ship sinks in Mediterranean after explosion in engine room
Two crew members from Ursa Major are missing and 14 have been rescued, Russian foreign ministry saysA Russian cargo ship has sunk in the Mediterranean Sea between Spain and Algeria after an explosion in its engine room, the Russian foreign ministry sai…
Pedro Sรกnchezโs nightmare before Christmas
Corruption probes around the prime minister of Spain are coming to a head at a crucial moment for his fragile government.
Spainโs socialist leader has defied expectations. Are there lessons for Starmer?
Pedro Sรกnchez has remained a rare bulwark of social democracy in an increasingly right-leaning continentAs Labourโs electoral honeymoon slips into distant-memory territory and Keir Starmer attempts to reboot his premiership, the party and its leader mi…
Locals win fight to save mysterious, medieval Spanish chapel from oblivion
Home to vivid 16th-century frescoes, the Ermita de San Jorge is on the brink of being saved from centuries of decayA mysterious, dilapidated and exquisitely painted Spanish chapel into which knights on horseback may have ridden centuries ago to receive…
World’s oldest lottery, Spain’s ‘El Gordo’, gives away millions in Christmas draw
World’s oldest lottery, Spain’s ‘El Gordo’, gives away millions in Christmas draw
Harland & Wolff sale will mean losses for creditors and suppliers, interim chair says
Russell Downs defends deal with Spainโs Navantia as best outcome possible to keep Titanic makerโs yards alive
Spainโs huge Christmas lottery spreads riches worth almost โฌ3bn
Top prize, known as El Gordo or the Fat One, won by ticket holders in the northern city of LogroรฑoPlayers with winning tickets in Spainโs huge Christmas lottery draw celebrated with sparkling wine, cheers and hugs on Sunday in a 200-year-old tradition …
No surprises here! What is discretionary remains discretionary in the CJEUโs first judgment on temporary protection
Dr Meltem Ineli
Ciger, Associate
Professor, Suleyman Demirel University
Photo credit: Francisco Anzola, via Wikimedia
Commons
On 19 December
2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union gave its judgment in Joined
ca…
โWeโre still in survival modeโ: anger persists in Valencia weeks after floods
Wreckage from Spainโs worst natural disaster this century may have been cleared but life for many remains in disarrayThe warm Valencia air, still thick with dust and carrying a residual note of mud and damp concrete, begins to reek on the approach to t…
Weather tracker: Monsoon brings severe flooding to southern Thailand
Torrential rainfall driven by north-east monsoon displaces thousands of people as buildings collapseSouthern Thailand is grappling with severe flooding as torrential rainfall, driven by the north-east monsoon, continues to affect the region. During the…
Europeโs biggest dietary problem? Lobbyists, says Nutri-Score creator.
Franceโs Serge Hercberg warns that disinformation is shortening the lives of consumers.
Google Maps camera captures man allegedly stuffing dead body into car trunk in Spain
PRESS REVIEW โ Thursday, December 19: All eyes are on the French city of Avignon where the verdicts in the Pelicot rape trial are expected. Also: President Xi Jinping visits Macau as the city celebrates 25 years since its handover to China. A Google M…
Google Maps car snaps vital clue in Spanish missing person case
Image of man leaning into boot of a car on a street in northern Spain helps lead police to make two arrestsOn a nearly deserted street in northern Spain, the images appeared to show a man hunched over the back of a red Rover car, gingerly loading a bul…
Spain introduces bill to combat online fake news
Minister calls bill demanding digital platforms publicly correct false information โgood news for democracyโSpainโs leftwing government has announced a bill extending a requirement to publish corrections to posts by digital platforms and social media i…
Marisa Paredes, Almodรณvar star and legend of Spanish cinema, dies aged 78
Roles in All About My Mother and Life is Beautiful cemented her status as one of Spainโs โmost iconicโ actorsThe award-winning Spanish actor Marisa Paredes, best known to international audiences for her work with directors such as Pedro Almodรณvar, Guil…
Commission warns five member states over EUโs online moderation law compliance
“The Commission may decide to […] refer Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands, and Poland to the Court of Justice of the European Union,” wrote the EU executive.
The post Commission warns five member states over EU’s online moderation law compliance …
Trump 2.0 will hurt planet, open door for Americaโs green rivals: EU climate chief
In an interview with POLITICO, Teresa Ribera said Donald Trumpโs expected climate withdrawal presents an opportunity for others to boost their clean industries.
Israel shutting embassy in Ireland as relations plummet over Palestine
Israeli foreign minister denounces the Irish for “extreme anti-Israel policies” in a move that follows Irelandโs recognition of Palestinian statehood and its accusations of genocide in Gaza.
Tributes paid to Mango founder Isak Andic after his death
Spanish PM praises Andicโs โgreat work and entrepreneurial visionโ after his death in hiking accident in CataloniaTributes have been paid to Isak Andic, the billionaire founder of the Spanish high-street fashion chain Mango, after his death in a hiking…
Spanish artwork seized by Franco regime returned to rightful owners
Spainโs culture ministry has returned the first of more than 5,000 items taken by the dictator 84 years agoSpainโs culture ministry has begun to fulfil its promise to return more than 5,000 works of art that were taken by the Franco regime after restor…
Isak Andic, founder of fashion chain Mango, dies in accident, aged 71
Billionaire slipped and fell from a 150-metre cliff while hiking with relatives near Barcelona, according to reportsIsak Andic, the founder of high street fashion chain Mango, has died after a hiking accident in Spain on Saturday, the company said.The …
โThe future of Syria must include everyoneโ, Spanish FM Albares says
Talking Europe meets one of Spainโs most seasoned diplomats, and a close confidant of the Spanish prime minister. Josรฉ Manuel Albares is Spainโs foreign minister, and a former ambassador to France. We discuss the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, war…
Rightward shift in Europe puts pressure on Green Deal: Will key EU policy survive?
Today, the EUโs Green Deal faces pressure from an atmosphere of economic crisis: car factories in Germany are set to close, farmers protesting about excessive environmental protection measures, soaring energy bills for households. But as the recent fl…
Disproportionate STR regulations threaten to hurt ordinary Europeans
Short-term rentals drive job creation, support affordable travel options and foster tourism in rural areas.
Brexit Britain looks to Europe to help fix its railways
With money tight, ministers are looking for novel ways to finance new trains. The solution might lie across the channel.
Ex-members of Eta jailed over flowerpot bomb intended to kill journalist couple
Four men given almost 75 years each for attempted murder of Aurora Intxausti, Juan Palomo and infant son in 2000Four former members of the Basque terrorist group Eta have been jailed for almost 75 years each for attempting to murder two journalists and…
Europe jumps into โincredibly costlyโ AI supercomputing race
The EU will fund AI-optimized supercomputers across the bloc to help startups compete with U.S. rivals.
โWeโre an evolving laboratoryโ: the island on a quest to be self-sufficient in energy
Harnessing wind, hydro and maybe geothermal power, the tiny Canary Island of El Hierro is blazing a trail for sustainable energy โ and the secret is all in the mixWords and photographs by Ofelia de Pablo and Javier ZuritaA vertiginous outcrop with more…
Scrabble star wins Spanish world title โ despite not speaking Spanish
Nigel Richards has also been champion in English and โ after memorising dictionary in nine weeks โ FrenchMore than 150 competitors representing 20 countries descended on a hotel on the outskirts of Granada last month to battle it out at the Spanish Wor…
Pedro Sรกnchez
Dreamer No. 8 โ The survivor
Top advisers say EU should ban solar geoengineering โฆ for now
The bloc’s scientific advisers say the EU should push for an international treaty regulating the controversial technologies.
Swedenโs Social Democrats struggle in traditional blue-collar heartlands
Like other socialist parties in Europe, Sweden’s center left has lost ground to the far right. Itโs hoping to turn that around.
Europeโs next top diplomat is ready to be undiplomatic
Will Kaja Kallas be able to make her voice heard?
โWeโre devastatedโ: anger as Madrid backtracks on museum plan for site of Robert Capaโs famous civil war photo
Residential building attacked by Francoโs aircraft in 1936 may not become memorial, rightwing council suggestsCampaigners are urging Madrid city council not to abandon plans to ยญcreate a museum on a site ยญimmortalised in a Robert Capa photograph that c…
Monterroso: The Spanish village welcoming migrants with open arms
With the Canary Islands struggling to cope with the number of migrants arriving on their shores, the Spanish state is asking other parts of Spain to accept them. In the summer, several hundred migrants were sent to Galicia, north of Spain. With anti-i…
Portuguese mayors urge Spain to press ahead with high-speed rail works
“What can’t happen is 2040…If we don’t start now, we’ll finish later and later.”
Smartphones should carry health warning, Spanish government told
Report by committee of experts also calls for doctors to ask about screen time during checkupsSmartphones sold in Spain should carry a label warning users about their potential health impacts, experts have told the Spanish government, in a report that …
Record number of migrants reach Spainโs Canary Islands in 2024
Record number of migrants reach Spainโs Canary Islands in 2024
Spanish masterpiece resurfaces after being hidden for more than a century
Joaquรญn Sorollaโs Paris Boulevard was sold to a private collector in 1890 and disappeared from public viewA painting by Joaquรญn Sorolla, the Spanish artist renowned for his mastery of light, is on public show for the first time since it disappeared aft…
Valencia floods: Human tragedy and environmental disaster
With at least 222 people dead, the torrential rain and floods in Valenciaย โ on the eastern coast of Spain โ have devastated many families and the cleanup of the region continues, more than a month after the disaster struck. But until now, there has be…
โItโs about justiceโ: fighter from guerrilla war sues Spanish government for โฌ1m
Joan Busquets, 96, suffered torture, forced labour and 20 years in prison under the Franco regime and seeks reparationsOne of the last surviving fighters from the guerrilla war waged against the Franco dictatorship in the 1940s is suing the Spanish gov…
France will oppose the Mercosur treaty right until the end
Paris risks an embarrassing defeat this week, just as its government faces possible censure and collapse. But this won’t be the end of the saga.
Ireland dodges bullet as Dublin voters narrowly reject gangland boss
Gerry “The Monk” Hutch led through 10 nail-biting election rounds โ but Irelandโs EU heavyweight knocked him out at the final bell.
Wake up and smell the coffee: rising food prices show destabilising impact of climate crisis | Heather Stewart
Policymakers must act as extreme weather events put more pressure on food inflation and production worldwideYour morning โ and afternoon โ coffee is the latest staple threatened by climate chaos: the price of quality arabica beans shot to its highest l…
Spain: Ten of thousands protest in Valencia against the authorities’ handling of floods
Some 100,000 people marched on Saturday (December 30) to protest against the authorities’ handling of Spain’s floods in Valencia, whose eastern region bore the brunt of the tragedy’s 230 deaths.
Sinn Fรฉinโs McDonald tops Dublin vote โ followed by a gangland boss
Irelandโs unfolding election results leave Mary Lou McDonald stuck in opposition โ likely alongside criminal newcomer Gerry “The Monk” Hutch.
Feeding off anger, fuelled by Russiaโฆ Enter Cฤlin Georgescu, Europeโs latest radical populist | Simon Tisdall
Riding on a TikTok tide of Putin propaganda, the Romanian nationalist typifies a swing on the continent that is raising the spectre of the 1930sPolitics in Romania can be a bloody business, especially on the right. The excesses of the Iron Guard, an in…
Spain hotel check-in delay fears as new data rules begin
A new law requiring hotels and car hire firms to send customer data to the government starts on Monday.
Protesters rally in Spain to mark one month since deadly floods
Angry residents protested and lit candles in memory of victims on Friday as Spain marked one month since its worst floods in a generation killed 230 people. Outrage swept the country after the October 29 catastrophe wrecked homes and businesses leavin…
Spanish government slams Partido Popular for breaking EU political consensus
โThey (the PP) have been left alone, to the shame of Spain.”
Spanish industry and government double down on hydrogen ambitions
โWe have the land, we have the resources, we have a very strong industry value chain as well as the public and institutional support,โ Arturo Gonzalo, the CEO of Spainโs gas grid operator Enagas, told Euractiv.
Who were the biggest dunces? Final grades for von der Leyenโs first Commission
Whoโs at the top of the class and who flunked? Here are POLITICO’s grades for each 2019-2024 European commissioner.
Spain introduces paid climate leave after deadly floods
Government approves up to four days of paid leave so workers can avoid travelling during weather emergenciesSpainโs leftwing government has approved โpaid climate leaveโ of up to four days to allow workers to avoid travelling during weather emergencies…