Europe

Europe has reached the end of winter with depleted gas reserves. A country has a model to save it: Spain

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This winter, which is coming to an end, is being colder than expected, something that as we have seen has caused havoc. Without going any further, there have been planes that have not been able to fly due to lack of antifreeze. If we talk about gas for heating, storage has also reached red numbers: the Netherlands has a reserve of approximately 12%, Germany and France are around 21%, according to AGSI data. In this low-minimum scenario, there are two countries that deviate from the norm: Spain and Portugal, with reserves of 56.87% and 76.7%, respectively. Of course, the difference in capacity is abysmal: 3.57 TWh for the first and 35.9 TWh for the second. It is not a coincidence: it is that the Spanish state has a particular infrastructure that has led it to this point. The context. The conflict between Ukraine and Russia that began in 2022 accelerated the independence of the old continent from Russian gas. Among the measures from Brussels, an emergency rule by which all EU member states had to start the winter with their gas reserves at 90% to ensure supply. However, in 2025 the EU decided to maintain that 90% target. but relaxing the norm to optimize costs. This greater flexibility together with a harsher than expected winter has brought an end to winter with reserves that are at their lowest in the last five years. The harsh European winter. In mid-January, deposits fell below 50%. If the winter ends with a capacity of 30%, Europe will have to inject 60 billion cubic meters of gas. To get an idea, approximately the annual gas consumption of all of Germany. In short, Europe has to refill its tanks in the summer and it will need a lot of imported gas to do so, which means go out into the market and face other competitors and the logistics of bringing it here in an increasingly complicated geopolitical scenario. The Spanish strategy. The Spanish gas storage system is based on two pillars: underground storage and LNG regasification. The second leg is providential, insofar as it is where Spain makes the difference and, furthermore, It is a powerhouse. In fact, Spain owns 35% of all LNG storage capacity in the EU, how Sedigas collects. Its enormous regasification capacity enables diversification of origin, with USA as first supplier with 44.4% of the total gas and another 15 different countries later, according to Enagás data. Spain has an infrastructure of seven plants that makes it possible to receive LNG ships from different sources, thus ensuring supply in case any mishap (technical problems, conflicts, political decisions) fails. Spain started the winter making decisions. Although the previous strategy gives it an advantage over other member states, Spain adopted a conservative strategy When facing this winter 25/26, adjusting to concentrate reserves in January and February, the coldest and with the most demand. A management decision to not waste that cushion prematurely. He was absolutely right: in January gas consumption rose 10.2% compared to the previous year, with a 30% increase in that destined to generate electricity because renewables contributed less than expected. Spain plays in another league. Thanks to its infrastructure, Spain no longer only consumes gas: it re-exports it. It has become a hub for redistributing gas to Europe as a kind of energy logistics platform, providing geopolitical and economic value to a state that, due to its geographical location, is isolated (which, for example, in the electrical field plays tricks on him) Is there real risk? While it is true that widespread shortages are not expected, there are localized risks in Europe. As summarizes El Economista, Spain has precedents of similar levels, such as 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022, where supply was not compromised. Of course, we will have to see what happens with the demand for LNG in summer globally, because it could make European replenishment significantly more expensive. In any case, Spain will get to that moment better than most. The scenario is not very rosy at the moment, precisely, with the Strait of Hormuz closed and the diplomatic crisis between Spain and the US, its main supplier. In Xataka | Europe believed it had won the gas war against Russia. Now it faces a much more uncomfortable reality: its dependence on the United States. In Xataka | The gas market becomes unpredictable: we have tanks full and ships on the way, but the price remains an enigma Cover | Pronor

While Europe fears for its pocket after gas cuts in the Middle East, France has a plan: its nuclear power

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Europe holds its breath in the face of the threat of a new energy crisis. The escalation of war in the Middle East has caused a real earthquake in the markets. The de facto blockade in the vital Strait of Hormuz puts in check the arrival of liquefied natural gas (LNG) ships from Qatar, forcing cargo ships to deviate towards Asia. With European gas reserves below 30% after an unusually cold winter, panic relives the nightmare of 2022 it is palpable. However, in the midst of this continental chaos, France observes the situation with an apparent and calculated calm. The French country believes it has an ace up its sleeve to avoid blackouts and industrial ruin: its imposing, and recently resurrected, nuclear fleet. A historical export record. While northern Europe trembles over gas, the French electricity grid operator, RTE, has just put figures on the table that support the Elysée’s optimism. According to the Bilan electric 2025Last year, France broke its historical record by exporting 92.3 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity. To put it in perspective, RTE’s Director General of Economics, Thomas Veyrenc, explained to the Revue Générale Nucléaire that this volume exceeds the annual electricity consumption of an entire country like Belgium. This milestone has returned France to its traditional role as Europe’s “electric battery”, a status that it had resoundingly lost in 2022. The secret of this success lies in the recovery of its nuclear park, which produced 373 TWh in 2025 (3.1% more than the previous year) thanks to better availability of its reactors. As pointed out by Financial Timesthis French nuclear fleet is precisely the energy lever that Europe was missing after the invasion of Ukraine, and could be the key to not having to turn on polluting coal plants again in the face of the current gas cut in the Middle East. The paradox: they export because they do not consume. Economically, the move is round. According to Le Mondethese exports have earned France 5.4 billion euros. By having so much low-cost electricity production (nuclear and hydroelectric), the country manages to maintain very competitive wholesale prices, situated at an average of €61/MWh in 2025, well below the suffocating prices suffered by neighbors such as Germany or Italy. But this “miracle” has some worrying fine print. As the specialized media warns Le Monde de l’EnergieFrance exports so much electricity mainly because its domestic consumption is stagnant. The country’s electricity demand remained at 451 TWh in 2025, 6% below pre-crisis levels. The reality is that France is far behind in the electrification of its own economy. Paradoxically, 56% of the final energy consumed by the country continues to depend on fossil fuels, especially in sectors such as transportation and heating. The energy clamp to Spain. The French master plan to establish itself as the energy savior of Europe has a clear loser: the Iberian Peninsula. As we explained in Xatakawhile Germany pays more than 100 euros for electricity and France pays 13 euros, in Spain and Portugal renewable overproduction sinks prices until they reach zero or negative values. Why doesn’t that cheap and clean Iberian energy flow to a thirsty Europe? Because France acts as a protective wall. The country maintains Spain as an “energy island” with only 2.8% interconnection, deliberately blocking vital projects in Aragon and Navarra in its network plan for 2025-2035. ANDThe eternal France-Spain conflict. The motivation is not technical, but pure geostrategy and economic survival. Paris needs urgently make profitable a pharaonic investment of 300,000 million euros in its atomic sector. Allowing the massive entry of competitive Spanish solar and wind energy would sink the prices and profitability of its nuclear plants. In fact, President Emmanuel Macron has come to attack the Spanish energy model in the international press, calling it unstable, arguing that a network does not support a 100% renewable model, and describing the urgency of interconnections as a “false debate.” However, the data dismantles the Elysée story. On the one hand, there is the “Danish mirror”: Denmark operates with more than 80% wind generation and does not suffer blackouts because it is ultra-interconnected with its neighbors to balance the load. On the other hand, the flagrant French amnesia regarding 2022 stands out, the year in which the French reactors failed massively due to corrosion problems and it was Spain that had to export electricity to rescue France from the blackouts. Because of this current plug, Spain is forced to throw it away (what is known as technical discharges or curtailment) around 7% of its clean energy because it literally “does not fit” into the grid. All this is part of a strategy of total domination by the Elysée: Macron not only seeks civil energy hegemony, but, how to collect CNBChas put a doctrine of “advance deterrence” on the table, offering the protection of its nuclear weapons to Europe in the face of the withdrawal of the United States. The Achilles heel: the uranium crisis. However, Macron’s nuclear fortress could have feet of clay. The chain RFI (Radio France International) warns that this “nuclear renaissance” faces great uncertainty over uranium supply. Historically, France obtained 20% of its uranium from Niger. But following the recent military coup, the ruling junta revoked the permits of the French company Orano, nationalized the mines and blocked exports, leaving Paris with a gaping supply hole. Now, France is desperately trying to look for new sources in countries like Kazakhstan (the world’s largest producer) or Mongolia, but there it comes face to face with the overwhelming geopolitical, business and infrastructure influence of Russia and China. A castle with a drawbridge. France has managed to build an energy strength that, in the short term, allows it to weather the Middle East storm better than its European neighbors, selling its surpluses at a gold price. But it does so at the cost of isolating the Iberian Peninsula and betting everything on a mineral, uranium, whose control is increasingly slipping out of its hands on the global chessboard. Time will … Read more

In 1958 France drew up a nuclear plan to defend Europe without the US. Now you want to activate it with a name: “archipelago of power”

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In western France, off the coast of Brittany, there is a naval base practically invisible to the public where some of the quietest submarines on the planet are hidden. Each of them can spend months under the ocean without being detected and carry missiles capable of traveling thousands of kilometers. Since the 1960s, at least one of these submarines has been permanently patrolling in secret, ready to act in a matter of minutes if the order comes. The return of an old idea. In 1958, Charles de Gaulle made a decision that would mark French defense policy for decades: develop a nuclear deterrent completely independent of the United States. The logic was simple but radical for your time. Although Washington was an indispensable ally, its interests did not always have to coincide with those of Europe, and in an extreme crisis the continent could be left unprotected. Since then, the French nuclear doctrine has maintained a deliberate ambiguity about which countries or territories come inside of the “vital interests” that would justify a nuclear response. That idea, conceived in the middle of the Cold War as a guarantee of strategic sovereignty, returns today to the center of debate European in a context of uncertainty about the American commitment to the defense of the continent. From ambiguity to deterrence. Now, President Emmanuel Macron has decided to turn that strategic tradition into a concrete proposal. Under the concept “advance deterrence”France proposes for the first time deploying elements of its nuclear force on the territory of European allied countries, participating with them in strategic exercises and coordinating more closely the nuclear protection of the continent. The proposal represents a step beyond the classic French ambiguity: although arms control would remain exclusively in the hands of the French president, his presence or training in other countries would send a direct signal that the French nuclear umbrella can extend beyond its borders. A nuclear archipelago in Europe. The operational concept that Paris is exploring is based on disperse part of your deterrence strategic throughout Europe. In practice it could involve temporary deployments of Rafale fighters capable of carrying nuclear weapons in allied countriesstrategic patrols or joint exercises that integrate conventional forces from other European states into the French deterrence system. Macron has described that network as a kind of “archipelago of power”, designed to complicate the calculation of any potential adversary. Although France would maintain absolute control over the use of weapons, the physical presence of these means in different parts of the continent would reinforce the credibility of the deterrent message. Eight countries begin to move. The media reported this week that the initiative has ceased to be a simple strategic hypothesis and is beginning to take political shape. Germany, Poland, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Greece and Finland they already participate in talks with Paris to explore different levels of cooperation on nuclear deterrence. Some of these countries are studying participating in French strategic exercises, while others are analyzing the possible temporary deployment of French nuclear capabilities on their territory. In any case, this turn reflects a profound change in the European attitude: for decades, most governments avoided seriously discussing any alternative to the US nuclear umbrella. The factor that changes everything. What has transformed the scenario is both the French proposal and the geopolitical context convulsed. Of course, there they appear first of all the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Moscow’s accelerated rearmament and doubts about the United States’ military commitment to Europe, all issues that have forced many governments to rethink the continent’s security architecture. Donald Trump’s return to the White House and his rhetoric about reducing the American role in European defense have ended accelerate that reflection French that seems to be reaching several members of the continent. In this climate, the old Paris doctrine (which for decades seemed like a vestige of the Cold War) is beginning to be perceived as a possible centerpiece of a more autonomous European deterrence. A limited but deterrent arsenal. France has around 290-300 nuclear warheads deployed in strategic submarines and combat aircraft, an arsenal much smaller than that of major nuclear powers such as the United States, Russia or China. However, French doctrine does not seek numerical parity, but rather the ability to inflict “unacceptable” damage to any aggressor. That logic is the basis of the concept nuclear deterrent: It is enough for the adversary to believe the possibility of a devastating response is credible for the attack to become too risky. With the new strategy, Paris aims to demonstrate that this principle can be extended beyond its territory and become, for the first time explicitly, one of the pillars of European security. Image | US Navy In Xataka | In the midst of the Cold War, France designed a nuclear rearmament plan for Europe. Now it’s loud again In Xataka | France and the United Kingdom have reached a curious agreement: to merge their nuclear arsenal if someone threatens Europe

the best search engines in Europe for those who want more ethics and privacy

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Let’s tell you the best European alternatives to Google and Bing. If you are looking for greater privacy and protection when searching on the Internet, choosing a trusted European provider ensures that they are subject to strict European privacy regulations. In total, we bring you six alternatives, which offer greater privacy and security. Some are environmental or non-profit organizations, others are paid, and there are even some open source. Ecosia It is possibly the most popular European search engine, and is known for your climate mission; since its advertising revenue is used to finance reforestation projects. Ecosia promises to respect your privacy as much as the planet, and only collects the data necessary to offer a quality product. Nothing else. This search engine has an AI search function with smaller, faster models to use less energy while offering accurate answers, all based on some renewable energies with which they feed both their search engine and their AI. Your search results come from Bing or Google, depending on your location, device type, or your preferences. Startpage Startpage is possibly one of the best alternatives to Google, although it is not completely European. It was founded in 2006 in the Netherlands, where its headquarters are still located, although it is a global company. However, having a European headquarters they promise that their users are protected by European privacy lawsincluding the GDPR. This search engine claims to be the most private in the world, including free anonymous viewing. The search results are from the Google engine, but they pass through their own data protection filter that remove users IPblock price trackers and third-party access to ads. Qwant A French search engine, which stands out for your commitment to privacy and not store or sell any type of data about you. Its results index is generated with Bing, although it also adds its own index to the algorithm to improve it. There is nothing from Google. Qwant also has a search engine called Qwant Junior, which adapts its results to the little ones in the house. So that you don’t miss anything if you migrate from Google, it has a partner called Shadow Drive, which offers private cloud storage hosted in Europe. good Good is a non-profit search engine created in Germany. All of its proceeds are donated to charities and other non-profit organizations that have a B Corp certification. Additionally, it is a search engine private and anonymouswithout histories, fingerprints or tracking. For its search results it does not use Bing or Google, but rather uses Brave search engine index. It is CO2 neutral, and has no advertising, nothing. In fact, the way they are maintained is through a voluntary subscription system of 2 euros per month or 19 per year for those who want to support it. Another German search engine, which combines search results from other providers. It is open sourceso that everyone can know how it works, their servers are maintained with renewable energy, and they are a non-profit organization. The most positive part is that they are a search engine committed to privacy and no ads. The negative part is that it is paid. Each search costs one token, and you can buy several packs which start at 500 tokens for 5 euros. Swisscows A Swiss search engine privacy focused and family character. For the latter, it has filters with which it tries to avoid explicit content. For its results it uses Bing’s search index combining it with one of its own. It has two modes, one free and one paid that for $3.80 per month offers total anonymity, zero advertising and exclusive search settings. Therefore, total anonymity is not free as in other models. It also has additional services such as mail, instant messenger, cloud and VPN. In Xataka Basics | 61 European alternatives to Google, X, Gmail, Chrome, Maps, DropBox, Google Drive, WhatsApp and other popular services

If the question is how much of Europe is within range of Iran’s missiles, the answer is simple: a fairly large

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In recent decades, the missile range It has become a silent measure of a country’s strategic power. Every few hundred kilometers added to their radius of action change not only technical maps, but also political calculations, alliances and perceptions of security. In this game of distances, Europe already it doesn’t appear that far away as before. From 1,300 to 3,000 km. It we count yesterday. Iran has built its deterrence on a missile family medium range (the Shahab-3, Sejjil, GhadrEmad or Khorramshahr) with ranges that start at 1,300 kilometers and are around 2,000–2,500 kilometers in most configurations, although certain variants of the Khorramshahr could approach 3,000 if they reduce payload. That threshold is what changes the European map, and the reason is very simple. With 2,000 kilometers, the eastern Mediterranean and southeastern Europe are clearly within the radiusand with 3,000, the arc of threat extends into the heart of the continent. The difference, therefore, is not technical, it is strategic. The eastern Mediterranean. Cyprus has been the clearest sign that the border is no longer theoretical. British bases of Akrotiri and Dhekeliaused as logistics and aerial projection nodes, are fully within range of both ballistic missiles and long-range drones such as the Shahed-136. In fact, Greece enters in the same arch, with Souda Bay in Crete within 2,300–2,400 kilometers from Iran. Athens, Sofia and Bucharest are among the capitals that fit comfortably within the 2,000 kilometer radius. Türkiye and Iraq: the exposed belt. Türkiye is located in the first critical strip. Incirlik, just over 1,000 kilometers from Tehran, is high value target for its role in allied architecture and its link to the nuclear sharing scheme. Kürecik, with its AN/TPY-2 radar, is the forward “eye” of the anti-missile shield and therefore a logical target in any prior suppression scenario. In Iraq, bases like Ain al-Asad or Erbil, in addition to the NATO mission in Baghdad, are not only within ballistic range, but also in the radius of drones and networks of militias supported by Tehran. Central Europe: the gray area. When the second and third arcs of the map are projected, cities appear like Budapest, Vienna or Bratislava on the periphery of the estimated range. Bucharest clearly enters the range of 2,000–2,500 kilometers, which places the base Aegis Ashore of Deveselu in a sensitive position within the maximum Iranian perimeter. If Khorramshahr really reached 3,000 kilometers, and that remains to be seen, the threat contour would touch cities like Berlin and Rome. Of course, just another hypothesis, but the pressure is expanding from the eastern flank towards the political center of Europe. The pieces of the shield and their limits. The Aegis Ashore system in Romaniathe one located in Poland and the Arleigh Burke destroyers in the Mediterranean they form the backbone of defense against Middle Eastern vectors. Germany, furthermore, has added the Arrow 3 system to reinforce its upper interception layer. However, any attack would have to fly over monitored airspace. like Türkiye, Iraq or Syriawhich adds operational complexity and interception windows. The shield exists, there is no doubt, but it does not eliminate the risk equation. Drones and saturation. Impossible to ignore it. Beyond ballistic missiles, Iran has turned attack drones into strategic multipliers. With ranges of up to 2,000–2,500 kilometers and costs much lower than missiles, they can be launched in waves to wear down defenses. Its previous use against British facilities in Cyprus demonstrates that the geographical barrier is no longer an automatic shield. The combination of expensive and cheap systems complicates defense. Underground and asymmetrical doctrine. As we count yesterday, the construction of “underground cities” to store and manufacture missiles is part of a strategy designed to compensate for the absence of a modern air force in Iran. Since 1979, sanctions pushed Tehran to invest in rockets, tunnels and technological alliances with other states, turning the missile into your main tool of deterrence. This asymmetric logic does not seek to equal the West in air and sea, but rather to impose cost and vulnerability from land. What changes strategically. As long as the effective range remains around 2,000 kilometers, the threat is mainly concentrated in the eastern Mediterranean and southeast Europe. If the actual ceiling is close to 3,000 km, the european political map enters the calculation. The difference between 2,400 and 3,000 kilometers is not a technical nuance, because it is the line that separates the periphery of the continental core. In that margin, a priori, the perception of risk for European capitals and the credibility of allied deterrence are at stake. Image | Mahdi Marizad, Defense Intelligence Agency, Mehr News Agency In Xataka | The arrival of the B-2s to Iran can only mean one thing: the search for the greatest threat to the United States has begun In Xataka | Iran has just attacked a base in Europe: the paradox of Spain is that it condemns the war, but the US does not need to ask to use its bases

Iran has just attacked a base in Europe. The paradox of Spain is that it condemns the war, but the US does not need to ask to use its bases

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In 1953, in the middle of the Cold War and at a time of international isolation, Spain signed with the United States the so-called Madrid Pactsan agreement that opened the door to the installation of North American military bases on Spanish soil in exchange for economic and military aid. That decision, taken in a completely different geopolitical context, ended up becoming one of the longer lasting pillars of the bilateral relationship and a structural element of Western defensive architecture in southern Europe. Rota, Morón and a return. The operation American and Israeli against Iran has returned to place the Rota and Morón bases in the center of the strategic board. Destroyers permanently deployed in Cádiz They sailed to the Mediterranean Eastern, strategic transport planes and tankers took off towards the area and the Aegis system embarked on ships of the Arleigh Burke class It once again acted as an anti-missile shield. Rota is not just another base: it is part of the naval component of the NATO missile shield and, in practice, it has served on several occasions as a direct reinforcement of the defense of Israel in the face of Iranian salvos. Far from being reduced, the American presence has expanded in recent years, with five destroyers already stationed and a sixth on the wayconsolidating the Cádiz base as a structural piece of Washington’s military projection in the Middle East. Europe closes ranks with Washington. France, the United Kingdom and Germany have declared your disposition to take proportionate defensive actions against Iran and have coordinated your posture with the United States. London has explicitly authorized the use of British bases to neutralize missiles at source, while Paris and Berlin have supported the defense of European interests in the region. This position of the so-called E3 represents a political and operational support to the US strategy and confirms that, on a military level, Western Europe has not distanced itself from the offensive. Beyond diplomatic nuances, the message is clear: the main European powers are willing to provide infrastructure and resources if escalation demands it. First attack on Europe. Hours after Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his decision to authorize the United States to use bases in the United Kingdom to launch attacks on Iranian missile depots, a drone has impacted against the RAF military installations at Akrotiri, on the island of Cyprus. In this way, a more than relevant event occurs on the continent: Iran has attacked a European base. The Spanish paradox. For its part, Spain has condemned publicly the intervention and has appealed for de-escalation and respect for international law. However, the paradox is evident: while the Government criticizes the operation, US ships and media stationed in Rota have participated in the military device. The key is in the current legal framework. The US forces are not in Spain by specific authorization of the Executive in power, but by virtue of that bilateral agreement that regulates their presence and use of facilities. Because the United States does not need ask permission on a case-by-case basis for each ordinary operational movement within the agreed framework. In essence, Spain may express political rejection, but infrastructure is already part of the US strategic architecture in Europe and the Mediterranean, and its activation does not depend on an improvised consultation in the middle of a crisis. What Spain can do legally. The bases of Rota and Morón are governed by the Convention of Defense Cooperation between Spain and the United States, which is periodically renewed and establishes the conditions of use. Spain could in theorydenounce the agreement, not renew it or demand substantial modifications, which would open a complex diplomatic process that would require formal deadlines and prior notifications. It could also try to limit certain activities if it considers that they exceed what was agreed or violate international law. However, the real chances of that scenario materializing are rather few. The bases are part of NATO’s defensive framework, generate employment and investment, and are integrated into broader strategic commitments. Abruptly breaking or restricting the agreement would imply a political, military and diplomatic cost of great magnitude, both in the bilateral relationship with Washington and within the Atlantic Alliance. Between sovereignty and interdependence. If you also want, the current situation reveals the structural tension that exists between formal sovereignty and strategic commitments. Spain retains ultimate legal power over its territory, but has voluntarily linked part of its military infrastructure to a collective defense system. In this way, when a crisis breaks out like Iranthat interdependence becomes visible: the decisions made in Washington, London or Paris are immediately reflected in Spanish ports and runways. The political condemnation can modulate the discourse, but strategic reality shows that Rota and Morón are nodes integrated in a network that transcends the current debate and that places Spain, want it or notwithin the operational perimeter of the US strategy in the Middle East. Image | US Naval Forces Central Command/US Fifth Fleet, Navy In Xataka | The US threatened to take the Rota base to Morocco. Spain has buried it with an unbeatable offer: more territory In Xataka | A disturbing idea for the US is beginning to gain strength: if the war with Iran lasts more than five days it will not win it

The subscription to avoid ads is now official in Europe

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The rumors had been circulating for a long time.but now we are no longer talking about speculation. Meta has confirmed that the ads will come to WhatsApp. The company thus introduces advertising in the most used messaging application in the world and, at the same time, opens the door to an alternative for those who prefer to avoid them: a subscription that will allow you to eliminate advertising from your mobile phone itself with a few touches. The change is not minor. In fact, everything indicates that we are facing one of the most important turns in the history of the platform. WhatsApp with advertising: what changes. With official confirmation on the table, the immediate question is where these ads will appear and to what extent they will alter the user experience. As explained by the company itself on its help pageadvertising will not invade private conversations. Ads will be displayed only in states and channels, while “personal messages and calls” will remain ad-free. In other words, the most intimate spaces of the application will remain intact, while advertising will be concentrated in the areas closest to public or shared content. How to remove WhatsApp ads. With the arrival of ads, another question inevitably arises: how to prevent them from appearing. If we do not want promotional messages to sneak between the states or the channels we follow, the only way will be to pay. Meta has chosen to introduce a subscription that will allow you to recover an ad-free experience within the application. It is a strategy that fits with the movement that the company has already started on Facebook and Instagramwhere it offers ad-free versions in exchange for a monthly payment. WhatsApp subscription. This is where the option to remove ads comes into the picture. According to the company, this subscription will be available in the European region, although not all users will be able to activate it automatically from the first moment. In order to subscribe, it is necessary to meet two conditions: have the WhatsApp account linked to the Meta account center and be over 18 years of age. The process to activate the subscription is done from the application itself and follows these steps: In WhatsApp, tap Settings > Account. Go to Ad Preferences for States and Channels and select No Ads. In the Account Center, tap Ads Preferences > Subscribe for ad-free use. Press Continue with subscription. Review the subscription and tap Continue > Continue Payment. Tap Pay Now to complete your payment through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Tap Close after seeing the confirmation screen. How much does a WhatsApp subscription cost?. The price is, without a doubt, one of the most relevant aspects, and for now it remains surrounded by some uncertainty. In our tests from Spain, the option to activate the subscription is not yet available, something that could be explained by a gradual rollout that Meta would be carrying out in phases. With a WhatsApp account linked to the account center, it is currently only possible to activate the subscription without ads on Facebook and Instagram, with a price of 5.99 euros per month for one account and 4 euros per month for each additional account if the management is done from a web browser. The specialized site WABetaInfo, a regular source to follow WhatsApp news, points out that the payments of this subscription will be monthly. As explained, the price may vary depending on the platform and the user’s location. Those who subscribe from Facebook.com or Instagram.com usually pay around 3 euros per month to remove ads, while doing so through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store would raise the figure to about 4 euros per month. It is advisable to take this information with caution. For our part, we have written to Meta to try to confirm the details and clarify what the final price will be. What happens to the privacy of chats. The arrival of advertising also raises another obvious question: what happens to the privacy of conversations. At this point, WhatsApp insists that the operation of the platform does not change. Messages are still protected by end-to-end encryption, meaning no one outside the conversation can access their content. As Meta explains, ad targeting will be based on limited signals, such as language, country, or user interaction with other ads within the platform. The conversations, at least on paper, will remain private. Images | Goal In Xataka | We already know how ads will work on ChatGPT. We have bad and not so bad news

sell more phones than Samsung in Europe

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Yesterday was Samsung’s big day. One in which he presented his new Samsung Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+ and Galaxy S26 Ultra. The company focused the event on news and collaborations with large AI companies, as well as high-end hardware. Although the big conversation was on its mobile phones, Samsung had already won since the beginning of the week. There is no way that anyone sells more phones than the Korean company in Europe. Unstoppable. The iPhone is one of the best-selling mobile phones in the world, but even that is not enough for Apple to smile in global photography. Samsung once again put its Galaxy A in first place on the podium, specifically the A56 5G. A mobile that has sold more units than all recent iPhones. The cast. Samsung ranked number one in European sales according to Omdia data, with 46.6 million units sold. The manufacturer’s market share rises from 34 to 35%, helped by the aggressive pricing strategy with the Samsung Galaxy A16 and the demand for the Galaxy A56. Apple grows. Apple, which shipped 36.9 million iPhones in Europe, is growing 6% year-on-year, with a record market share in Europe of 27%. The family iPhone 16 had a sustained demand, and the iPhone 17 Pro Max It has had an enviable reception from premium mobile buyers. The rest. Xiaomi maintained third place with 21.8 million shipments, slightly decreasing its annual sales volume. For its part, Motorola decreased its share by 5%, followed by Honor, which maintains fifth European position. But globally… The Samsung – Apple pulse has been getting worse quarter by quarter. Q4 2025 closed with Apple leading a 25% global share, compared to Samsung’s 18%. However, in the first quarters of the year, Samsung usually accelerates and takes first place at the start of the year. 2026. This will be a year of complete shakeup in the tech industry. The changes in strategy carried out by Samsung and Apple will be decisive for the chair dance to continue. Image | Xataka In Xataka | Trump’s pressure achieves a first move from Apple: part of the Mac mini will be manufactured in the US

best email providers made in europe

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Let’s tell you the best European alternatives to Outlook or Gmail. If you are looking for greater privacy and protection in your email, opting for a European provider subject to rigid European regulations is a good option, and we will tell you the top five. But you have to know that greater privacy and security has its price, because by not negotiating with your data or serving you advertising, many of these services are paid. Many are as cheap as one euro per month, but others try to offer you more services in exchange for a higher price. Proton Mail It is possibly the best known alternative. Based in Switzerland, it offers you end-to-end encryption as well as an open source product and a totally free basic email service. Yes, creating an account and using it on your mobile with its own app, or in the browser of any device is free. IMAP support for adding to other email clients is only available with Proton Mail Bridgewhich is a paid feature. But it also has payment plans that start in 3.99 euros per monthwith features such as creating aliases, such as alternative addresses to register on unreliable sites without giving your real email, and then deactivating them. In addition, it also offers a VPN, an office suite like Drive and cloud storage, as well as a password manager, calendar and everything so that you do not depend on other companies. Tuta Fewer additional services but more ethics. This is what Tuta, formerly known as Tutanota, offers, the German provider with end-to-end encryption that uses renewable energy to operate. It is also open source, although it does not have IMAP support, meaning you cannot add it to third-party email managers. Your basic email account is totally freealthough it also offers price plans that start at 3.60 euros per month, and that offer more storage, unlimited calendars and labels, 15 extra email addresses, or custom domains. mailbox This other German supplier It has a price of 1 euro per monthwithout free modality. Its focus is on privacy, being able to even make anonymous payments, and it offers a calendar, cloud storage, task manager and agenda service. It also gives you 3 different aliases to configure. Mailbox also has other plans with a higher price, and that offer more aliases, more storage, office automation service, alternative to Meet for meetings, etc. It is also compatible with IMAP, something that the previous alternatives do not have, allowing you to use your account in your favorite email manager. Post Posteo is another German provider that seeks simplicity above all else. The price of Your account is 1 euro per monthhas IMAP support, and its focus is on privacy and anonymity. In fact, it does not ask you for private information to register and you can pay with cryptocurrencies. It also runs on clean energy and you can add custom domains, aliases or more storage by paying a little more. Its web client has an outdated interface, but it is one of the best features if you are going to use it in the native or third-party email app on your mobile or computer. SmartMail This is the Startpage email service, which is possibly the best European alternative to Google. The bad news is that Its price is 6.99 euros per monthsomewhat less if you pay annually, although in exchange it offers unlimited aliases. It also has support for your own domain and has IMAP compatibility, in addition to the highest privacy standards. Therefore, it is the most expensive option, but also the most unlimited if you want to protect your privacy, especially by creating various aliases. In Xataka Basics | 61 European alternatives to Google, X, Gmail, Chrome, Maps, DropBox, Google Drive, WhatsApp and other popular services

The F-35 cannot be hacked like an iPhone. The explanation is the same why Spain and Europe cannot go to war without the US.

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There was a moment, probably towards the end of the Cold War, when the concept of Western military superiority stopped being measured solely in tons of steel or number of divisions and began to depend more and more on lines of code, networks and invisible architectures. As the decades passed, that technological transformation redefined not only how war is fought, but who really has control of the tools with which war is waged. Europe is realizing that that train has missed it. The jailbreak myth. Last year we already have that the possibility of an “off” button on the American F-35 it wasn’t exactly like that. Now, the comparison launched last week by the Dutch minister when suggesting that the fighter could “break free” like an iPhone It simplifies to the absurdity what is, in reality, a combat system defined by software and armored by cryptographic architecture. The F-35 is not designed for the operator to modify its code, but only to run software authenticated by keyscontrolled supply chains and closed validation environments, which means that physically accessing the aircraft is not the same as controlling its system. It is therefore not a consumer device on which alternative applications are installed like those on a mobile phone, but rather a platform whose integrity depends on digital signaturestrusted hardware modules and a support infrastructure that validates each update before the aircraft executes it. ODIN and structural dependency. They remembered in the middle The Aviationist that the real core of the problem is not in “hacking” the plane, but in keeping it outside the American ecosystem that keeps it operational. The F-35 depends on ODINthe logistics and data network that manages maintenance, mission planning, software updates and threat files, all under the control of infrastructure and processes largely managed from the United States. Disconnecting it does not turn it off immediately, but it initiates a progressive loss of capabilities that transforms it from a fully integrated fifth-generation platform to a combat fighter that is increasingly less relevant in the face of modern threats. So yes, exactly the same as a phone that stops receiving critical patches and updates. The same European dependence. Curiously, or perhaps not so much, this logic does not end with the plane, but runs through the entire European military architecture. The Financial Times recalled this morning in a piece that tried to answer the big European questions, that the continent’s armies depend on American software, clouds and systems for secure communications, data analysis, command and control, intelligence and platform maintenance. We are talking about platforms with contracts that involve giants like Google, Microsoft or Palantir and fundamental systems such asl Lockheed Martin Aegis integrated into, for example, European ships. The European military commanders themselves they recognized in the report that an abrupt break would generate operational gaps, fragmentation and loss of effectiveness, because a good part of the digital “back-end” on which its capabilities rest is not under European sovereign control. Digital sovereignty vs reality. Now that Washington is going through a phase where the word “ally” does not fit to the profile, the political speeches that advocate accelerate technological sovereignty in defense they collide with a structural reality: replicating the entire ecosystem that supports platforms, networks, encryption, AI and cloud services is not as simple as moving servers to European soil or changing providers overnight. And it is not because data localization does not equate to real sovereignty when that same software, updates, cryptographic keys and interoperability depend on American supply chains and regulatory frameworks, and where European generals themselves warn that a hasty decoupling would put daily operations at risk. Same explanation. In the end, the F-35 can’t be hacked like an iPhone has the same explanation why Spain and Europe cannot aspire to full digital sovereignty or resort to a high-intensity war without the United States: the structural dependence of the North American technological ecosystem. In the air, that translates into a fighter whose effectiveness rests on updates, threat data and logistical support controlled from Washington. On the ground, in militaries that operate on digital infrastructures, critical software and command architectures deeply intertwined with American suppliers and standards. If you also want, it is not so much a question of political will, but rather of technical architecture: whoever controls the software, controls the capacity. Image | RawPixel In Xataka | “It’s not what we need”: Germany has just put the finishing touches on Spain’s great military dream, the European anti-F-35 is disappearing In Xataka | The Netherlands has just activated panic in Spain and the US allies: the F-35 can be “released” like an iPhone

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