Europe

Spain wanted Ryanair to pay it 107 million euros. Now Europe responds: sanctioning file against Spain

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Airlines have limited “freedom to set prices.” At least that is what the European Commission, which has sanctioned our country, believes. It did so with a statement published yesterday, Wednesday, October 8, in which it clarified that the Air Navigation Law prevents airlines from charging for this service. The decision is also a hard blow for Spain’s role in its open judicial fight against Ryanair. The European Commission. She was the last to give her opinion. And he has done it in the worst possible way for Spain. In a public statementthe European entity confirms that it has opened a sanctioning file against our country when it understands that it is taking measures to restrict the freedom of airlines to charge for a service to which they are entitled. That right is to charge for hand luggage, a service for which Spain has already imposed a sanction on five airlines. The cost of that punishment was close to 180 million euros and Ryanair was the company most punished, receiving a fine that exceeded 107 million euros. According to the European Commission, these sanctions also fail to comply with Community regulations. Right. According to the European Commission: “Spain’s National Air Navigation Law does not allow airlines to subject the carriage of carry-on baggage to an additional charge, restricting the freedom of airlines to set prices and differentiate between a service that includes the right to a larger carry-on baggage allowance, and a service that does not offer that possibility and simply provides the smaller allowance that constitutes a necessary aspect of the carriage.” From Europe, therefore, it is understood that Spanish airlines are allowing the minimum necessary luggage that is mandatory to pass through completely free of charge. On the contrary, it considers that our country is preventing charging for larger packages and that, therefore, companies are prevented from charging more for the service and are forced to abandon this income option. “Reasonable”. The problem right now is that there are no established bases for what is or is not considered “carry-on luggage.” The Court of Justice of the European Union noted, as stated in the European Commission’s own statement, that hand luggage “should, in principle, be free as long as it meets reasonable requirements in terms of weight and dimensions, and complies with the applicable security requirements. Hand luggage that exceeds such reasonable requirements is subject to price freedom.” But what is reasonable? For the European Union, companies like Ryanair already complied with their previous measurements of 40 x 25 x20 cm (expanded to 40 x 30 x 20 cm last summer). For Spain, however, that size or a smaller one does not allow the transport of basic belongings and does not meet those “reasonable requirements in terms of weight and dimensions.” Justice. That same debate, in fact, has been experienced by the fined companies themselves in our country. First because they have received some of the higher economic sanctions on companies in the history of Spain. And, second, because not even the Spanish Justice has shown a clear criterion when deciding whether companies or consumers are right. In SevilleFor example, Ryanair won a lawsuit against a consumer who was charged at the boarding gate for not having checked luggage on time. In Salamancait was the consumers who beat the company for the same reason. A setback for Spain. The decision of the European Commission is a hard setback for Spain, although it was expected. The Transport Commissioner of the European Union himself, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, received the CEO of Ryanair personally a few days ago. Pablo Bustinduy, Minister of Consumer Affairs, preferred to attend to him remotely by video call. The company had also threatened to take the legality of the fine imposed in our country to the European courts. Now, it has the backing of the European Commission should the matter go to trial. For Bustinduy: “the charge for hand luggage represents a conflict between the interests of the large airline industry, which profits from these practices, and the rights of consumers. Unfortunately, today the Commission has decided to position itself on the side of the interests of the multinationals,” in words reported by The Country. An interested movement. As we already told a few weeks ago, the European Union is seeking to reach an agreement on the minimum measures for hand luggage. Both the European Commission and the European Parliament are deciding what minimum measures are imposed. However, until now measures have been put on the table that were almost identical to those offered by Ryanair and other companies low cost. The Irish company also subscribed to the decision of Airlines for Europe (A4E), an association of airlines including Ryanair, to confirm that increased the minimum size allowed in their cabins at 40 × 30 × 15 cm. They are measures slightly lower than those that Ryanair has ended up adopting and similar to those sought by the European Union, in what is a clear nod to those who have defended these latter positions. What happens now? With this file, the European Union gives our country a period of two months to adapt national legislation to European regulations or to give a reasoned response to it. If the changes are not implemented or the response is not considered sufficiently reasoned, the European Commission may issue a reasoned opinion. This is the second formal phase of the procedure and if Spain maintains its positions, the case can be referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union. Photo | Niklas Jonasson and Andrijana Bozic In Xataka | Michael O’Leary, CEO of Ryanair: “I don’t want the money. Let them fly without suitcases”

From Europe its “welfare state” was envied. But it is increasingly difficult to pay, and France is the best example

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Europa presumed for decades of having found the perfect formula to combine economic prosperity with social justice: hospitals open to all, affordable universities and worthy retirements after a work life. That pact between generations, envied on the other side of the Atlantic, became the identity mark of the continent. And yet They begin to become visible. And one of its banners wobbles: France. A price too high. I told this week The Washington Post. Europe lives a historical crossroads: the social model that guaranteed universal health, accessible education and decent retirements begins to show cracks that can no longer be hidden. France It is the epicenter of that tension. There, the runaled public debt, political paralysis and succession of Fallen prime ministers In just fifteen months they show deep wear. The State Spend more than any other country rich in social protection, but that expense seems unsustainable in a context of low growth and growing polarization. The recent resignation From Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, unable to agre as inalienable. Model under generational pressure. There are more, since, in France, new generations feel that they inherit a system that they cannot sustain. He Post counted Cases of young people such as Anastasia Blay, who depend on intermittent subsidies to survive, convinced that they should not load with the mistakes of the past or give up a decent life. In front of them, retirees like Christine Boucau-Podorski They defend The pensions achieved after decades of hard work and are willing to limited sacrifices, but not losing acquired rights. This struggle between young and old reflects the intergenerational shock that crosses To all of Europe: Who pays the invoice, what benefits should be preserved and to what extent intergenerational solidarity can continue to be the base of the European social contract. Germany and France Wobm up. Fragility is not limited to France. Germany, the other great Historical support of the European Union, faces industrial recessiondeterioration of infrastructure and a government that admits since “the current system is unassumable.” Political tensions are intense, with the social democratic opposition refusing to accept drastic cuts and the extreme right by capitalizing citizen discomfort. Meanwhile, the Ultras games grow On both sides of the rhine fed by social disenchantment and the feeling of stagnation. The paradox is that Italy or Spainonce considered weak links, they exhibit today greater stability macroeconomic than European locomotives. The center, formerly balancing, has become the area of ​​greatest uncertainty, which weakens the European project at a time of growing external threats. The southern paradox. It is quite striking that countries historically seen as fragile, such as Spain and Italy, today appear (either They seem) as relatively more stable. Italy, after decades of political instability, lives its strongest period with a controversial government that has even achieved An improvement of the credit rating. Spain, meanwhile, has reduced by half unemployment in the last decade and maintains growth above the European average, despite spend less on well -being than France or Germany. This roles investment shows to what extent the clichés of the southern Europe have been exceeded: the Mediterranean nations, previously accused of fiscal laxity, seem to have learned to navigate austerity, while “the rich north” It sinks in its own budgetary rigidity. The perfect storm. The challenge is aggravated by external factors that multiply internal pressures. The Russian Invasion of Ukraine pushes to increase the defense expensejust when public coffers They are already exhausted. China Compete fiercely With European industry, from electric cars to nuclear energy, eroding the international position of German and French manufactures. And the United States, far from offering security, Add uncertainty with a president who changes position in a matter of days and threatens tariffs to his own allies. Europe must decide If prioritize shield Your welfare state, to reorient resources towards military security or find a balance that does not sacrifice either global competitiveness or social cohesion. The great unknown. Experts Like Andreas Eisl They argue that the dilemma is first of all politician: it is not if Europe can maintain its social model, but to what extent it wants to do it and what sacrifices is willing to assume. Attempts to apply cuts, such as 44,000 million euros proposed in the budget that demolished Prime Minister François Bayrou, have caused A massive rejection on the street and fed polarization. However, mathematics is relentless: with a aging populationa Birth in Declive and one Increasing resistance To immigration, the fiscal base narrows while the needs increase. Europe may not be on the verge of a Greek collapse, or it does not seem, but the sustainability of its “way of life” indicates that it has ceased to be An unquestionable dogma. And that is, perhaps, the true battle of the future: if the old continent manages to reinvent his social contract without dynamiting him in the process. Image | Pexels, Martin Greslou In Xataka | Spain has a big problem with the generational relief of the labor market: 3.5 million young workers are missing In Xataka | Birth in Poland is a disaster and hotels have had an idea: money for those who conceive in a stay

The Spanish rice has come out in the most unexpected country in Europe: England

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Spain is one of the great rice producers in Europe. The annual production of this cereal is around 800,000 tonsa significant portion of 2.8 million tons produced in the European Union. Now a new country could be incorporated into the list of European producing countries (although it comes late to join the Union list).It is the United Kingdom. A crop making their way. The rice cultivation He makes his way in England. An experimental rice plantation is demonstrating the viability of the cultivation of this cereal in the relatively fresh and humid climate of the British islands. Nine varieties. The experiment It is being driven by the UKCEH (UK Center for Ecology and Hydrology) and for a marriage of local farmers, Craig and Sarah Taylor. The experimental rice cultivation occupies four plots of a land in the FENS region, in Cambridgeshire. In this region of the East English, marshes and peat areas predominate. The soil in this region is not only rich in nutrients and conducive to agriculture but also offers, thanks to peat, the possibility of creating floodplains such as those required by rice cultivation. The four plots occupied by this experimental crop have been sufficient to cultivate nine varieties of rice, including rice originating in Brazil, Italy or the Philippines, varieties used for plates such as risotto, Basmati rice or sushi. With the help of heat. Cultivating rice in the British climate does not seem like a great idea, but the results seem to indicate otherwise. It may have contributed the exceptionally warm summer that has affected the British islands. The future of rice cultivation on the islands could depend on the heat lived this year being a simple anomaly or fruit of a trend marked towards increasing temperatures. “We could never have contemplated that this grew here,” explained to the BBC Sarah Taylor, one of those responsible for this project. “Not in a million years,” Apostille Craig, her husband. Tying the carbon. The mob plays an important role in carbon regulation. This soil originates in the decomposition of organic matter and stores a large amount of carbon. The degradation of these soils as a result of agricultural use implies the emission to the atmosphere of huge amounts of carbon dioxide. The rice planting project He wants to avoid thisTying the carbon to the terrestrial peat of the English region. This implies that the project not only has the potential to help adapt to change in the weather, it is also a way to mitigate the emissions that cause it. New competition? Climate change involves numerous challenges and perhaps one of the greatest has to do with agriculture. Changes in temperature and rain patterns imply that the crops that once prospered in one place stop doing so. On the other hand, change also open the road to the introduction of new crops where they would have been inconceivable before. In a changing context, rice crops in Spain raise a double threat. On the one hand, The drought lived a few years ago It was a threat to endanger the supply of water in areas such as the Ebro delta. In case that were not enough, the rainy episodes we have seen in the last year have also brought New threats to cereal producing regions. In Xataka | The US launched a pulse to China with the tariffs and China has responded not buying soybeans. It is wreaking havoc Image | UKCEH

China’s government is discovering that selling cheap cars is not enough in Europe: spare parts will be insured

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China has proposed an objective: to become the New energy cars supplier of the world. HE esteem that the country exported about 4.3 million cars in 2024, of which 1.6 million were electric and almost 750,000 ‘They parked‘In some country in the European Union. Within China’s expansion policies, companies have made the decision of flood Europe with its cars. For this they are associating with already consolidated groups In our territory, but they have also opted for the most direct way: bring your cars directly in large ships and open dealers. It is what is allowing the expansion of brands like byd, Xpeng or Jaeco/omoda (and Those who are coming, like Xiaomi), But there is a problem: spare parts. We already told it a few days ago: the mechanics were Starting to see Chinese cars with good eyes. Even Euro NCAP, the agency responsible for giving a security score to cars in our territory, Consider that they are safer than many other brands. They are not the only ones: the CEO of Riviain has already said that Chinese cars were better And even Jim Farley, CEO of Ford, commented that He didn’t want to get off his Xiaomi Su7. The problem is when something fails And it’s time to ask for the replacement piece: you have to wait because you have to ask and, sometimes, that piece is easy for you to come … from China. Now it is the Chinese government itself who wants to settle that problem with a goal in mind: take care of the client. And for this they will regulate sales abroad through the ‘export licenses’. Export licenses, China’s weapon to improve the image of their cars In September 2012, China implemented a regulation called ‘Shang Chan Fa N318’ regulations. With it, a series of qualification requirements for national manufacturers were established that requested both cars and motorcycles. It was something that applied to both hybrid and combustion vehicles, but the electric were exempt. If companies could export everything they wanted without any regulation, Isn’t that good for expansion? Yes … and no. On the one hand, the aforementioned expansion is achieved, but irregularities could also be committed, a poor after -sales service and an absence of official guarantee were offered. Basically, “anyone” could bring the car, sell it and disregard. And there is the negative part, since if a user buys a car, fails or does not update and does not have any attention after the sale, that experience will not only do not return to Buy a Chinese carbut recommends not doing it. With the new export license that It will be implemented As of January 1, 2026 for cars that leave China, the government seeks to combat all that. And be careful, not only to Chinese manufacturers, but to companies that manufacture in China, regardless of its origin. In fact, four ministries are those who have jointly announced the measure (trade, industry and information technology, customs administration and the state administration for market regulation) and what companies that manufacture in China will have to do in China and want to sell their vehicles in other countries It will be to request a license that will be renewed annually.

Encell has everything to house extraterrestrial life. And Europe is moving to discover it before anyone else

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When NASA’s Cassini probe sent the first images of the water vapor jet That world was not dead. It was on, and the content of an underground ocean was expelling to space. Since then, Each new satellite data He has reinforced an idea that excites astrobiologists: if there is a place beyond the earth where to look for life, it is there. Short. A new Cassini data analysis, collected almost twenty years ago, has reinforced the possibility of Encelado to meet all the conditions to house life. The European space agency is clear: Encell is already a central objective of its long -term exploration plan, and it is time to launch a mission to answer the big question at once. The ingredients for life. For life to exist as we know it, three things are needed: liquid water, energy and several basic chemical elements: carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and sulfur. Once all seems to have them. We know that a global saltwater ocean is hidden under its icy cortex. The energy is provided by the friction of the tides that Saturn causes and, probably, Hydrothermal sources in the seabedsimilar to fumaroles that here are full of bacteria and more complex organisms, such as worms and snails. Promising news. Thanks to the brain speakers, who launch samples to space, Cassini was able to analyze the composition of their ocean. Although most of the essential elements had already been detected, including phosphorus, a new finding between probe data has re -raised enthusiasm. A study published in Nature Astronomy Analyzes a Cassini flight from 2008. The ship crossed the brain feathers at 18 km/s. That speed, which seemed like a problem, turned out to be useful: the impact broke the molecules in a way that allowed them to identify them better. The result has been the discovery of new complex organic molecules, such as aliphatic compounds, esters, ethers and other molecules with nitrogen and oxygen. On Earth, these molecules are linked to reactions that give rise to amino acids, the basic pieces of proteins. ESA plans. With such promising scenario, Europe does not want to be left behind. In his scientific road map Voyage 2050, Encesto is already the star destination for a future mission. The idea includes an orbiter and a landing module. The orbiter would fly over the brain feathers several times with more precise instruments than Cassini. The landing would pose near the “stripes of Tigre” of the South Pole, where the geysers emerge, to directly collect the newly fallen snow. It would be the first time that a probe analyzes a world with an active ocean, although it would not reach the surface until 2058. Europe is not alone in the race. The United States also has its proposal: the mission Alcamadus orbilandermarked as a maximum priority in the Survey decadal of 2023. Your plan is very similar: orbit first and then land. China, meanwhile, already works in nuclear technology for deep space probes and Enced is among its future goals. Image | POT In Xataka | If we want to find extraterrestrial life, we already know at what point in the space we must look for: the “Terminator”

Interior Spain has been dreaming of having a beach. Now you will have the largest private in Europe in … Guadalajara

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Much has rained since ‘The Refrescos’ sang that “there is no beach” in 1989. It is true that communities like Madrid either Castilla-La Mancha have several “beaches” in which they can cool off if parks in full heat wavebut by great, beautiful and refreshing that are those gaps, it seems that more water is needed. And, at a time when We are running out of beaches all over the planetGuadalajara has decided that it will open the largest interior beach in Europe. Alovera Beach. Alovera It is a town located in the Guadalajara countryside that has a population of about 13,500 inhabitants and will soon add to its tourist attractions the largest artificial beach in Europe. At least, They say so Those responsible for the project, the company Crystal Lagoons that has seen how the municipal plenary approved unanimously a transfer agreement for 40 years of land very close to the important Mahou beer factory on the outskirts of the municipality. The plot has about 105,000 square meters and the works are expected to begin at the end of this year to open their “doors” in spring of 2027. It is estimated that about 20 million euros will be invested and about 140 direct jobs will be created. It is a project that began to be developed in 2017, but that after the resource of environmental environment and reactivation after the COVID-19 Pandemiahe has seen green light a few days ago. The “Beach”. Within those more than ten hectares, the Chilean multinational Crystal Lagoons, That he has already built “beaches” of this type in other countries, he wants to create facilities that will consist of: An artificial lagoon of about 20,000 square meters with differentiated areas for bathroom and navigation. A white sand beach of 16,000 square meters. Complementary facilities such as a ‘club’ Ibizan style, aquatic attractions, sports activities and restoration. Parking with 1,000 places. In addition to private investment, the company will pay a fee of ten million euros throughout the 40 years of granting the land to the City Council. Crystal Lagoons technology. If we go around the company’s website, this “Lagoons” technology is mentioned several times. They mention that it is something “proprietary and ecological ”and what they detail is that their methodology is sustainable and profitable: Use 100 times less chemical than a conventional pool (thanks to a system of “”Disinfection pulses”), And 30 times less water than a golf course. It requires only 2% of the energy of traditional filtration systems by using pulses to group the largest particles in an area of ​​the lagoon, collecting them all at once. Minimum water consumption because it works with a closed circuit that is replenished only when there is evaporation. They affirmIn addition, that the cost of maintenance and construction is “very low, even lower than those of a park of the same size” and have a technology to capture rainwater and replace the pools and everything is monitored to maintain the parameters at the levels that they consider optimal. The land where the beach will be built Criticism. However, the project has generated controversies since its announcement in 2017, the environmental impact being the trigger. Ecologists in action critical The project by stating that it was a “nonsense and a waste of drinking water” to build something like that in a dry area that needs tank trucks in summer to satisfy the needs of the neighbors. The estimate is that it will consume more than 30 million liters of drinking water every year and that, to be viable, you will need water from the tributaries of the Tagus. They also have manifested political irregularities when carrying out the agreement. Look at 2027. Despite the voices against, Alovera Beach will begin to lift in the short term and the residents of the municipality will be able to access this artificial beach in the center of the Peninsula that will have direct connection with the A-2 and, therefore, with Madrid and all potential clients. As the multinational assures, Alovera’s will be the largest artificial lagoon of crystalline water in Europe, but it will not be the only one. In Spain they built the Alcazaba Lagoon in Malaga and Santa Rosalia in Murcia, in addition to having your eyes on Seville. There is also interest in expanding in Romania, France, Italy or Poland, thus adding these projects to those of the United States District One of Dubai. So, in the end, Madrid will have close -Otra- beach. Wow, go. In Xataka | Half the Canary Islands created an artificial beach to attract tourism. Without knowing it, he set up a sanctuary for angel sharks

While Europe was razed by black plague, an unexpected state applied epidemiological pioneer measures: Aragon

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The whole history of humanity changed one day of 1346 in front of the doors of the city of Caffa in the Crimean Peninsula. Between that day and the end of 1351, 70 million people died worldwide. That is, between 30% and half of the population disappeared from the surface of the earth. It is very difficult to ponder what the black plague meant. But not everywhere was the same. In the vicinity of Lake Issyk-Kul in the current Kyrguistan, Almost everyone died. In the crown of Aragon, The thing was different. Do not be misunderstood, we talk about a complex and diverse territory, the impact of black plague on the different kingdoms and counties was as terrible as anywhere; But, according to A recent study by Albert Reixach Salahe has just demonstrated that “urban governments began to try pioneer techniques that anticipated” what would later be applied in the rest of Europe. The laboratory of the continent. At first, like all, Aragonese communities resorted to religion. East of the Peninsula processions, public sentences and offerings to the saints were filled. It seems, 1384, the Municipal Council of Manresa tried to placate the “divine anger” prohibiting gambling. From whatever, it did not work. AND, According to Reixach Salathroughout the fifteenth century, the authorities began to add more concrete measures and, to put it in some way, more modern. For example, death registration systems were created (in Barcelona it was active since 1420). At the same time, Terrasa and Cervera began to apply mobility restrictions prohibiting entry to travelers who had been in locations with active cases. A lot of good ideas. Obviously, these answers were partial, clumsy, uncoordinated and reactive. A good example is that in 1458, the city ejected all the Mallorcans from its municipality. No matter that the island was one of the most controlled places in the Mediterranean. In Sóller, without going any further, there were permanent terrestrial controls for decades. However, numerous ideas were clairvoyant. We usually overcome the origin of the ‘quarantine’ to Venice or France, but (always According to Reixach Sala) We know that before that Cervera had already built preventive confinement barracks for anyone who returned to the city. In Valencia it also began to do a few years later. In the same vein, Mallorca had a kind of “Board of Health” since 1476 that introduced prevention measures, administrative regulations and generalized health measures. The grain and the straw. In 2015 Karolinska Institute of Stockholm when granted your youyou The Nobel Prize in Medicine. Many interpreted him as a prize for traditional Chinese medicine, but What they were rewarding It was a huge effort to carefully analyze each and every one of the remedies that the millenary Chinese civilization. Because, between superstition and care, there were good things: bright things. The same as in Aragon. Image | Pierart Dou Tielt, c. 1353. In Xataka | The black plague was a traumatic episode for the human being. But our immune system also improved

Incinerators are growing both in Europe that they are becoming a problem. The bad news is that we do not know how to solve it

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“Every year We produce 2,000 million tons. They are everywhere, but since it is something disgusting, we do not think about it. “Oliver Franklin-Wallis, author of the excellent ‘said it.Dump‘(Captain Swing, 2025) and is right. What happens is that in Europe they forced us to think about it. And China did. In 2018, China left half the world game and He got fed up being the landfill in developed countries. This may surprise many, under the great speeches of ‘green revolution’ and care of the environment, what there was basically to pack up everything we generated and send it to China. Until, as I say, Beijing said ‘Enough’. And it wasn’t a joke. During 2019, The importation of plastics of the Asian country fell 99%those of paper 30% and those of aluminum and glass around 20%. Only if we take into account that 95% of European plastics and 70% of Americans end up there, we can understand The magnitude of the problem. We look for the exit, of course. During the following years, millions of tons of garbage They redirected the Gulf of Guinea, to the Southeast Asia And basically a Any site that was arranged To accept them. But we all knew that the problem was structural: for decades we have been dismantling the continental recycling system. That is, we had no capabilities to assume it. And, although the European Commission has considered various plans (from promoting the creation of recycling plants throughout the continent to “generate jobs and take care of their own waste” to ‘convince’ the market with taxes that they penalize the products created with new plastics), the truth is that only garbage was buried or burned. In fact, today, we burn “60 million tons of municipal waste.” And that worries many. So much that, in recent days, more than 150 organizations They have asked To the European Union “a moratorium throughout the EU On the new waste incinerators (R1 and D10), together with gradual reduction strategies of the existing incineration capacity and an increase in investment in circular economy infrastructure, such as reuse systems, composting and recycling technologies. “ It is not a coincidence. Everyone who is up to date with the problem knows that, without pressures, the expansion of incineration will grow. And that will have climatic consequences (according to the latest studies It generates more carbon than fossil fuels), but also toilets. The question is if we have an alternative. And, honestly, it is not clear. Europe is increasingly cornered And what seemed before us impossible responses begin to become reasonable exits. “Incinerate as if there was no tomorrow” begins to be in that category of things. Stop it will be complicated. Image | Jonathan Kemper | The Blowup In Xataka | We have been recycling the garbage we produce. Experts say it has not served at all

‘Universalis V’ Europe is the most ambitious strategy game in history. And brings surprise: he was born in Spain

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‘Universalis V’ Europe, the last installment of the legendary Strategy saga of Interactive Paradox, is an ambitious jump in depth, realism and complexity for the Fans of the genre. The series, venerated for two decades and competing face to face with giants as civilization It reinvents itself to offer unprecedented historical simulation. But the most interesting of all is that, after four deliveries developed in Swedenthis fifth part is being developed entirely in Spain by the Paradox red study, based in Barcelona. It goes more. We attended the presentation that Paradox red carried out in the Comic-with Malagajust a few weeks after its launch on November 4, and between Sonia Linares (Director of Operations), Álvaro Sanz (Head of Content Design) and Matías Tiscornia (2D Art Coordinator) made it clear that the title was, above all, “” Ambitious. We have people with 7000 hours played at our games, people who live the saga. ” And it is from a superficial first glance: “The fourth install 500 years of simulation. And so with everything: in ‘EU4’ there were 900, and here, 2,000. In the previous delivery, 16 combinations of land (climate, topography and vegetation), and now we will have 672. in ‘EU4’ there were 367 cultures, and in ‘EU5’, 2,000. And if there were only 27 religions there, we will now have 300. 16,000 kilometers of map and more than 500 years of history, from 1337 (the beginning of the War of the Hundred Years) until 1837 (the dawn of the Victorian era). That is, the players will live the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, the absolutism, the revolutions and other key periods structured in six ages (traditions, rebirth, discovery, information, absolutism and revolution). Exhausting but infinitely stimulating. Three pillars. To stand this ambition, the game has been based on “three organic pillars: first, A credible world based on systems, mechanical, etc. simulations; Second, an almost infinite rejugability, that thousands of hours occur for the family’s freedom of action; And third, that the game is really from the community: we have spent the last year and a half of development going to the forum every week to be part of the creation of the game, talk to the community directly, ask what they want, to make fixes and changes instantly, all thanks to the community. “ Maximum detail. All this sets in an obsession with absolutely demential detail: for example, the team presented us with a panoramic view of how the game in 1337 was contract according to variables controlled by the player. ” There are mechanics for exploration and colonization of territories, “with the possibility of sending populations to colonize, create commercial companies and exploit resources.” And of course, possibilities of diplomacy and war. Even music. In total, “more than 100,000 lines of content, more than 60 countries with unique content made by hand, more than 8,000 events, 2,000 decisions, hundreds of forms of government, laws, privileges and situations. More than 1,300 historical characters have also been investigated. And that only in 1337 dynamic that changes according to the player’s actions. And much more. And with this we are only scratching the surface of what the game contributes, since decisions have been made of enormous complexity. For example, “if there is an empire that includes different ethnicities within it, it is tried to reflect the genetic and cultural burden throughout the country.” And all this embodied, as the art coordinator told us, in “Illustrations of events, disasters and dynamic organizations, showing the cultural diversity of the game and how the same event can manifest itself differently in different cultures.” That is, a huge and even effort to the ambition of the project, for an entirely developed game in Spain but has an absolutely international scope. So much, which covers five centuries. In Xataka | This war strategy video game has a very special player: the pentagon

Five months later we continue to discover things about the blackout in Spain. And every time they are worse news for Europe

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Five months later of the great blackout of April 28a preliminary report from the Technological Research Institute (IIT) of the Pontifical University Comillas has put the focus in an insufficient synchronous generation program in the peninsular south as a “fundamental cause” of the electric zero. The document, commissioned by Endesa and Iberdrola and sent to Entso-E, also questions operational maneuvers of Electrica de España (REE). A “collapse due to overtension.” The report introduces this unpublished concept in Europe. A phenomenon in which the tension rises uncontrollably by disconnecting renewable generation that operates with constant power factor. According to IIT calculationsthe safety margin available on the 220 kV network was 1,019 MW, but the disconnections exceeded 1,600 MW. Take into practice it would be when a renewable plant is disconnected, the tension rises. That increase causes new disconnections, which makes the tension rise more, in a vicious circle that ends in the collapse.As details the quotation note of Comillasthat cascade reaction is not precedents in the continent and shows that the simple verification that the tension is within the “is not enough” range to guarantee stability. A fragile and little inertia network. The debate is not “renewable yes or no”, but how to adapt the network and how it operates in high renewable penetration scenarios. The Iit Identify four critical points: Little programmed synchronous generation: in Andalusia there was alone A combined cycle group On the way, when the usual were several. Weak Network: At 9:00 in the morning, 35% of the 400 kV network was disconnected in the central and south areas. Dopsy inertia: In Andalusia it fell to 1.3 seconds, 35% less than the 2 seconds recommended by Entso-e. Risky maneuvers: between 12:00 and 12:30, Ree He connected eleven lines additional to try to cushion the oscillations, but those operations further reduced the safety margin. The chronology of a collapse announced. The government report had already described one morning with “Atypical volatility”. At 12:03 there was a first 0.6 Hz oscillation; At 12:19, another of 0.2 Hz but with a three -time amplitude. To stabilize, Ree reduced exports and connected lines that were disconnected. Far from improving the situation, the system tension increased. At 12:26, ​​the operator reached order the start From a combined cycle center in Andalusia, but the coupling time was more than an hour and a half: there was no room. From 12:32 The chain reaction began. At 12:33:19, the Peninsula It was completely dark. Shock of stories. Here it opens The crack between reports. The Government pointed to Ree in June for poor programming and a “insufficiency of dynamic tensions control capabilities.” Ree, in his own document, replied that there were several power plants that did not fulfill their obligation to absorb reactive energy, which aggravated the crisis. The electrical companies, meanwhile, denied any ruling and accused the government and ree of “opacity.” The new IIT report adds to debate Reinforcing the thesis that a scheduled synchronous generation was missing and questioning the operational maneuvers of the system operator, although it emphasizes that the analysis has the endorsement of international experts such as Goran Anderson and Pier Luigi Mancarella. And now what? The IIT recommends reviewing synchronous generation programming, strengthening tension control, using more predictive metrics and better coordinating all agents. The Government tried in July to approve A decree “antiapages” with sanctions, greater public control and more prominence for self -consumption, but the text shipwrecked in Congress. In addition, the Iberian Peninsula remains an “energy island”, with only 3% interconnection with France, which amplifies any operational error. Therefore, Spain and Portugal They have pressured To Paris to accelerate interconnection runners, “fed up with promises without calendar.” Closer and closer. Next Thursday, the European Network of Transmission Systems Operators (ENTSO-E) will publish your factual report with detailed chronology and the final technical data of the 28th. That document will be the basis on which Brussels and Member States discuss responsibilities and measures. The story of the 28th is not yet closed. And the Comillas report has just reopened it with a clear message: the energy transition does not fail to be fast, but for do not reinforce the network and the rules at the same pace. Image | Freepik Xataka | Selling smoke is now a business in Soria: it purifies it and sells it as CO2 to make soft drinks

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