Europe

There was a day when Spain was a reference on the roads of Europe. 13.4 billion need to be invested to recover its splendor

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Floods, landslides, fractures, potholes or, directly, sinkholes. What is happening with Spanish roads? Are we facing a real maintenance problem or are we simply facing an avalanche of information or viral videos fueled by railway accidents and doubts about their maintenance? These are the answers we have. The controversy. The roads are bad. Very badly. At least that is the popular sentiment on social networks and in much of the media. The potholes (or directly sinkholes) They are the main ones accused of an alleged lack of investment in the maintenance of Spanish roads. Since the Adamuz train accident (Córdoba) in which 46 people died on January 18, the state of infrastructure in Spain is in the spotlight. The Adamuz railway accident was followed by new accident in Rodalies (Catalonia) in which a trainee train driver died and 37 people were injured just 48 hours later. The focus was then placed on the condition of the roads and their maintenance But, as the weeks have passed, the controversy has moved to the roads. And in recent days there have been videos in which cars are counted that have suffered blowouts due to going over a large pothole and statements on social networks. Is there data?. According to the Association of Infrastructure Conservation and Exploitation Companies (ACEX)Spain has a deficit of 5 billion euros of investment in its roads, distributed as follows: Highways under the responsibility of the State: 2,000 million euros. Highways of the Autonomous Communities: 2,000 million euros. Provincial roads: 1,000 million euros. According to ACEX, Spain invested half that of neighboring countries between 2009 and 2017, with a clear impact of the economic crisis of 2008. Since 2022, the deficit with Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom has been reduced to 30% with the arrival of European funds. It must be noted, however, that ACEX is made up of large construction companies. Source: AEC Officials? More or less. It must be taken into account that the budget items for road maintenance are not only presented in the General State Budgets, they must then be executed by the corresponding administrations. However, the DGT validates the data provided by the Spanish Road Association (AEC). And they say that half of the road surface in Spain is in poor condition. The data is even long before the last rains and a winter that is especially punishing the pavement. In fact, although the report was presented in 2025, the information was collected in 2024 so there is no data after the first months of last year either. which were also especially rainy. The AEC is an association created in 1949 and is non-profit. In 1998, it was also declared a Public Utility Entity and has international recognition. According to their evaluations, Spanish roads are “at the worst moment in its history” and that 13,491 million euros are needed to repair all the roads that need some type of intervention and they are distributed as follows: 4,721 million euros in 26,000 km managed by the State. 8,770 million euros in 75,300 km managed by the regional and provincial governments. A creeping problem. The problem of investments in road maintenance in Spain is not new. According to data from the Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (AIReF) in a 2019 studyroads had absorbed the majority of infrastructure investments between 1985 and 2018, surpassed only by train investments between 2008 and 2012. Those days, from Europe it was supported that the quality of Spanish roads was much higher than average and among the best in Europe. However, investments had been declining for years and although they exceeded 1% of GDP in the 1990s, in 2018 they were below 0.5% of GDP. Of the total money invested, the AIReF report indicates, 35.98% corresponded to the State, 19.96% to the Autonomous Communities and 8.41% to local entities. Money received, for example, with European funds, is not taken into account. European entities, however, attributed this decline in investments to an infrastructure that was already established and in good condition. The OECD pointed out that Spanish roads were above average in quality and connectivity and were only behind in density. Are there solutions? European aid is what once again boosts investments in roads. From the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agency they collected that between 2022 and 2024 2,460 million euros would be mobilized, placing special emphasis on the maintenance of the roads but announcing that they foresee a study to analyze the financing channels, which once again gives rise to the constant background noise about the implementation of tolls. Furthermore, with the impetus of Europe, a project has been created to adapt Spanish infrastructures to the new climate reality, analyzing the interventions that must be carried out to readapt them to more extreme climates where aggressive weather episodes occur more frequently. Photo | Feranza In Xataka | Spain has dozens of unique abandoned roads. Now he wants to save them by turning them into “historic roads”

Spain and Portugal have “free” energy right now. If we do not share it with Europe it is due to only one reason: France

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While the Iberian Peninsula registers a surplus of unprecedented renewable energy at bargain prices, the rest of the continent continues to be suffocated by triple-digit bills. In the middle of these two realities a wall rises, not of stone, but of political and nuclear interests: France. The northern neighbor acts as a plug that prevents cheap energy from the south from flowing north, protecting its atomic industry at the expense of European consumers’ pockets. Two Europes disconnected. The data from February 11 are a blow to the table of European integration. According to the records of OMIE and ESIOSthe average daily market price in Spain has plummeted to €4.23/MWh, with hours in which producers have had to pay for injecting energy (negative prices of -€0.42/MWh). The situation in Portugal is even more extreme: the megawatt hour is paid at €0.34, that is, practically free. However, it is enough to cross the Pyrenees for reality to change drastically. The price map ESIOS turns central and northern Europe red: Germany pays electricity at €100.62/MWh, Belgium at €72.04/MWh and the Netherlands at €88.70/MWh. France, strategically located in the middle, enjoys a comfortable price of €13.61/MWh, benefiting from buying cheaply from the south without missing out on the flow to its northern neighbors. This disparity perfectly visualizes the concept of “energy island”: a peninsula overflowing with resources that does not have enough bridges to share them. The great uncoupling of February. What we are experiencing these first two weeks of February is what experts call a “total decoupling.” According to the analysis of Aleasoft Energy Forecastingthe arrival of several Atlantic storms has triggered wind and hydroelectric generation on the peninsula. By adding the solar contribution, the supply has far exceeded the internal demand. The Iberian market (MIBEL) has seen how their prices They fell by 43% in Spain and a staggering 74% in Portugal in just one week, reaching daily averages of €0.54/MWh, values ​​that had not been seen since April 2024. Meanwhile, the Energy Charts graphs show that Germany has continued with prices oscillating above €100/MWh for much of January and early February, still depending on non-renewable sources. The drama of throwing away energy. Having cheap electricity seems like excellent news for the domestic consumer, but it hides a serious systemic inefficiency. As there are not enough cables to export this surplus to a Europe thirsty for cheap energy, Spain is forced to carry out curtailment (technical discharges). As we have already explained in Xatakawe are literally throwing away around 7% of clean energy because it “does not fit” into the grid and has no outlet. This scenario causes zero prices that, paradoxically, can ruin renewable investors, who need profitability to continue deploying parks. Furthermore, the situation has uncovered the seams of the Spanish internal network. The network is administratively “collapsed”: the CNMC has had to delay until May 2026 the publication of the capacity maps because, under the new security criteria, 90% of the network nodes appear saturated. Only 12% of connection requests are being approved, which means that we have the energy, but the cables are missing to bring it to new industries and homes. The French nuclear “bunker”. If there is excess energy in the south and lack in the north, why not build an electric highway? The answer has its own name: nuclear protectionism. President Emmanuel Macron has declared that interconnections They are a “false debate”arguing that Spain’s problem is a “100% renewable model that its own network does not support.” However, the data refute the Elysée story. As expert Joaquín Coronado explainsSpain is not 100% renewable (it closed 2025 at 55.5%) and, in fact, it was Spain that came to the rescue of France in 2022 and 2025, exporting electricity through its combined cycles when the French nuclear park failed due to corrosion and heat problems. The reality, according to the CEO of RedeiaRoberto García Merino, is that the blockade “is not technical, it is pure geostrategy.” France needs to make profitable a pharaonic investment of 300,000 million euros in its nuclear park and fears that the massive entry of Spanish solar energy, much cheaper, will sink the prices and competitiveness of its reactors. Therefore, Paris has explicitly excluded of its 2025-2035 network plan the key interconnection projects for Aragon and Navarra, keeping the Iberian Peninsula as an island with only 2.8% interconnection, very far from the European objective of 15%. Any solution on the table? Brussels’ patience is running out. The European Commission has already issued an ultimatum to Francegiving him a period of nine months to unblock the situation and present a political declaration of commitment. Meanwhile, the only project that advancesalthough slow, is the submarine cable through the Bay of Biscay. Redeia confirmed that the laying campaigns will begin this summer of 2026, with an eye on its entry into operation by 2028. An unsustainable contradiction. Within the European Union, it is happening that while one member country desperately seeks energy autonomy and competitive prices for its industry, it allows another of its key partners to keep the door to the south closed. Spain could be Europe’s green battery, but without export capacity, that wealth is diluted in negative prices and technical waste. Everything happens while France acts as a strict customs officer that protects its atoms, preventing the European Union from truly being an energy union. Image | freepik Xataka | The great electrical jam in Spain: we have plenty of electricity, but there are no cables to build houses and invest more

A report has set off alarm bells in Europe. Russia’s shell production is meaningless for a single war

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When Russia crossed the Ukrainian border in 2022, Europe reacted as it had not done since the end of the Cold War: massive sanctions, accelerated rearmament and a political unity forced by urgency. During these years, the European debate revolved around a seemingly simple question about kyiv’s resistance, as the conflict lengthened, became normalized, and ceased to be a “temporary” war. Now, with the front stagnant and the calendar moving forward, in the European capitals it is beginning to prevail another concern. What will Russia do when this war is no longer the center of the board? It’s not just the front. Yes, as the conflict in Ukraine approaches its fourth anniversary, it is beginning to take hold in Europe a different reading And more disturbing: Russia is not acting like a country trapped in a war of attrition, but rather like a power that uses the conflict as, perhaps, a preparatory phase. In the last few hours, a piece of information has appeared on the old continent: the massive increase in its military production suggests that Moscow is not only thinking about supporting the current front, but about setting up a later strategic scenarioin which having reserves, industrial capacity and room for maneuver will be as important as any territorial advance achieved in Ukraine. The figure that triggers the alarms. The data that most worries the European intelligence services is the Russian production of ammunition, which has exceeded the seven million projectiles annually, a figure 17 times higher to that of the first stages of the invasion. According to the Estonian intelligence service Välisluureamet, this jump is not explained by a simple intensification of combat, mainly because it makes no sense, but by the construction of new industrial plants and the will to rebuild strategic reserves in the long term. For Europe, the implicit message is clear: no one manufactures at that rate if they are only thinking about surviving the current conflict. Resist and prepare. This rearmament occurs despite the Russian economic deterioration, enormous human cost of the war and the increasing difficulties for recruit soldiersreinforcing the idea that the Kremlin prioritizes material accumulation over internal well-being. The support of North Korea, which has come to supply a substantial part of the ammunition used in Ukraine, has allowed Moscow to gain time and rebuild arsenals. For Estonia, maintaining these reserve levels is a central element of planning possible future conflictsnot simple insurance for the ongoing war. The north enters the radar. we have been counting in recent months. That fear of what comes next is not limited to the eastern flank. Now Norway has warned openly that a Russian move to protect its nuclear assets in the Arctic, concentrated on the Kola Peninsula, a short distance from its border, cannot be ruled out. This is not a classic ambition of conquest, but rather an aggressive defensive logic: ensuring the ability second nuclear attack in case of an escalation with NATO. The Ukrainian War has forced Nordic countries to plan for scenarios that a few years ago would have seemed unlikely. Tactical peace for strategy. The Guardian said this morning that, while increasing its military capacity, Russia deploys calculated diplomacy that seeks to buy time and divide the West. Estonian intelligence describes opening gestures toward the United States and negotiating rhetoric as a maneuver to reduce pressures, exploit cracks between Washington and Europe and consolidate positions without giving up the underlying objectives. In parallel, Moscow intensifies influence operations and hybrid warfareaware that the Ukrainian post-war can be as decisive as the war itself. The disturbing scene. In short, the combination of mass production of ammunition, possible nuclear planning, hybrid pressure and instrumental diplomacy seem to paint a panorama most uncomfortable for Europe: one where even when the weapons end fading in Ukraine, Russia will remain an actor ready to act. From that perspective, it is not only the end of a war that is worrying European capitals, but the beginning of a stage in which Moscow, industrially reinforced, could decide when and where to tighten the chess again. Hence, what comes after Ukraine is precisely what generates the most fear. Image | Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Vitaly V. Kuzmin In Xataka | The question is no longer whether Europe “is at war”: the question is whether it is willing to defend itself In Xataka | First it was Finland, now the US has confirmed it: when the war in Ukraine ends, Russia has a plan for Europe

Mazda has a plug-in hybrid perfect for Europe. The problem is that for Europe it is electric and pays tariffs like an electric

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If I had to define this story with one word, I would have no doubt: bizarre. To get an idea of ​​the mess, let’s go with a few strokes that we will break down little by little: Mazda has a Chinese electric car that actually has a combustion engine The European Union has lifted tariffs on Chinese electric cars and Mazda has to pay 30% for each one it imports into Europe The European Union does not impose tariffs on Chinese cars with combustion engines. This exception is being used by Chinese brands to gain market share in Europe. Mazda does have to pay tariffs for that electric car that, in reality, has a combustion engine even though the European Union does not impose additional tariffs on Chinese cars with combustion engines. Yes, my head is spinning too. Let’s try to explain it. The history of tariffs To explain a story, Manolito Gafotas was clear: let’s go to the beginning of time. In October 2024after months warning and after some negotiations with China, the European Union raised some additional tariffs to Chinese electric cars that were already paying 10% per car sold in Europe. These tariffs take into account the alleged state aid that China has given to each brand and the willingness of each brand to collaborate. That is, not all pay the same. These taxes were placed on all electric cars that came from China, regardless of the brand that imported them. This is key because all the European brands that bring their cars from China they also have to pay given that, except Teslano foreign brand manufactures its cars in China without being linked to a local automaker. Changan, which is the brand that concerns us here, has to pay 20% additional tariffs that are added to the 10% basic tariffs. That is, for each car sold in Europe, it has to pay an extra cost of 30% on its value. This Chinese company is associated with Mazda, who uses the base of its Deepal cars to bring the Mazda 6e and the next Mazda CX-6e. The first of them we have already been able to drive it in Xataka And, as we told you, it is a car that carries some of the inconveniences of its Chinese origin but whose main attraction is the price. This association It has allowed Mazda a very important step. The company is a small company so investments have to be very well directed and, seeing the embrace that the electric car is receiving in Europe, they have done the math and were not interested in paying for the full development of their own car. But, yes, they have to comply with European emissions standards if they do not want to be fined heavily. One option is to pay the fine. The second is reduce its emissions level below 93.6 gr/k of CO2almost a chimera for a brand where electrification is the exception. The third, and most likely, is to be part of a pool with companies like Tesla to buy their emissions credits. The Mazda 6e and the Mazda CX-6e is very good news for the company since it puts two electric cars on the market at a very low cost for them and a very high profit. For each electric unit sold, the reduction in emissions is substantial and even if they remain above the limit they will have to pay less for those emissions credits. An electric that is not (at all) electric But, in addition to these two aces, Mazda had a third ace up its sleeve. Your saloon Also sold in China as Extended Range Electric (EREV). That is, we are talking about an electric car with 200 kilometers of electric range supported by a combustion engine. In this case, a 1.5 four-cylinder engine that acts as an electrical generator. He extended range electric It is a solution that Mazda itself uses in a car of its own development, the MX-30 REVand it is the option that is proposed to be able to carry out a new sports car replacing the legendary MX-5. The EREV has the advantage of being able to travel hundreds of kilometers in completely electric mode with the appropriate battery and, if necessary, draw on the combustion engine. Mazda’s intention is to improve it in its entirely models with a rotary engine. Thus, the motor hardly takes up any space and adds very little weight to an assembly that will inevitably be weighed down by the weight of the battery, what is happening within the Japanese company itself. But are we talking about a plug-in hybrid? In practice, yes. The car uses the combustion engine as an electrical generator. Thus, it operates at the most efficient rpm in most situations, providing electricity to the battery and that electricity is sent to the electric motors, which are what actually drive the wheels. The advantage is that you have an electric car for everyday lifewith a safety net on long trips and, despite everything, the immediate torque and smoothness of an electric vehicle. The solution in fact, seems like one of the most logical options with the tightening of the European Union’s emissions conditions. And most Chinese plug-in hybrid cars already work this way on most occasions to lower their consumption. But at Mazda they send a message: It will be difficult to see this version in Europe. And there is a technical detail that differentiates a plug-in hybrid from an extended-range electric car. The European Union makes a distinction between the two that does not focus on whether or not it has a gasoline engine, it focuses on what energy propels the wheels. That is, the Mazda 6e EREV is considered electric because its combustion engine never drives the wheels, always works as a series hybrid. Many Chinese cars prioritize this way of working but they are considered plug-in hybrids because, very specifically, their technology does allow the combustion engine to directly … Read more

While Europe studies reintroducing military service, Mexico has taken the opposite path: reducing it

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The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the shift in international policies of the US have caused Europe to no longer trust NATO as a defensive shield, betting on improve your defense resources. Thus, while several European countries debate whether to return to introduce military service mandatory, Mexico decides to take the opposite path and shorten the mandatory military training of its citizens so that it fits better into the lives of young people and is more attractive to them. The change of Mexico. The Government of President Sheinbaum has applied the largest operational change in the conditions of the National Military Service (SMN) in Mexico since 1942. As stated in the article 5 of the Political Constitution of the Mexican States, the service of arms is mandatory for all Mexicans between 18 and 40 years old. This call-up is divided into two modalities: Framed and Available. The former remain quartered for about three months, while the latter remain at the disposal of the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) for a year, during which time they are instructed in training sessions on Saturdays. However, with the last reform which has come into effect in January 2026, the training phase has gone from 44 weeks to just 13, with limited classes for those assigned as “On Availability” on Saturdays from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. so that the fulfillment of this duty does not interrupt the studies or work of recruits. New civil-military program. Colonel Juan Sandoval Muñoz, commander of the 78th Infantry Battalion, explained to The Universal that the new “Availability” model prioritizes civil-military subjects to reinforce military values ​​and discipline. The dates for this training are divided into two periods: from February 14 to May 9, and from August 1 to October 24, adding a total of 13 sessions. Participants cover 10 subjects focused on basic training, discipline and support for the population, first aid, civil protection and DN-III-E Plan and knowledge of weapons. All subjects are taught by officers and sergeants of the Armed Forces so that recruits become familiar with the military hierarchy. 13 weeks in the barracks. For its part, the Framed option remains with 13 weeks of admission to barracks, with tailored training as if they were professional soldiers. According to Colonel Sandobal, many of these recruits requested this modality to release their SMN Identity Card in less time, which certifies that they have fulfilled their duty, but they ended up requesting entry into the army or military schools. For this reason, it was decided not to change this modality to keep this recruitment route open, despite being equal in time to the other alternative. European rearmament brings the military back. In Europecountries like Denmark accelerate compulsory military service from 2026 for womenwhich was previously only voluntary, and they extend it to eleven months in its basic version. For its part, Germany is discussing bringing back the voluntary military service before the end of the year, after abandoning it in 2011, and Croatia reactivates it on a mandatory basis with a duration of two months for men starting in January 2026. Other countries like france and Poland are starting ten-month voluntary programs for 18- to 19-year-olds, with the option of joining the reserve or the army if a military crisis arises. In Spain the Minister of Defense continue betting by a voluntary reservation instead of resume military servicebut that does not prevent the debate circulate in the army. At least on a theoretical level. In Xataka | In the midst of rearmament, Europe has realized an unimportant detail: it does not have enough bullets Image | Government of Mexico, Unsplash (JEsus Herrera)

the plan to turn Asturias into the great energy shipyard that Europe no longer knows how to build

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For decades, the West operated under a mirage: believing that making things was no longer relevant and that the future lay only in software. However, China has woken up Europe of that dream, showing him that national sovereignty depends, ultimately, on knowing how to melt metal. Now that “bath of reality” has just docked in Asturias. The Port of Gijón, El Musel, has ceased to be just a strategic enclave for local coal and steel to become the epicenter of a global ambition. The Asturian group Zima and the Chinese giant Dajin Offshore they have sealed an alliance to build a foundation plant for offshore wind. However, there is a problem and size does matter, a lot. The landing of a colossus. Dajin and Zima have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop a facility that will not only manufacture components, but will function as a port for marshalling —the logistics area where these pieces are collected and pre-assembled—. As detailed in The Economistthe objective is to supply the European market and alleviate bottlenecks in the sector. Dajin is not just any actor. As detailed in local media, It is the largest Chinese private manufacturer of offshore wind structures. This alliance will reinforce the strategic role of the region in the European energy transition. The Gordian knot: the crisis of space. Zima’s initial project occupied 153,753 square meters on the North Pier. However, the entry of Dajin changes everything: the multinational need more space. Making XXL “monopiles” is not like making cars. According to technical data provided by Energetica21Dajin has the capacity to manufacture structures up to 12 meters in diameter, 120 meters in length and 2,500 tons in weight. “Moving and storing these steel cylinders requires massive esplanades that are currently compromised,” warn industry sources. in LNE. El Musel finds himself facing a puzzle. The land requested by Zima borders Ionway’s future battery plant. As LNE explainsthe Port Authority is studying with “the best disposition” how to meet this demand, either by extending towards the sea or looking for non-contiguous plots. An “Electrostate” in the Cantabrian Sea. To understand this project you have to look at the global context. Today, China builds 74% of the planet’s renewable energy. By settling in Gijón, Dajin brings what the West has lost: heavy industrial capacity. As Miquel Zorita, director of Zima, points out, in The Economistthe desire is to integrate local suppliers. This is vital because European wind turbine manufacturers such as Siemens Gamesa or Vestas are going through a deep profitability crisis. Chinese technology in Asturias could be the necessary oxygen ball, even if it is under a foreign flag. The industrial clock against the bureaucratic clock. The success of this operation will not be measured only in the millions of euros of investment or in the jobs created, but in the size of the facilities it will depend exclusively on the space they obtain in the port. Asturias has before it the opportunity to stop being a “quarry” of resources and become a center of high added value. But, as Craig Tindale’s thesis warnsa civilization that sacrifices its material base ends up losing its independence. Gijón is redesigning its map; Now it remains to be seen if El Musel has enough soil to support so much weight. Image | Bafpg and ShellAsp Xataka | Inspecting an offshore wind turbine no longer requires stopping it: the drone that uses AI to ‘x-ray’ moving blades

Europe wants to manufacture 20% of the world’s semiconductors by 2030. It has just taken the first step

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43,000 million euros. That is the figure that the European Commission set to achieve something that is currently out of reach: technological sovereignty regarding semiconductors. With the ‘Chips Act‘, Europe seeks to position itself as a power in a semiconductor production segment dominated by Asia with Taiwan at the head. Now, and after years of dreaming, Europe inaugurates the first installation: the FAMES Pilot Line. The objective is not conservative. By 2030, the Old Continent wants produce 20% of integrated circuits of the world. We have an ace up our sleeve called ASMLthe global spearhead in terms of manufacturing of advanced photolithography equipment refers. The Dutch are the ones who produce the machines that buy foundries like TSMC o Intel to manufacture the most advanced chips on the market. But there is a problem: we have the machine that makes the chips, but we don’t have someone to make chips. That is what the project wants to change, and with FAMESthe European Union Chip Law lays the first brick to be more relevant. It’s not going to be easy at all. FAMES, the spearhead of Europe’s Chips Law Unlike a private company, FAMES is something much more European: a collaboration between countries and institutions. It represents a new example of public-private collaboration like the one we are seeing in parallel in the european space race. And the pilot program is located at the CEA-Leti facilities in the French town of Grenoble. With an initiative of 830 million euros contributed by both the European Commission and the participating states, FAMES brings together 11 organizations belonging to eight countries and, after two years of preparation, has presented favorable technical results to begin developing advanced semiconductor technologies. The organizations and countries of the FAMES Consortium FAMES, with 830 million in financing, is the first of the five pilot lines that will be inaugurated under this Chips Law initiative, and the CEA-Leti plant has been expanded with about 2,000 new square meters destined to clean room. It is an extremely clean area isolated from the outside, with strictly controlled temperature and humidity conditions and optimal conditions for manufacturing semiconductors. CEA-Leti already had 12,000 square meters of clean room, so the expansion under the Chips Law is considerable. And the big question: what will they do in this pilot program? Well, something known as Fully Depleted Silicon-on-Insulator, or FD-SOI. This is a manufacturing process in which a thin insulating layer (less than 10 nanometers) is placed under the transistors so that the chips operate at lower voltages. And the goal is to create 10 and 7 nanometer processors. FD-SOI Thus, they consume between 30 and 40% less energy without losing performance, making them more efficient. That efficiency and delivery of energy to the chips is something that everyone is trying to improve, from an Intel that already has its most cutting-edge technologies ready in this sense to a TSMC that is preparing its response by the end of 2026. That Europe is developing its solution now seems demoralizing, but it must be taken into account that, for decades, the technology of the Old Continent has depended on external manufacturing, so advancing this manufacturing process at this time is not bad news. But well, in the end, FAMES represents the first platform in which some advanced technologies for the manufacture of semiconductors will begin to mature and, together with the rest of the pilot lines, the objective is to transfer these advances and knowledge to the industry and, obviously, to a final product. We will see if the 2030 goal is reached, but Europe itself is not very optimistic about the matter. Europe thinks that Europe will fail in its objective At the beginning of last year, we already said that the European Court of Auditors itself believed that the European Chip Law would be a failurepointing out unlikely which would be if they achieved the goal of building 20% ​​of the planet’s semiconductors by 2030. And… they are not misguided. Europe is seeking its technological independence while inviting entities like TSMC to its soil, but the two main technological centers are also moving. The United States is attracting talent to its territory, with TSMC buying more land to open a megafactory and Intel as a banner in the American foundry. China is not standing idly by and, following a Western veto, its semiconductor industry has made unthinkable advances with old ASML machines while companies like SMIC either Huawei develop your own solutions to create advanced chips and be able to shield itself from American technology. And beyond countries, private companies such as Intel itself, TSMC, Samsung, GlobalFoundries or Texas Instruments are also moving, installing new cutting-edge plants both inside and outside the United States, a country that is determined to invest what is necessary to achieve leadership. In the end, getting 20% ​​of the world’s chips is a tremendously ambitious goal and Europe is very far away in this industrybut you have to start somewhere and FAMES represents that first stone on the path of the European semiconductor initiative. Images | Intel (edited), FAMES In Xataka | We already know what the chips that will arrive until 2039 will be like. The machine that will allow them to be manufactured is close

China has been writing an endless novel about how to overtake Europe for 16 years, and it has become a political weapon

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Somewhere on the Chinese internet there is a science fiction novel which has been written since 2009 and will probably never end. It is titled ‘Illumine Lingao’ (临高启明, translatable as “The Morning Star of Lingao”) and accumulates millions of words distributed over thousands of chapters. It does not have a single author: it has been written collectively by hundreds of people, mostly engineers, technicians and military history fans who have been contributing chapters, technical corrections and secondary plots over almost two decades. It has generated more than 1,400 derivative works. And it has never been translated into any Western language. What is it about? The premise is simple: more than 500 21st century Chinese citizens, armed with modern technical knowledge, travel back in time through a wormhole to the year 1628, to the death throes of the Ming Dynasty. They settle in Lingao County, on the island of Hainan, and from there they unleash an industrial revolution that alters the course of history. The goal: make China reach modernity before Europe. How it arises. The text began to take shape in 2006 as a discussion on SC BBS, the oldest military-themed forum in China, from a question that struck a chord: “What would you do if you could travel to the Ming dynasty with modern knowledge?” The debate crystallized three years later in a collective writing project led by a user known as Boaster, whose real name is Xiao Feng. The first installment was published in 2009 on Qidian Chinese Network, the country’s largest web literature platform. In 2017, China Radio, Film & TV Press published the first volume in print format. What makes it special. What sets ‘Illumine Lingao’ apart from other time travel fantasies is its obsession with technical detail. The chapters include long discussions on how to make nitric acid from scratch, what materials are needed to build chemical synthesis towers, or how many tons of industrial equipment would be needed to begin mechanization without prior machines or tools. Chinese readers have dubbed it “the encyclopedia of time travel.” Some critics They consider it “a unique phenomenon of contemporary Chinese literature.” But… what sensitive chord does this work touch? Needham’s puzzle. In 1942, the British biochemist Joseph Needham He traveled to China as a diplomatic envoy. During those three years he discovered that the Chinese had developed techniques and mechanisms that preceded their European equivalents by centuries. The printing press, the compass, gunpowder, paper money, suspension bridges, toilet paper… all had emerged in China long before Europe even conceived of it. Needham returned to Cambridge and documented this in ‘Science and Civilization in China’, 25 volumes that asked why modern science and the industrial revolution developed in Europe and not China, if China was so far ahead. This question, known as “Needham’s puzzle”, touches the most sensitive nerve of Chinese historical consciousness. Historians have proposed dozens of answers. Some point to geographical factors: while Europe competed fragmented into rival states that stimulated military and commercial innovation, China remained unified under a bureaucratic system that did not need change to survive. Others point to philosophical reasons: Confucianism valued social harmony over disruption. And some say that the key difference was European access to the resources of the American continent. For Chinese intellectuals, the “Great Divergence”, the moment when Europe overtook China, is not an abstract problem for historians. It is the question that explains the “century of national humiliation” (1839-1949), the opium wars, the burning of the Summer Palace and the Japanese occupation. That is why in ‘Illumine Lingao’ we travel to the Ming dynasty: 1628, sixteen years before the dynasty collapsed due to the Manchu invasion. For these Chinese intellectuals, the Ming dynasty represents the fateful fork: it is the moment when China chose the wrong path and Europe took the lead. Rewrite history. ‘Illumine Lingao’ belongs to a literary genre that enjoys enormous popularity in the chinese web literature: chuanyue (穿越), time travel stories in which contemporary protagonists use their modern knowledge to alter the course of history. In China, this genre has an implicit nationalist charge. It is not about looking at the past or resolving temporal paradoxes, but about correcting it, giving China a second chance. ‘Illumine Lingao’ takes this premise to the extreme: the documentation of each step with obsessive technical rigor turns the novel into something more than entertainment. It is a manual and a manifesto. A manifesto of a specific party. More than entertainment. As has been analyzed in academic circles, ‘Lingao’ reorganizes the historical narrative of Chinese socialist construction around the framework of industrialization and technological progress, with a clear nationalist sense. Its roots are in the so-called Industrial Party, which is not a real party, but rather a label to designate a current of thinkers, online commentators and influencers who share a vision of the world based on industrialization as a supreme value. For them, the material transformation produced by industrialization is an objective measure of national success. At the beginning of this century, its area of ​​theoretical development was the Internet, going against the grain at a time when the Chinese economy was betting on low-cost manufacturing and foreign direct investment. At that time, the idea that China could manufacture advanced semiconductors It sounded like science fiction. The Industrial Party made the leap to public influence in 2012, when the news website Guancha It began to include party members among its editors, defending the Chinese government from ultranationalist positions. Cultural battle. ‘Lingao’ has also largely become a political tool. When in 2011 a high-speed train rammed another convoy from behindcausing 40 deaths and 192 injuries, the Government wanted to manage the information so that the idea of ​​prosperity at any cost was not clouded. But on social media, negative opinions about the accident even surpassed state censors and They questioned the idea of ​​”progress” that the government maintained. Was the speed of development exacting an unacceptable price in human terms? ‘Illumine Lingao’ became a reference text in … Read more

Spain has just surprised Europe and the US with an unprecedented operation. It is not a simple rearmament, it is a historic naval coup

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For years, the European rearmament it was more conversation than facts and Spain always appeared in the list of the lagging countries. Now after constant pressure from the United States and the climate of insecurity In Europe, the country has taken an unexpected turn with an unprecedented naval investment that has surprised even its allies. A leap that has not been seen in decades. Spain has activated one of the largest renewal processes of its Navy since the end of the Cold War, an investment of 5.5 billion euros for a plan that combines the incorporation of 37 new warships and four submarines of new generation with the deep modernization of units already in service. This is not a routine replacement, but rather a complete reconfiguration of naval capabilities for a more demanding strategic environment, where sea control, deterrence and the protection of sea routes have returned to the center of the security agenda. The submarine axis and a program. The technological heart of the plan is formed by the four S-80 submarines, developed by Navantiadesigned to return to the Spanish fleet an advanced submarine capacity in stealth, autonomy and combat. With air-independent propulsion, state-of-the-art sensors and an architecture designed for surveillance, intelligence and anti-submarine warfare missions, these units represent a qualitative leap which places the Spanish Navy at an operational level comparable to that of the large European navies, with a delivery schedule that extends until 2030. Submarine S-8 Frigates, ships and balance. The renewal is not limited to the underwater field. The program includes five F-110 frigates multi-mission design, designed to operate in high intensity scenarios, together with the modernization of the F-100 frigates to extend its useful life for two more decades. Added to this are new action ships maritime with anti-submarine capabilities, which seeks to maintain a balance between new generation platforms and proven units, avoiding an operational vacuum during the transition. F-110 Frigate Logistics as a multiplier. A key part of the effort is focused on logistical and technological support. The construction of a new Supply Ship of Combat, the update of minehunters, the incorporation of hydrographic vessels and a specific platform electronic warfare They reflect a broader vision of naval power, where sustaining prolonged operations, gathering information, and dominating the electromagnetic spectrum is as important as direct combat. Geopolitics and deterrence. There is no doubt, this rearmament responds to an international context more unstablemarked due to open conflicts in Europe, tensions in the Mediterranean and the Sahel and greater competition between powers. For a country with a strategic position between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, strengthening the fleet is not only a matter of prestige, but deterrent credibility and real capacity to protect own and allied interests within the NATO framework. Industry, employment and autonomy. Beyond the military level, the program aims to have a direct impact about the naval industry Spanish. The aim is most likely to consolidate a technological fabric with high added value, in addition to generating qualified employment and reducing external dependencies in critical systems. If you also want, the development of the S-80 and of the new frigates It has also served as a catalyst for innovation in propulsion, sensors and combat systems, with effects that transcend the strictly defensive sphere. Spain on the board. The last reflection that comes out of the historic announcement is clear: with this investment sustained over time, Spain reinforces its role as a relevant actor in the European maritime securitya priori capable of contributing more decisively to international operations and the protection of the main lines of maritime communication. I already we had seen the last months in many other nations. In the case of Spain, it is not, or does not seem to be, a simple update of ships without further ado, but rather the confirmation that naval power is definitely once again a central pillar of defense policy in the 21st century. Image | Navy, A Guy Named NyalNavantia In Xataka | Spain may not have F-35, but it is about to make history by sea: it is called F110 and it is ready for any war In Xataka | The United Kingdom will be only the first client: Spain builds a colossus in Galicia to build warships like churros

Germany does not want to depend on Elon Musk for war. So the largest weapons factory in Europe wants a “military Starlink”

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For decades, European security has rested on critical infrastructure controlled from the United States. But with the war back on the continent and space communications becoming a decisive military assetGermany is beginning to assume that it cannot afford depend on Elon Musk nor from Washington for something as basic as talking and fighting in case of conflict. A “military Starlink”. Rheinmetall and OHB are in preliminary talks to present a joint offer to create a satellite communications network in low orbit for the Bundeswehr, a system that in Berlin already is openly described as a “Starlink for the German army”. The initiative aims to capture part of the ambitious German plan for invest 35,000 million euros in military space technology, with the aim of providing a secure, sovereign infrastructure specifically designed for military use, reducing dependence on US services such as Starlink, owned by SpaceX. Technological sovereignty. The background of the project will be one of the great themes of this 2026, and it is both strategic and political, since the war in Ukraine has shown to what extent satellite communications in low orbit can be decisive when terrestrial networks are destroyed or degraded. Although Starlink (and its military version Starshield) became in a key asset for kyiv, many European countries distrust to base critical capabilities on a foreign private provider, which has accelerated plans to build national or European networks under state control. The weight of Germany. With this program, Germany aims to become the third largest investor world in space technology, only behind the United States and China, according to the consulting firm Novaspace. German military authorities have already defined the technical specifications and are preparing the tender, prioritizing coverage of NATO’s eastern flank, where Berlin deploys a permanent brigade of 5,000 soldiers in Lithuania as part of its defensive reinforcement. From armored to space. Traditionally associated with tanks, artillery and ammunitionRheinmetall is rapidly expanding its presence into new domains in the heat of German rearmament. At the end of last year it obtained its first major space contract, up to 2,000 million eurosto develop together with Iceye a constellation of radar satellites capable of operating at night and in bad weatherwhich puts it in a solid position to now aspire to a military communications system in low orbit. HBO and opportunity. For HBOthird largest European satellite manufacturer and navigation system supplier Galileothe project represents a key opportunity to strengthen its military business. The company faces the possible creation of a European space giant as a result of the merger of the divisions from Airbus, Thales and Leonardoan operation that its CEO considers potentially anti-competitive and that could leave OHB at a disadvantage if it does not expand its scale and capabilities. Boiling market. The simple announcement of the talks has OHB price skyrocketedreflecting the extent to which the sector perceives German military space spending as a catalyst for opportunity. That said, the project is still in an early phase, with no official comments from the companies or the Ministry of Defense, and is part of a growing competition for multi-million dollar contracts that will define who controls future critical military communications infrastructure in Europe. Image | Support Forces of Ukraine Command In Xataka | Germany is experiencing a new “industrial miracle” that it already experienced 90 years ago: that of weapons In Xataka | Europe’s largest arms factory faces an unexpected problem: earning an indecent amount of money

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