euros

sell us a non-car for 6,000 euros

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The cars have gone up. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I’d bet you have. In 2023 we will tell you in Xataka that, once inflation had been discounted between 2014 and 2022 (around 18%), the prices of the best-selling cars had risen by 50%. A good part of that increase was concentrated in cars between 20,000 and 30,000 euros. There, the density of cars whose price had increased by more than 20% was greater. And there was another worrying focus. Cars between 15,000 and 20,000 euros they became more expensive on average very close to 20%. An increase that, in this case, affects the customer’s pocket even more because they were entry-level cars, which many people buy as their first car or because they cannot buy another type of vehicle. There, the Dacia Logan was key. According to the data collected, it was the cheapest car on the market. In 2014 it cost 9,150 euros. By 2023 it had become almost 30% more expensive (discounting inflation). Today the Logan is not even sold. Dacia’s cheapest car, discounting Springis the Sandero and costs 13,520 euros as long as we adjust to its financing to obtain the corresponding discounts. The low range of cars has seen how the European Union has hit it with a series of security obligations which has irremediably raised the price of cars. Today, every car sold on our continent has to have rear view cameras, emergency braking or speeding alerts, among other obligations. This increase in price has called into question Dacia’s commitment. The Romanian company has had to leave behind that “it does the same as any other car but for only 6,000 euros.” Denis Le Vot, who was CEO of Dacia, criticized these decisions of the European Union by pointing out that the majority of drivers deactivate them, in statements collected by Coach. The truth is that these They put the company on the ropes so we have seen some change in its image. Dacia is no longer the company that offers you the cheapest car on the market (it is difficult to compete with MG and a good string of Chinese brands), now he is the one who tries to give you more for less. Dacia has made greater efforts to take care of its image. The new ones Dacia Duster and Bigster They are good proof of this. But Dacia wants to keep one foot in the cheap car, in the most affordable option. And that is why they have thought of a “no-car”. The Citroën AMI will have a Dacia rival. For 6,000 euros, a “non-car” It has been rumored for a long time but our colleagues from L’Automobile They exclusively say that they have confirmation from people who work within Dacia that the company will launch a small electric car to rival the Citroen AMI. That is, Dacia will enter the game of light and/or heavy quadricycles. And he will do it by hitting the table: “our goal is 5,990 euros,” the sources consulted have told the French media. This would mean putting an electric vehicle on the market about 3,000 euros cheaper than the Citroën option. The vehicle would not yet have a name but it would be a heavy quadricycle limited to 45 km/h and 80 kilometers of autonomy. It is a solution that, as Citroën has explained to us, is used by parents who want their children over 14 years old to be motorized but also by many older people who are looking for a car to get around an urbanization or to run errands and short trips. The movement makes some sense. Renault and Dacia have been two of the brands that are putting the most pressure to put electric cars on the market in a new category that the European Union would be studying. The one known as eCar would be a small electric car, with limited power and speed and for which it is expected that it will not be necessary to inflate it with the driving aids already mentioned. a sort of kei car europeeither. The project, however, seems to have been in neutral. The idea is that the car would be manufactured in Europe and perhaps that is why Dacia can convert its proposal (they already presented a prototype of this eCar known as Hipster) to a small quadricycle that is very cheap to manufacture. Of course, two doubts arise. The first is how to put a car on the market cheaper than the Citroen AMI or the Fiat Topolino (much cheaper, about 3,000 euros) if these two Stellantis options are manufactured in Morocco and are little more than the sum of two parts. And the front and rear are the same piece (only the color of the headlights changes) and it only uses a door that is mounted traditionally on the right and suicide style on the left to save costs. The second is whether there is a really juicy market for this type of vehicle. In fact, doubts arise as to whether there is a market niche for the eCar project since there is talk that it would be limited to 90 or 100 km/h. If you apply pure logic, you would think that European cities are perfect for this. But the truth is that we are not Japan and, here, the logic is not as overwhelming as in Japan. Photo | Dacia In Xataka | The best-selling car in Spain is the Dacia Sandero. And that says nothing about our supposed poverty

Spain awarded 20 million euros to Stellantis to create jobs in Galicia. Europe has prevented the money from being delivered

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20,660,434 euros. That was the aid that the Government of Spain granted in 2017 to PSA (now Stellantis after its merger with FCA) as “regional incentives for the correction of territorial economic imbalances.” Just two years later, the European Commission already doubted the appropriateness of this aid. Almost a decade after its delivery, Stellantis will have to return the money. 20.7 million euros. It was the money given by Mariano Rajoy’s Government in 2017 to the automobile conglomerate PSA. The company, then directed by Carlos Tavares, had been looking for money framed within the “Industrial Plan 2014-2020” in which funds from the European Union were available. The Spanish subsidiary of PSA, known as PCAE, requested aid of 392 million euros in 2014 to carry out the necessary actions to modernize the plant and launch a new model. The aid program was expanded, with another 100 million in subsequent years because PSA was going to produce a new vehicle platform and a new SUV car in Vigo. In 2017, shortly before Mariano Rajoy left Moncloa, the Government of Spain provided the aforementioned aid of 20.7 million euros since it corresponded to the maximum percentage allowed with respect to the investment that was planned to be used. many doubts. In 2019the European Commission was already beginning to doubt the legality or compatibility of this aid. In a document submitted thenquestioned whether the subsidies provided were meeting the criteria to create employment in the area. In said letter, PSA was already invited and the Government of Spain has explained the reason for this aid. In that document, the European Commission questioned whether the positive effects of the aid outweighed the negative ones and, therefore, that the decision to financially support the company with those more than 20 million euros was not economically doping its commitment to our country instead of taking production to the Trnava plant (Slovakia) with which Vigo competed. According to the European Commission, it believed that both plants were competing on equal terms and that the socioeconomic context of the Slovaks was no worse than that of Vigo. Furthermore, they pointed out that the defense that this aid helped preserve employment in Galicia in the face of a possible relocation to Morocco (a position defended by Spain) was not sufficient because PSA had already previously relocated other vehicles that were previously manufactured in Spain. Seven years of research. Already in 2020, Europe continued to defend that the Commission had its doubts “regarding the contribution of investment projects to the development of the region in question”, as they stated in elDiario.es. Then it was thought that the company’s true intention was to improve the factory facilities with the sole objective of improving the company’s competitiveness but that it had nothing to do with an improvement in innovation and local investments. There were even doubts about the compatibility of being able to deliver these aid to a company like PCAE (the Spanish subsidiary of PSA). One of the most compelling reasons presented by the European Commission is, as they point out in The Worldthe choice of the Vigo company to the detriment of the Slovaks. And it is considered that opting for a more economically developed region to receive aid contravenes the principles of cohesion of the European Union, which prevents the delivery of this type of subsidies. Case closed. Now, the Government of Spain has notified the European Commission that it is withdrawing the subsidy of 20.7 million euros. He has done it because he cannot prove its legality. As the money has not yet been delivered, the European Commission has closed the investigation, they explain in the Galician media. praza.gal. At this time, Spain has not been able to demonstrate that the number of jobs increased after the aid was granted nor that it represented an economic boost in the region. In fact, it was possible that the number of jobs could even be reduced, as they point out in Motorpassion. During this time, the money has not been delivered because it remained frozen with the European investigation. Now we know that Stellantis will not charge it. Photo | Stellantis In Xataka | The Stellantis factory in Figueruelas has been looking for a reconversion plan for years. You already have it: make Chinese electric cars

Balcony rental at 9,000 euros

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Religious fervor cannot be bought with money. The best places to contemplate it, yes. For some time now something curious has been happening in Andalusia: Holy Week comes preceded by a news blast about quotes and increases and decreases (usually just increases) in rental prices. The chronicles in question have nothing to do with housing, not even with the rates charged by hotels or Airbnb. Its focus is on the balconies of cities like Seville or Malaga with the best views of the religious steps, small viewpoints for which you can pay now. 9,000 euros. There are those who talk about “commodification” of Easter. What has happened? There is news that, no matter how much it is repeated year after year, is still that: news. The balconies in the center of Seville or Malaga are a good example. From long ago the media have been counting the prices increasingly exorbitant that are requested during Holy Week for these spaces, places with privileged views of the religious processions. What is curious (as has just been proven in Andalusia) is that, as is the case with residential or vacation rentals, the terrace business is not reaching its ceiling. In the end it is nothing surprising. Something similar happens with the terraces of Valencia during the Fallas, those of Vigo at Christmas or in other cities Spanish when celebrations are organized in the street, which includes, for example, the celebration of football titles. If there are balconies with good views there is guaranteed business. One that can bring in hundreds or even thousands of euros in a few days. Are they that expensive? The data has been provided by the College of Property Administrators (CAF) of Seville. According to their estimates, enjoying a good balcony in the historic center to admire the images of El Silencio, El Gran Poder or La Macarena costs several thousand euros. To be more precise, 6,000 in exchange for a whole week. The data draws attention for two reasons. First because it is double than what was requested a few years ago (in 2023 the average was around €6,000). Second, because in cases in which a privileged location is combined with catering services, this cost can skyrocket until reaching €9,000. Does it only happen in Seville? No. A few weeks ago the Andalusian press reported that in Malaga the rent for accommodation with the best views of the processions had also skyrocketed. In mid-March, 15 days before the start of Easter, Malaga Today assured that Airbnb was asking for 900 euros for a two-night stay in a studio on Larios Street. In Cisneros (also in the center) an apartment with windows facing the street was rented for €500 for two days, a figure that rose to €750 on Booking. What exactly is paid? Basically two things. Dates. And location. Rents do not skyrocket just because. They do it mainly in accommodations with balconies located in strategic areas from which to admire the images of El Silencio, El Gran Poder or La Macarena (in the case of Seville) or El Cautivo, Cristo de la Buena Muerte or Los Estudiantes (Málaga). The height, the quality of the views or the specific day complete the rates and explain why there are cases in which €9,000 is requested for a week. Also that rentals have stopped being a private business and have become ‘professional’ hand in hand with companies. Does it only happen with balconies? No. The subscriptions for chairs and boxes of the Official Race offered by the General Council of Brotherhoods and Brotherhoods of the City of Seville are not affordable for everyone. Especially after experiencing a 3% year-on-year increase. The price table published by the organization shows that rates range from €90.5 for a chair in Plaza Virgen de Los Reyes to 1,016 for the best boxes in Plaza San Francisco. Between both figures there are several options above €100. For example, on Avenida Constitución (Tribuna Faro) there are places available for €161.3. It may seem like a lot, but a subscriber recently recognized to The Country who rents out the two chairs he has at the beginning of the Official Race for double what they cost him (170 each). And that’s because he gives them to a friend. “If it wasn’t him, I could ask for whatever I wanted, and even more so right now with the boom around Holy Week in Seville,” presume. The fertilizers represent the main source of financing for the brotherhoods that organize Holy Week in Seville. Why is it so important? Beyond the interest aroused by the exorbitant prices that are asked (and paid) for the best balconies in Seville or Malaga to follow in the footsteps, the topic raises another interesting question: the debate on commodification of Holy Week, an event that (beyond tourism or the law of supply and demand) has a religious reason for being. “We have become accustomed to the fact that there is no area of ​​human activity that is not subject to commercialization, because the justification is that everything is subject to costs and the same thing you pay to go to the theater or football is paid to see Easter in the front row,” I was reflecting recently in The Country Alberto del Campo, professor of Social Anthropology at the Pablo de Olavide University. Images | Jon Connell (Flickr) 1 and 2 In Xataka | In Sagunto they have voted on whether tradition or equality should have more weight in the Holy Week processions. They have been quite clear

First the PS5 rises in price by 100 euros and now the lack of chips forces Sony to stop selling SD and CFexpress cards in Japan

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Buying a computer, a mobile phone or a console is much more expensive today than it was a couple of years ago and the voracious appetite of data centers is to blame for this component crisis: RAM has become more expensivemore of the same for NAND storage (and therefore, of SSDs) and already threatens even to the batteries. And consumer electronics manufacturers are making moves to avoid swallowing the price rise resulting from this imbalance between supply and demand. If we talk about gaming, a couple of days ago Sony threw a bucket of cold water on those who expected its latest console to drop in price over time because it has been the opposite: The PS5 will go up 100 euros in April. But it is not Sony’s only drastic measure: in Japan have announced that stop selling storage cards. When you see your neighbor’s beard cut… NAND memory chip shortage is wreaking havoc If you have tried to buy a memory card in recent months, you will have already realized that prices have gone up a lot for that common little device that we use for photography, gaming or the Raspberry Pi (which also its price has skyrocketed due to the component crisis). Well, Sony has gone one step further and has indefinitely suspended the acceptance of orders for almost all of its line of CFexpress Type A, Type B and SD cardswhether for authorized distributors or those who buy from the Sony Store. The brief Sony Japan statement is blunt: “Due to the global shortage of semiconductors (memory) and other factors, it is expected that supply will not be meet the demand for CFexpress and SD memory cards in the near future. Therefore, we have decided to temporarily suspend the receipt of orders from our authorized dealers and customers in the Sony store from March 27, 2026. As for the resumption of accepting orders, we will study it based on the supply situation and will announce it separately on the product information page.” It is no longer just the temporary suspension, it is that there is no return date and the reality is that the medium-term future looks bleak: it does not seem that this shortage of components will be resolved in the coming months. In fact, the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran It is bringing other consequences beyond the rise in fuel prices: helium shortageessential in cooling operations in chip manufacturing It is true that this statement is restricted only to Japanbut the shortage is not exclusive to the Asian country: a quick search for SD in the Sony Store in Spain It returns just four models, one moderately affordable 64GB and then three others of 128GB, 256GB and 512GB that cost around 300 euros. One of the most affected models are the TOUGH cards used in professional photography and the entry-level SD cards. What you can buy today on the Sony website About a month ago the CEO of Phison, one of the major suppliers of controllers for SSDs and memory cards, he already warned: If the situation does not improve, this shortage may end the closure of consumer electronics companies completely in 2026. In Xataka | Not content with bursting demand and prices for RAM, AI is already targeting another victim: batteries In Xataka | The current generation of consoles was supposed to be “weak” and the games were expensive. Well: nothing has stopped the PS5 Cover | Xataka

from 164 euros in Ukraine to 4,789 euros in Switzerland

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There is something that draws powerful attention when placed on the same map he minimum wage in all European countries: the difference between one and the other is not a crack, it is an abyss. Two workers on the same continent and working the same day can finish the month with a payroll that doesn’t even look like it. The data of Eurostat on the minimum wage in 2026 confirm this. The portal Visual Capitalist has collected this data and has represented it on a map in which the Minimum Interprofessional Wage of each country in Europe can be compared at a glance, recording the salary (and economic) variety of the continent. What is the minimum wage and why does it matter? He minimum wage It is the lowest remuneration established by law that an employer can legally pay to its workers. In this way, employees are guaranteed a decent standard of living and avoid situations of labor exploitation. According to the European Labor Authority (EURES), this minimum wage also contributes to reducing inequality economic and contributes to internal consumption across countries, as lower-paid workers tend to spend a higher proportion of their income. Not all countries establish this minimum wage the same. Austria, Denmark, Finland, Italy and Sweden do not have a legal minimum wage and leave this negotiation in the hands of unions and companies through collective agreements. Swiss It also does not have a federal threshold and each canton negotiates its own minimum wage. For example, the minimum wage in Geneva in 2024 was 24.59 francs per hour, which is about 4,640 euros per month, but rent in Geneva ranges between 1,580 and 2,630 euros and compulsory health insurance exceeds 370 euros per adult. This means that a considerable part of the salary disappears into fixed expenses, while in other European countries covering these fixed costs would be much more affordable. Comparing minimum wage figures between countries without taking into account the cost of living can lead to misleading conclusions. A salary of 1,139 euros in Poland is equivalent, in terms of purchasing power, to more than 1,800 euros in countries with a higher cost of living such as Germany or France. Those who earn the most: Western Europe at the forefront Within the scope of the European Union, Luxembourg leads the table with a minimum wage of 2,704 euros per month, followed by Ireland with 2,391 euros, Germany with 2,343 euros and the Netherlands with an SMI of 2,295 euros. If we look at the continental neighbors that are not part of the EU, the minimum wage in the United Kingdom is applied by age ranges, so those over 21 years of age earn 12.71 pounds per hour (the equivalent of about 15.20 euros). This implies that their minimum salary would be about 2,279 euros per month for a standard working day of 37.5 hours per week. Eastern Europe below average The lower minimum wages They occur in the eastern half of Europe, with Bulgaria as the EU country with the lowest SMI with 551 euros per month, followed by Hungary with 727 euros, Latvia with an SMI of 740 euros and Romania with 797 euros. The difference between Luxembourg and Bulgaria is abysmal, with a wage gap between the two countries that exceeds 2,150 euros, in two countries with the same currency and the same single market. Outside the community bloc, Ukraine sets the continent’s record with just 164 euros per month according to the data from Eurostat, which means that a minimum wage worker in Luxembourg earns more than 16 times more per month than one in Ukraine. Spain: the SMI as a thermometer of low salaries In Spain, the last increase in the SMI was applied in February 2026, leaving it with a gross salary of 1,221 euros per month in 14 payments (1,424.50 euros gross in 12 payments). That salary places Spain in tenth place of the table, just behind the 1,802 euros of France and ahead of the 1,278 euros of Slovenia. Spain has been one of the countries that has increased this minimum wage the most, going from 735 euros in 2018 to the 1,381 euros it had in 2025, as shown in Eurostat statistics. The underlying problem in Spain is that the SMI has become the most common salaryso far from being an exceptional floor for less qualified jobs, it acts as the usual salary for entire sectors. Salary statistics reflect that the latest increases in the SMI have served to push upwards the lowest salariescreating a salary pyramid with an excessively wide base and some intermediate sections that they have not risen at the same rate. In Xataka | Finding a job had always been a good way to escape poverty: in Spain it is no longer true Image | VisualCapitalist

buying it will cost 100 euros more in Europe very soon

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That one is very far away PlayStation 5 launch price that many of us had in our heads when this generation began. We are talking about the end of 2020, when the console arrived in stores for 499.99 euros in its version with a disc reader and 399.99 euros in the digital edition. Since then, several things have happened that have marked its trajectory, but there is one that is especially striking: instead of becoming cheaper with the passage of time, something more common in mature generations, Getting a PS5 has been becoming more and more expensive. That journey takes us directly to the announcement that Sony has made todayMarch 27, 2026, in which it confirms a new price increase for its consoles in Europe with effect from April 2. The company recognizes that this is a sensitive decision for users, but frames it in a context of “continued pressures in the global economic landscape.” According to Isabelle Tomatis, vice president of global marketing at Sony Interactive Entertainment, after evaluating the situation they have concluded that this adjustment is “necessary.” A generation that has become more expensive With that announcement already on the table, what really interests us is how much it now costs to enter the Sony ecosystem in Europe. As we say, to starting April 2, 2026these are the recommended prices that the company has set for its consoles in this market: PS5: 649.99 euros. PS5 Digital Edition: 599.99 euros. PS5 Pro: 899.99 euros. To fully understand the current moment, it is worth looking back and seeing that this is not the first time that Sony has revised the price of its console upwards in Europe. The first movement arrived in August 2022, when the PS5 with reader went up up to 549.99 euros and the digital version up to 449.99 euros. Another adjustment was added to this adjustment in April 2025, focused on the Digital Edition, which reached 499.99 euros. What we see now, therefore, is not an isolated case, but another episode within a trajectory of upward prices that has been consolidated over time. In this scenario there is an important nuance that should not be lost sight of: the PS5 Pro He plays in another league within this story. The console was launched in Spain in November 2024 with a recommended price of 799.99 euros in its 2 TB version without a disc reader, and until now it had not undergone adjustments. The increase announced now places it at 899.99 euros in Europe, which represents its first increase since the launch. If we put all the pieces together, what remains is an unusual photograph for a console that has been on the market for several years. Far from getting cheaper over time, the PS5 has been chaining reviews of rising price around the worldincluding the one now announced by Sony. This pattern, conditioned by economic factors that the company mentions in its statement, changes the rules for the consumer. Today, getting a PS5 is more expensive than ever. Images | Sony | Xataka In Xataka | Almost 20 years later, Sony continues to release updates for the PS3: there is a clear reason behind it

The bill is 45,000 euros and two lost trials

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When a traffic light stops working there are road rules that we must follow until it is repaired. The worst thing is when this repair takes several days, causing chaos in traffic. That was what happened in 2023 in Valencia, and the dispute between the Superior Court of Justice of the Valencian Community (TSJCV) and the maintenance company remained unresolved until a few days ago. What happened. For five days in November 2023, the pedestrian traffic light located on Doctor Manuel Candela Avenue with Santos Justo y Pastor Street showed the red light and the green light at the same time. According to they count From El Motor, the first alert was registered on November 14 at 6:45 in the morning. Four days later, a municipal inspection confirmed that the problem remained unresolved. Why did it take so long? The origin of the failure, according to the Valencia City Council, was that the company that had to take charge replaced the burned out halogen lamps. for other LED types with E27 socket. Municipal services described them as “glaringly unsuitable for traffic light networks.” The problem, furthermore, was not only the type of bulb that was used, but the technical procedure they followed to install them. A procedure that municipal reports described as “technically inappropriate.” blegal attack. The City Council imposed a penalty of 45,000 euros on Electronic Trafic SA, the company awarded the contract. The company appealed, arguing that it had resolved two different breakdowns, both in less than two hours, and that the council had “deliberately” confused the terms breakdown and incident, which would entail different economic implications depending on the contract. He also alleged “animosity” from the head of the Mobility Service towards the company. The courts did not see it that way. What the judges said. The TSJCV confirmed the sanction on February 26, supporting the City Council’s thesis. The sentence highlights “the seriousness of the behavior followed by the contractor”, which left the incident unresolved for more than four days at an intersection where there is special traffic. The court highlighted that the municipal reports were “highly precise and exhaustive” and that the company did not provide sufficient technical evidence to refute them. According to point The Motor, in addition to the 45,000 euros, the company must pay 2,500 euros in procedural costs. What this sentence implies. The issue here is that the company notified of the problem but the traffic light continued not to work correctly during those days. Therefore, the city council insist in which the responsibility falls on the company, from notification to solution. The failure being a traffic light, a critical road safety device, all the more so the urgency of finding a solution. More and more cities are outsourcing intelligent traffic management to private companies, and the ruling certainly sets a precedent. What happens now? The crossing operates normally. The ruling still allows for an appeal, although the fact that two different courts have endorsed the city council’s position means that the company has little room for maneuver. Cover image | Georgi Zvezdov In Xataka | We already have the VAT discount at the pump: now the battle begins to prevent gas stations from absorbing it

Renfe is already maneuvering to get a new contract in France. And the 1,000 million euros at stake is the least of it

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Arrive in Paris. Three words to summarize Renfe’s great objective in the neighboring country. After living with competition on our roads for more than five years, the Spanish company seeks to achieve one of its great challenges in its international expansion. A new route originating or ending in Paris is underway. But, so far, France has not made it easy. Target: Paris. Be that as it may. And Renfe is already preparing an offer to participate in the tender for the Paris-Dijon-Lyon line. That is what media outlets like Expansion either Forbeswho state that the Spanish company will participate in the tender to operate a route that, ten years from now, would be valued at around 1,000 million euros. The striking thing is that this line is not high speed. The link between Paris and Lyon that Renfe will serve uses regional trains, contrary to what the Spanish company has always pursued in the neighboring country. It would be, for the moment, his only way to reach Paris, a city that continues to resist him. A complicated landing. And Renfe has tried to reach Paris by all the means at its disposal. These were, as could be expected, offering their services on a high-speed line as required by Europe and Spain is allowing Ouigo and Iryowith French and Italian origins respectively. However, France has tried to torpedo As far as possible, Renfe runs its lines. Right now, the Spanish have managed to launch a corridor between Madrid and Marseille and Barcelona and Lyon. However, the French have managed to protect the arrival of the Spanish company in Paris, where a very substantial part of the high-speed business is located. What has been argued from France is that Renfe trains do not meet the technical criteria to be able to operate on the lines that reach Paris. And in this way he has achieved that Renfe will not operate in the city while the Olympic Games were organized from Paris, which would have given a great boost to his project. Go for the regionals. Aware of the difficulties they are encountering to continue expanding their borders with high speed, Renfe has decided to take the leap with regional trains. In Forbes They explain that the process requires the final offer for the Paris-Dijon-Lyon line to be presented before the end of 2026. Next year the award of the line would be confirmed and between 2029 and 2030 the company that has received the approval must begin operating. Renfe’s great rival, everything indicates, will be the French SNCF. The Burgundy-Franche-Comté region, which is responsible for this line, has already put out a first batch of the tender that fell into the hands of the local company with hardly any opposition, they point out in Five Days. And in Spain? As we can see, Renfe has already shown interest in operating on regional trains in neighboring countries. However, in this case it is Spain that is putting all possible obstacles to delay competition on this type of lines in our country. According to the deadlines established since In 2016 the Fourth Railway Package will be approvedcompetition on these lines should have been a reality from December 25, 2023. In 2024, the contracts should have been awarded. However, Renfe is still the only company that currently offers this service and it does not seem that it will change. And it is that The Government has been working to delay the launch of new competitions in these ways. According to ABCthe current Renfe contract extended from 2018 to 2027. This year, 3% of the contract was to be put out to tender but the Government and Renfe have signed, without making it public, an addendum to it that extends said contract until 2028. Photo | Anthony Delanoix and Xataka In Xataka | Spain forced to open its lines to Ouigo. France is now doing everything possible to prevent the entry of Renfe

A millionaire has been fined 120,000 euros for exceeding the speed limit

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In Finland, breaking the speed limit can ruin your day. Above all, if you are a millionaire and they fine you for driving above the permitted limit. The latest example was experienced by Anders Wiklöf, one of the richest men in Finland, who was stopped by the police on March 22 after catching him driving at 59 km/h through an urban area of ​​Mariehamn, in the Åland archipelago, where the limit was 30 km/h. For exceeding 29 kilometers per hour, the police imposed a fine of 120,000 euros. ​The millionaire accepted it without question. Wiklöf is president and founder of Wiklöf Holding, a group of more than 20 companies with investments in logistics, aviation, real estate and tourism valued at more than 400 million dollars. When the police stopped him for speeding, he did not try to escape the problem. “The agents asked me if I wanted to take the case to court, but if I made a mistake, I accept it. They were polite and nice guys who were just doing their job,” declared to the local newspaper Nya Åland. Wiklöf will pay the fine for speeding without even appealing it, although he did take the opportunity to ask the Government that the money be used to cover the planned cuts in health, one of the hottest political debates of the moment in Finland. This unusual normality regarding the amount of the penalty is due to the fact that the Nordic country’s sanction system links the amount of the fines to the offender’s income. That is to say, for most mortals such a sanction implies ruin for life, for this millionaire it is little more than pocket change. Wiklöf has not learned his lesson. Despite the surprising amount of the fineit’s not the first time that police officers stop Wiklöf for speeding. The millionaire already accumulates four documented penalties for speeding: one of 95,000 euros in 2013, 63,680 euros in 2018, 121,000 euros in 2023 and this is 120,000 euros in 2026, which adds up to a total of 399,680 euros in those traffic fines alone. For these same violations, any driver in Spain would hardly have paid more than 600 euros in total, since the regulations in Spain establish a series of fixed penalties depending on the severity of the violation, but are not linked to the offender’s assets. Wiklöf himself already said it bluntly in 2013: “In Sweden they would have fined me about 450 euros. I don’t understand how I can be a bigger offender here than there, but the law is the law.” Nokia executives’ feet are heavy. The most famous case of this sanctions system Anssi Vanjoki starreda 44-year-old Nokia executive, who in January 2002 was traveling at 75 km/h on an urban road in Helsinki with a limit of 50 km/h. For exceeding 25 kilometers per hour, the authorities imposed a fine of 116,000 eurosfor years it was considered the highest traffic fine in history. Another Nokia executive, Pekka Ala-Pietilä, He also received a sanction of 35,000 euros for a similar violation at the same time. Vanjoki ended up appealing his fine, alleging a drop in income compared to the previous year, and got a reduction. In Finland, a fine can’t ruin you. No matter how high and disproportionate these fines may seem, in reality they will never cause the offender to go bankrupt. The key is in a calculation system in force since 1921. While in Spain everyone pays the same for the same offense depending on its severity, in Finland the police consult the offender’s previous year’s income database in real time and calculate the fine in days salary depending on the severity of the infraction. In this calculation, the monthly net salary is taken, the vital minimum of 255 euros is subtracted and divided by 60 to obtain the value of each “fine day” (Päiväsakko). The greater the speeding, the more days of fines are accumulated. For the majority of Finnish citizens, the result of this calculation translates into fines of between 30 and 80 euros for minor infractions such as those committed by Wiklöf. Astronomical figures only appear when the fined person is very rich. Despite the complaints of some affected (in 2015, millionaire Reima Kuisla threatened to leave the country after paying more than 50,000 euros for speeding), the model has great social support for consider it fair and proportional. A fine of 400 euros does not have the same deterrent character for someone with an income of 25,000 euros a year, than 25 million. In Xataka | In 2010, the owner of a Ferrari missed a radar in Switzerland at 137 km/h. He took home the most expensive fine in history Image | Unsplash (toine G)

There are 75-inch televisions that already cost less than 500 euros. The last one to drop in price has been a Xiaomi with Google TV

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Little by little we are seeing more offers on TVs with diagonals that exceed 55 inches, and the truth is that their prices are often quite low. MediaMarkt, for example, has only today (during The Great Renove) the Xiaomi A Pro 75 inchesa very large TV for only 499 euros. Xiaomi TV A Pro 2026 (75 inches) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links big and cheap The Xiaomi A Pro 2026 It is a smart TV that initially started at a price of 849 euros, but over time we have seen discounts through a wide range of offers. Today’s one at MediaMarkt is not the best, but it is one of the best because it remains for about 20 euros above its minimum price historical in the same store. We are talking about a Xiaomi television that comes with a panel 75 inch QLEDso it is a fairly large size for its price. Obviously it offers a 4K resolution, but its refresh rate remains at 60 Hz. However, what we do have are 178º viewing angles both horizontal and vertical, so you can see the TV well from different angles. It also supports the format HDR10+comes with Filmmaker mode for watching movies and its speakers are compatible with Dolby Audio. Furthermore, its operating system is Google TV and it has a good assortment of connectivity options: WiFi, Bluetooth, three HDMI ports, Ethernet, USB and optical digital audio output. ⚡ IN SUMMARY: xiaomi pro offer today ✅ THE BEST Yesu size: We see more and more offers on large TVs, and this one from Xiaomi has an excellent quality-price ratio considering that its diagonal is 75 inches. Your viewing anglessomething already distinctive in the brand that offers the possibility of viewing the content well regardless of whether we are in front of the television or on one of the sides. ❌ THE WORST TOand, the 60 Hz… Something that we also usually see in the Xiaomi brand, at least in most of its television catalog. You will not be able to watch TV with the fluidity offered by many that offer a refresh rate of 120 Hz. 💡 BUY IT IF… You are looking for a good television to watch movies and series, that is of considerable size and also has a good panel such as the QLED. ⛔ DON’T BUY IT IF… Above all, you want to get the most out of your PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series, since the screen only offers 60 Hz, so you will not be able to have the best possible experience. You may also be interested Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Plus, compatible with Wi-Fi 6, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos and HDR10+ The price could vary. We earn commission from these links LG DS60T – Sound Bar, Bluetooth, 340W, 3.1 Channels with subwoofer, Dolby Digital, DTS Digital Surround, Black The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Xiaomi In Xataka | Best home theater projectors. Which one to buy and five recommended models from 299 to 18,000 euros In Xataka | Mega-guide to set up a home theater: projector, screen, sound system and more

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