Spain

South Korea has been celebrating its particular “bullfights”. And now he faces the same dilemma as Spain

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Spain is not the only country that debate the future of bulls. More than 10,000 kilometers away, in South Korea, politicians, animalists and livestock are engaged in a similar discussion: yes or no to the runs? There the shows are not exactly equal to those of Spain, there are no bullfighters as such, no light costumes, nor picadores or flags, but competitions based basically on violence and on which It is not strange that animals end up bleeding. Perhaps South Korea is far away and its cultural tradition is different from ours, but The debate that is cooked in his society is not so different from that of Spain. Bulls in South Korea? Exact. South Korea may be known for its technology, The K-Popits gastronomy and (sadly) a demographic crisis record, but it is also a bull country. At least it is part of its territory, such as CheongdoGyeongsang del Norte, where there is a bullfighting stadium with capacity for thousands of people and that each spring welcomes A festival Very popular in the region. It is not a novelty or a fashion. In local folklore are references to runs dating at least of the 16th century. And how are they? Quite different from what we are used to seeing in Spain. South Korea presume that, unlike what happens in many other countries, including Spain, in its places animals do not die. Nor do people who deal with them. The reason is that the show has Little to see With ours. There is sand and a square, but in it a bullfighter and a bull are not measured, but two bulls that face each other, sometimes hired by their owners with the help of rings that are stuck when the young have Just half a year. And when does it end? The fight ends when one of the animals turns around and shows its back to the opponent in retirement, without the need for any opponents to end up sacrificed. The show is somewhat unpredictable, although it usually adjusts to some guidelines. As needed Korea Heraldthe usual thing is that the game lasts about 30 minutes and divided into six assaults, half a dozen “acts” during which bulls are rammed with each other. “In Spain it is a game between a human and a bull and in the end the bull dies. In Korea we are proud of not killing him and never dies in a fight,” claims The mayor of Cheongdo, Lee Seung-Yool, in an interview with NPR. “We simply let them express themselves and when one loses the forces he turns around and shows the spine. The bull says he has finished and the fight concludes.” Perfect then? It depends on who you ask. As is the case In Spain or Other countriesin Korea it has emerged The debate whether or not they should be kept around Cheongdo. The reason? Their detractors are convinced that it is a clear case of animal abuse, that the bulls suffer in the runs and the show is harmful to the little ones. Its defenders They hold However, bulls are care and its fights are a South Korean tradition. A percentage: 40%. To support their position, the first (critics with runs) take advantage of a series of studies. One of themprepared by Animal Liberation Wave and Last Chance for Animals (LCA), suggests that bulls are often reluctant to participate in fights. According to their data, of 131 runs organized between February and June in several counties of the country, 54 ended up canceled or shortened because the animals refused to collaborate in the show. “The fact that 40% of bulls flatly reject the struggle and the rest require coercion shows that it is a form of abuse,” reason Kim Doh-Hui, from one of the associations. Sometimes the farmers cause the struggles by pulling strongly from the rings, which, as the animalists have verified, in some cases derives in serious nasal trauma. Animal Liberation Wave has also made A survey which shows that 70% of respondents are concerned about bets that revolve around runs and 62.1% believe that children and adolescents should not see them. The study was done in the southeast region, with a greater ragame of bullfighting. Another report It reveals that 77 fights, 48 ended with the animals bleeding. To those data, animalists add A final reflection: Modern shows are “a form of entertainment for profit disguise of tradition.” “It’s an ancient tradition”. The thing changes if we talk to the defenders of the runs. Lee Kang-Min, an amateur who has been going to Cheongdo for years explained Recently, NPR that bulls are “an ancient tradition” of the nation and sees nothing unnatural in the shows. “The bulls fight when they take them to graze. The fights then became part of our culture.” Around the games there is also a lucrative business: that of bets, which as clarified The chain can develop legally, although with limited amounts. From the street to politics. The debate in Korea has achieved sufficient impact so that it can be followed through national media, but also foreigners, such as The New York Times either The Economistand has crystallized in concrete initiatives. Those who advocate ending the runs have launched a signature collection campaign that already exceeds the 45,000 supportsabout the 50,000 necessary for Parliament to review the proposal. Some municipalities have already chosen to stop financing shows with bulls. South Korea has a law of animal protection that dates back in the early 90s and prohibits hurting animals for entertainment, but leaves the activities that can be considered “folk games” out of that umbrella. Images | Last Chance for Animals (LCA) In Xataka | The great dilemma of South Korea: in an increasingly aging country to become old is a condemnation of poverty

Spain goes with such delay in floating wind that its neighbors are being advanced: Morocco and Portugal

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The industry begins to get impatient. It has been almost a year since it was approved Royal Decree 962/2024designed to give the exit gun to the marine wind in Spain. However, the ministerial order that must regulate the first auction has not yet seen the light, and there is also no official calendar with the next steps. In a sector that advances to the rhythm of the wind, the lack of movement begins to weigh. Short. The Wind Business Association (AEE) and the Marine Wind Forum have joined forces to launch a overwhelming message to the government: either, investments will end in other countries. In a joint statementthey have claimed the immediate publication of the bases of the auction and a schedule that gives medium and long term visibility. While Spain is still waiting, Portugal, France or Morocco advance with defined models and concrete projects. A more complex problem. According to AEElack of advances could cost Spain to create more than 7,500 jobs in coastal areas and stop contributing more than 2,000 million euros per year to GDP. In addition, the opportunity to lead a key technology such as floating wind –in which Spain has been a pioneer with world reference prototypes– It could evaporate if a minimum local market is not established. Spain has toilet industrial capabilities, appropriate port infrastructure, demonstrated technological experience – as the first floating prototype developer of the world – and Suitable areas identified in the planning plans of the maritime space (poem). But all that, without a local market that guarantees volume and continuity, is at risk. It has been stretching. In February of this year, the Minister for Ecological Transition, Sara Aagesen, announced that the Government would launch the first marine wind auction in 2025 and that an order would be published with the bases, According to the newspaper five days. Also The goal was reaffirmed to reach the 3 GW capacity installed in 2030, as established by the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC). But, today, the order has not gone to public consultation. And that is the first stone to launch any auction. From the sector, they denounce that there are no objective reasons that justify the delay and fear that the promises of auctions “in 2025” become another lost year. A wind leak. The main stumbling block is the lack of firm signs and a detailed roadmap. This has caused various companies –As AEE has warned– They are starting to divert their investments to other countries that offer greater certainty and speed. On the other hand, in neighboring countries the situation is being very different. For example, Portugal is about to define Your auction model. France has awarded Already a great project in the Mediterranean and prepares five more parks in the Vizcaya Gulf. Morocco, meanwhile, has presented A 1,000 MW project on the Atlantic coast for 2029. Meanwhile, Spain is still not a single marine kilowatt in commercial operation. Of the 278 MW of floating wind installed worldwide, according to data from the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) June 2025, none is in Spain, although the country has been key in the construction of 100%exported components. In addition, the wind sector also claims that IDAE (Institute for Diversification and Saving Energy) be unlocked to modernize key infrastructure such as the ports of A Coruña, Castellón or Tarragona. Without those logistics nodes ready, the value chain weakens. The look in the Canary Islands. It has profiled as the ideal territory to launch this first pilot auction. The archipelago has a constant winda consolidated logistics chain, political and social consensus, and a high electricity generation cost that could be drastically reduced with marine wind. For AEECanary Islands is the “logical spearhead” to start the commercial development of this technology. Forecasts. The sector expects the Ministry to publish as soon as possible the public consultation for the Ministerial Order and define a clear calendar of upcoming auctions. Meanwhile, the global context does not expect. According to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), the offshore market grew by 10% in 2024, reaching 83.2 GW installed. Spain is still in time to occupy a prominent place in the European leadership of the floating marine wind. But the opportunity window narrows. The ads are not enough: concrete decisions, clear regulation and political will are needed. Otherwise, the country runs the risk of seeing how others assume that strategic role. And with this, lose not only investment and employment, but a key opportunity to reindustrialize the economy and advance the energy transition. Image | Unspash Xataka | In Peru, a company has had an idea to take wind energy directly to your home: turbines as a lay way

There are regions of Spain that are building more houses than homes. And not even the wrings even go down

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That Spain suffers A housing deficit It is no novelty. Just as it is not that construction is unable to advance to the rhythm of formation of new homes. ACI, the Real Estate Consulting Association, has just published however A study that reveals something curious: there are 11 provinces in which it is built faster than new homes are constituted. The striking thing is that, although a priori that ‘surplus’ suggests less pressure in the market, its prices do not soften. On the contrary, they grow, as in the rest of the country. Asturias leaves A good example. A fact: 134,649. That is the real estate deficit that Spain accumulated last year according to The last report DE ACI, the Spanish Association of Real Estate Consulting. In this way it may sound abstract or too theoretical, but the data reflects something very simple: the mismatch between the number of housing and the new homes created throughout 2024. While the former stayed at 86,609, the seconds, which grow at much higher speed, amounted to 134,649, aggravating the housing shortage that Spain suffers. What are the reasons? “This lag shows the structural difficulties facing the promoter sector in Spain, derived from both the shortage of finalist land and the increases in construction costs, normative restrictions and delays in urban processing,” concludes The report, which recalls that the 86,609 houses delivered are also below the forecast of new homes. The 2024 deficit is also added to the one registered in recent years and that ACI estimated at 349,934 Since 2020. The association is not the first to warn of the difficulties that Spain is being found to adjust the creation of housing to the formation of New homes. In May the Bank of Spain estimated the lack of housing in Between 400,000 and 450,000 units in the period 2022-2024, an elevated figure, but that moves in any case of the huge hole of 600,000 that indicated in its 2023 report. Analyzing the map in detail. The most interesting thing about ACI study It is not so much the photo at the national level as its details, the information provided by each community. The reason? Although in most cases the delivery of housing was unable to cover the creation of new homes, enlarging its residential deficit, the agency identified 11 provinces in which the result was the inverse. That is, the volume of built houses covered (and exceeded) the creation of households. That is the peculiar situation in which Asturias, Burgos, Cáceres, Ciudad Real, León, Palencia, Salamanca, Soruel, Teruel, Valladolid and Zamora were found, to which the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla are added. Although they got off the general trend of Spain and closed 2024 with ‘residential surplus’, their effect was barely felt on the national balance. Among those 13 territories there are only a plus of 5,005 homes above the houses created. Province Housing delivered New real homes Difference 4th quarter price of 2023 (€/m2) * 4th quarter price of 2024 (€/m2) * Asturias 1.820 257 1,563 1,347.2 1,473.1 Burgos 808 462 346 1,169.3 1,212.3 Cáceres 1,344 267 1,077 849.7 873.4 Ceuta 71 41 30 1,827.3 1,937.5 C. Real 722 655 67 712.5 725.5 Lion 403 62 341 889.8 914.8 Melilla 182 150 32 1,827.3 1,937.5 Palencia 373 -46 419 931.1 954.7 Salamanca 485 220 265 1,218.1 1,230.7 Soria 460 247 213 939.8 968.7 Teruel 305 267 38 819.2 891.4 Valladolid 1.116 970 146 1,309.7 1,374.6 Zamora 152 -316 468 804.4 836.4 National Total 86,609 221.258 -134,649 1,842.3 1,972.1 *The prices are extracted from the official registration of the average appraisal value of the free housing that the government publishes quarterly Why is it interesting? So it reveals to us from the market. Although there are many buyer profiles (investors, families interested in a second residence or people who want to take a property and then dedicate it to the holiday rental), which in those 11 provinces (more Ceuta and Melilla) the delivery of homes exceeds the creation of households suggests a lower pressure of the demand on supply. And that, a priori, should move to market prices. Asturias leaves an especially interesting case. According to Data published by ACIthere last year 1,820 homes were delivered and 257 new real homes were recorded. The balance remained in green numbers with a positive balance of 1,653 homes. The second example is found in Cáceres (1,077), where he accounted for 1,344 homes delivered to 267 new real homes. And what happened to prices? They grew up. Despite this lower pressure in the market and that there was no mismatch between supply and demand for new homes, the house continued to take care. And that tells us about the key weight of other factors, such as costs or demand diversification. Government data on the appraisal value of the house shows that at the end of 2023 the square meter (m2) of free housing in the Principality was at 1,347 euros. A year later it was already at 1,473. The increase was therefore 9.35%, not very different from 9.43%of Madrid and several points above the state average, of 7.05%. If we turn to idealist the photo is similar. The real estate portal estimates that in December 2023 the residential M2 for sale cost in the Principality 1,371 euros and in the same month last year it was already 1,471. In summary: an increase of 7.29%. In THE CASE OF MADRID (Province) There are differences with respect to official appraisal data. During the same period it has passed from 3,208 to 3,771, which leaves an increase much greater than that of Asturias, of around 17.5%. A rising market. The Principality data does not surprise if one takes into account that its real estate market is on the rise. The latest data from the General Council of Notaries, published recently by The voice of AsturiasThey show a 19.9% growth in housing sale operations and an year -on -year increase in the price of 7.7%, although their … Read more

On the anniversary of the incident on Perejil Island, the tension has returned. So Spain has deployed a war ship

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July 2002. A group of Moroccan soldiers occupies the uninhabited Perejil isletlocated a few meters from the North African coast. That caused an immediate military response from Spain to restore the status quo. The crisisbrief but intense, tense to the fullest relations between the two countries and forced an international mediation that culminated with the demilitarization of the islet and a tacit agreement to keep it free of official presence, even today of the diplomatic fragility in the Strait. In fact, the tension has risen again. A new climb. Yes, the most delicate strip of the Western Mediterranean, the Strait of Gibraltarit is again in the center of a geopolitical pulse between Spain and Morocco, marked by a succession of diplomatic, operational and symbolic gestures that have reactivated old ghosts, especially around the Islet of Perejil. First it was The confidential the one who revealed a “discomfort.” Apparently, the recent participation of Delegate of the Polisario Front In the National Congress of the Popular Party it has served as a trigger for a series of Moroccan measures, which include the sudden closure of commercial customs with Ceuta and Melilla, An official letter of the Istiqlal party demanding the popular leader of his adhesion to the Moroccan Autonomy Plan for the Western Sahara, and The reappearance In Castillejos of the Committee for the Defense of the Causes of the Kingdom, an organization linked to Rabat’s intelligence services and headed by the controversial former senator Yahya Yahya. Return of nationalism. In fact, they counted in an interview In Spanish that with an inflammatory rhetoric and a clear will to provoke, this committee has announced its intention to celebrate a Symbolic meeting in the Islet of Perejil with the explicit objective of claiming the “territorial unity” under the amparo of King Mohamed VI. Although the landing did not occur, the staging was carefully designed: Photographs with the islet in the background, nationalist slogans and direct references to the policy of the Popular Party. The coincidence with the Anniversary of the Occupation Moroccan of 2002 and the issuance of A documentary miniseries On that episode, a production that has not liked in Morocco and tried to censor without success, underline the symbolic load of the gesture and its propaganda dimension. Furor frigate Spain responds. It Europasur counted. In a climate of prudent but firm containment, the General Staff of the Defense has deployed The maritime action ship Fury In the vicinity of Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera and of the island of Alborán, within the framework of routine operations of naval presence and coastal control. The surveillance of the peñones and islets of Spanish sovereignty on the African coast not only responds to reasons of border security and fight against illicit traffic, but also to the need to maintain the Territorial integrity In front of maneuvers that, although covered with theatricality, seek to test Spanish resilience and tighten the diplomatic line. Moroccan strategy No doubt, parallelism with the situation prior to the parsley crisis in 2002 is, at least, disturbing. So, Morocco took advantage of the social seizure In the ejido after a wave of racist violence to rehearse a territorial occupation. Today, episodes such as Pacheco Torre disturbanceswith these clashes between Spanish neighbors and Moroccan citizens, they could be interpreted by Rabat as useful internal cracks to exert pressure. Logic seems to be repeated: use the fragility of the Spanish domestic context to reinforce its thesis About the Western Sahara and his aspirations about Ceuta, Melilla and other territories under Spanish sovereignty. Symbolism and provocation. In short, while the Spanish government maintains its Official adhesion to the Moroccan Autonomy Plan for Sahara, the Popular Party and other political forces are committed to returning to positions closer to the resolutions of the United Nations, feeding a debate that Rabat instrumentalizes To condition alliances and project strength. The recent one Group activation Moroccan nationalists, the mobilization of figures close to power and explicit threats against Spanish political actors seems to be part of a broader strategy of hybrid pressure. Of course, the Moroccan flag does not wave in Perejil, but the only attempt to plant it is enough to remember how fragile that thin line remains between the propaganda gesture and the real diplomatic crisis. Image | EFORGE, General Staff of Defense, Carlosvdehabsburg In Xataka | The Strait of Gibraltar was very different eight million years ago. So different that there were two In Xataka | A 15 kilometers tunnel to join the Strait of Gibraltar: the pioneer and crazy idea raised 100 years ago

Madrid has the radar that most fine in Spain. We already know its location and where we have to be more careful this summer

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3,440,655 speeding fines. Spain closed 2024 with a 4% increase in the number of sanctions for this reason. Associated European motorists (AEA) has carried out its annual report with DGT data to point to us which are the 50 radars that most fine in our country. This increase in the number of fines cannot be understood without the fact that there are more radars that fine in our country. Specifically, in Spain there are almost 3,400 controllers of speed that monitor that we do not exceed the maximum limits allowed. And those must add mobile radars and famous pegasus that watch from the air. In addition, we remember that in the AEA numbers of this report the fines imposed in the Basque Country or Catalonia are not collected, where traffic skills are transferred. The radar that is most fine in Madrid Given all this, AEA points out that the radar that most fine in Spain is at kilometer 20 of the M-40, the famous Circunvalación de Madrid. The cinemometer repeats in the first place but, perhaps because it is an old acquaintance, it has reduced its volume of complaints by 36%. In total, this controller has issued 74,873 sanctions for speeding, far from the 118,392 fines that it registered in 2023. The radar is not only in the Community of Madrid, since six others are part of the 50 most “multones” radars in Spain, being the province where the most controllers add up in this list. These are located in the following locations: Road M-40 PK 52: 33,057 sanctions. Road A-4 PK 13: 18,263 sanctions. Road A-2 PK 15: 15,713 sanctions. Road A-5 PK 12: 14,147 sanctions. Road A-4 PK 12: 13,722 sanctions. Road A-3 PK 48: 11,568 sanctions. What are the most fine radars? Although Madrid has the most fine of Spain and another six more radars appear in the list, Andalusia is the autonomous community that adds the most speed controllers to the list. In fact, according to AEA data, almost one in three fines processed in Spain have an Andalusian radar origin. In total, in 2024 they added 959,592 complaints, which represents 27.8% of the activity in the country, accumulating up to 14 cinemometers among those who most fine in our country. If we analyze by provinces, Malaga and Seville, with five and four radars among the 50 that most sanction in Spain are the two provinces (after Madrid) in which the most radars are located. As to Volume of complaints And despite the fact that Madrid has the radar that most sanctions, Castilla y León with 413,343 sanctions is the second autonomous community in which it is most sanctioned. And it is followed by the Valencian Community, with 366,360 complaints. As for the radars that most fine in Spain, these are the 10 that sanction: Autonomous Community Province Via PK Number of fines Community of Madrid Madrid M-40 20 74873 Andalusia Malaga A-7 968 67502 Navarre Navarre A-15 127 60878 Andalusia Seville A-381 74 54835 Andalusia Malaga A-45 128 49378 Balears (Illes) Balears (Illes) EI-600 9 39202 Andalusia Seville A-92 83 37616 Andalusia Malaga A-7 978 33358 Andalusia Malaga MA-20 10 33061 Community of Madrid Madrid M-40 52 33057 Photo | DGT In Xataka | How to know all the official locations of the DGT radars

Spain produces more solar energy than ever, but it only gets a cheap time of electricity a day

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In full July, with the air conditioning Working tirelessly and The tuned light billin Spain there is a single moment of the day when electricity consumption does not hurt so much in the pocket. That little energy respite is concentrated at noon, a time strip in which electricity costs half or even less than in the rest of the day, but why is it just time? The fire triggered. On Wednesday, July 16, the average price of electricity had been in the € 164.06/MWh at the regulated rate (PVPC), According to data from Electrica de España. For this Thursday 17, a slight drop is expected to € 102.85/MWh, but that half hides an unequal reality: for much of the day, the cost exceeds 120 euros per megavatio hour, As the Iberian energy market operator has collected (OMIE). Only for a single hour there is a “affordable” price. In just seven hours, electricity will go from relatively affordable to almost double its price. At 15:00, it will cost € 73.00/MWh. At 22:00, it will reach € 129.85/MWh. The explanation is not in a peak of consumption, but in a change of source: the sun is exhausted, the gas enters and the market reacts. Why only in that time strip? The reason is in the sun. From three in the afternoon, the solar production curve increases considerably. The electrical system then enters an overoferta phase: there is more renewable generation than real demand. This surplus translates into an abrupt fall in the price in the wholesale market (‘pool’), which reflects in real time the imbalance between what is produced and what is consumed. The problem is that this surplus cannot be stored properly. Spain still does not have batteries No infrastructure sufficient pumping to save That cheap energy and release it when it is most needed. Thus, the system is forced to sell cheap at noon and buy expensive at dusk. To this lack of storage is added a less visible problem: he Curtailment. Although more renewable than ever, part of that energy is lost due to saturation of the network. According to Red Eléctrica, in some knots of the central-south peninsular-such as Arenas de San Juan or Caroyuelas— It has wasted up to 30 % of the electricity generated due to lack of capacity to evacuate it. Meanwhile, the price of light continues to rise. This schedule imbalance generates what experts call a daily “spread”: a price difference that can exceed € 200/MWh between the cheapest time and the most expensive of the day. It is what makes an invoice shoot although part of electricity is generated almost free. It is not just guilt of the sun. The price of light not only depends solely on solar radiation. From the blackout of April 28, Red Electrica has activated A reinforced operational modewith more weight of the combined gas cycles to stabilize the network. This emergency measure It has become the new normality While structural reforms are implemented that will not be ready until next year. The direct impact on the invoice. Consumers with regulated rate (PVPC) are the most exposed to this volatility. Every day, your bill depends on the price hour by time. But even free market customers are noticing uploads: some electrical companies are transferring the contracts to the contracts, As Facua has warnedwhat could be illegal if it is not foreseen contractually. With this panorama, many consumers try to concentrate the use of appliances such as washing machines, ovens or air conditioners during that cheap time of the day. However, not everyone has room to reorganize their life around a single low cost strip. The solution is more than clear. In this environment we have spoken many times: it goes through More energy storage, greater demand management, More local micro -redes and best interconnections with Europe. The government already has launched Royal Decree-Law 7/2025 To accelerate these changes, and has initiated the creation of a capacity market to guarantee the supply. But none of these measures is immediate. Some have deadlines until September, but others will lengthen until mid -2026. Meanwhile, the gas dependence will continue to mark night prices. A race against clock. Every day, the Spanish electrical system offers a single cheap electricity window. It is the reflection of an energy paradox: there has never been so much renewable energy, and it has never been so difficult to take advantage of it efficiently. As long as storage and flexibility deficiencies are not resolved, the cheap time will be a timely privilege and not a guarantee. In a summer marked by heat waves, the cost of not acting on time will be measured not only in euros, but also in emissions, social vulnerability and energy dependence. Image | Unspash Xataka | Broady in April, more expensive invoice in May: thus has affected the system reinforcement

Ryanair has left several death injured in Spain. Now we know that he has more passengers than ever

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Ryanair is not weighing, at all, his departure from some Spanish airports. The Irish company is flying more than ever in our country, as certified by the data related to the first semester. The company accumulates more passenger volume in Spain, is one of the airlines that grows the most and expands its distance from competitors. More passengers, more. In the first semester of 2025, Ryanair has accumulated in Spain 32.64 million passengers. It is a 6.6% higher than that registered in the same period last year when it accumulated 30.63 million passengers. It is, with great difference, the airline that moves more traffic from our country. The data collects them AENA which also points out that in the first semester more than 181 million passengers have moved at Spanish airports, the figure is 4.7% higher than that registered in the same period of 2024. Leaders. The data of the first semester of the year also leave other readings. Ryanair has added more than two million passengers compared to the same period of 2024. No other large airline has grown so much in our country in absolute terms of travelers. In fact, the variation with respect to last year is 6.6%, lower than the sustained in previous semesters and also lower than other companies Lowcost such as Easyjet (+13%), Binter (+8.6%) or Wizzair (+22.8%). However, none of them approaches the numbers of the Irish company. A year ago, Ryanair surpassed Vueling in 8 million passengers in a single semester. Today that difference is closer to the 10 million passengers since the Spanish airline has only grown in some 400,000 travelers compared to the first semester of 2024. In full withdrawal. Growth is even more striking if we consider than Ryanair has closed 12 routes in Spain And now offer 800,000 places less than only a few months ago. The company fulfilled its threat to leave some regional airports as a demonstration of force before the fine that the government imposed For the collection of hand luggage, practices that the Executive considers abusive. At his departure, Ryanair prioritized regional airports. In them, their business volume was low and, in fact, maintained some routes for Commercial agreements with local entities. He knew that retiring from these spaces could cause almost deadly damage to some airfields. To show that of Valladolid that in the first half of the year he has registered 41,725 passengers between January and June, about 56,000 passengers less than in the same period of 2024 when 100,000 travelers were toured in six months. The Lowcost. The other striking fact, which we have already advanced, is the growth of the Lowcost in front of any other company. Regarding the same semester of 2024, no airline grows both in passengers and the cheapest options. Airlines that make greater reach flights are more sensitive to geopolitical fluctuations and facilities (or not) to travel. Iberia, for example, Avaca Its 0.7% setback to a fall in travelers to North America. On the contrary, Eurowings (Lowcost from Lufthansa) and Transavia (from Air France-KLM) have also grown in Spain more than 4%. Photo | Wolfgang Weiser In Xataka | Michael O’Leary, Ceo de Ryanair: “I don’t want money. They fly without suitcases”

The last public employment offer leaves a revealing fact after years of record figures: Spain needs more officials

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In recent years, the Pedro Sánchez government has promoted public employment calls that have broken historical figures for the number of public employment places. However, the new Public Employment Offer (OPE) for 2025 that has just known a turning point marks. Although it will have 36,588 new places, this figure represents a reduction with respect to the previous calls, and shows a worrying reality: the lack of personnel in the administration. New call 2025. The New Public Employment Offer presented by the Executive contemplates a total of 36,588 places, which represents a decrease of 9% with respect to the 2024 offer that was 40,146 places. Specifically, the number of places corresponding to the General State Administration is reduced mainly, which this year adds 26,889 positions, that is, 4,500 less than the previous year. This marks a change of trend against the years in which the calls carried the label of “historical” for its volume of places. The Independent Trade Union and Officials (CSIF) summarize it Clearly: “The places are insufficient to cover the losses accumulated in the administration of the State in recent years”, in addition to the majority union of the officials, they slide that the absence of new budgets and the freezing of funds of the European Union are already noticed in this call. Distribution by bodies and lack of personnel. Among the bodies that will be reinforced their workforce are the State Security Forces and Bodies. According to official data, the National Police Corps will have 3,139 new places, 300 more than the previous year, while the Civil Guard will add 555, reaching a total of 3,713 new places. The army too It will increase its template In 2025, with the incorporation of 2,847 new troops, 200 more than in the previous year. For its part, the Central Administration will have 20,324 new free access places, which will add 6,565 internal promotion places, which must be covered with part of the new 20,324. In that quota, 8,851 places of new allocation are also included to strengthen citizen service services in the offices of the SEPE, foreigners, cadastre, issuance of the DNI, DGT, Social Security or Tax Agency. The challenge of the generational relief. Since the current government arrived at La Moncloa, he says have summoned 260,000 public employment places. As Minister Óscar López highlighted in the presentation of the OPE by 2025, this leaves an average of 32,522 annual public places. Even with that effort, the reality is that the structural needs of employment in the public sector continue to be effective. As reflected in the EPA data (Active Population Survey) of the first quarter of 2025, for the first time since 2018, public employment registers a decrease of 51,900 people in its template. Thus, although the calls try to compensate for accumulated casualties, the balance is still negative. One of the main challenges facing the administration is to absorb the Retirements planned for the next decade. According to collected data In the study on the aging of the templates in the General State Administration 2024, 59.95% of the staff of the General State Administration is over 55 years old. This aging forces the administration to Compensate retirement that each year occur, with new additions. In 2023, for example, the number of retirement was 10,758 officials, while only 8,770 new officials were incorporated to cover those places, leaving a deficit of 1,988 positions that were not covered that year. Below the average public employment in the OECD. Internationally, the data does not accompany. According to the report ‘Government at A Glance 2025’ Of the OECD, Spanish public employment represented in 2023 15.25% of the total active population, below the average of 18.41% of the OECD countries. In addition, despite the increase in the number of places, the Public Employment Growth It has been developed at the same rate as private employment, without equating the boom that other countries have applied to balance essential public services. In Xataka | The easiest oppositions to approve in Spain following three criteria: by agenda, for places and for requirements Image | Flickr (Treball Generalitat de Catalunya

What began as a patch after the blackout is already the new normality of Spain: more energy through gas

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After the blackout of April 28, which exposed the fragility of the electrical system at times of high renewable penetration, Red Electrica has imposed a new way of operating: A reinforcement system based on greater activation of combined gas cycles. What was born as an emergency measure has become a new normality. Spain returns to gas, not due to lack of renewables, but because – for now – it cannot only trust them. And it will stay for a while … Since the end of April, the system operator maintains a reinforced operating mode to guarantee stability. Such as has confirmed ELECTRICAL TO ELECONOMISTA.es, this measure will remain in force while the technical solutions agreed to avoid new incidents are implemented. The incident report concludes that there was a lack of dynamic control on the network, unexpected disconnections and vulnerabilities in tension regulation. The first changes are already underway: Royal Decree-Law 7/2025 He has started A battery of reforms, from the incentive of storage to the flexibility of access for hybrid facilities. However, the sector coincides: the total implementation will take time. Some urgent measures have a deadline until September, but others – as the reform of adjustment services or changes in the distribution network – will be extended until June 2026. Reinforcement, therefore, is not transitory. Renewable yes, but they are not enough. And this situation occurs in a fairly paradoxical context. Spain is producing more energy than ever: in May the lowest wholesale prices in recent history were recorded –With many hours in negative prices-, thanks to the thrust of wind, solar and hydraulic. So, the question comes back: why does it return to gas? The key is in the foul storage and demand variability. The renewable generation is abundant during the day, but it falls dramatically at dusk, just when consumption remains high by heat waves. No batteries or pumping To store the surplusThe system needs firmness. And that firmness, today, gives it the gas. They have just launched an “antiapages insurance.” The government is aware of the risk. That is why he has formally activated the implementation of capacity markets, a tool that had been studying for years and now accelerates after the blackout. It is a mechanism that remunerates for being available, not only to produce, and that seeks to keep firm technologies operational – like gas or storage – to guarantee the supply even in critical conditions. After the authorization included in Royal Decree-Law 7/2025, the Ministry for Ecological Transition You can give way to the specific resolution that sets two key parameters to activate these mechanisms: the lost load value (Voll), at € 22,879/MWh, and a reliability standard (Lole) of 1.5 hours a year. The objective of the Executive is clear: launch the first auctions before the end of 2025 and ensure that the gas plants that requested their closure (9,000 MW in total) can remain available while a structural solution arrives. And prices rise again. June closed with an important rebound in the wholesale price of electricity, after the historical minimums of April and May. The heat wave, the increase in demand and the greater participation of the combined gas cycles fired the average cost in the market to levels not seen in months. The consumers’ invoice with regulated rate has noticed it: it has been the third consecutive monthly climb, According to the official CNMC simulator data. In addition, in the free market, some marketers are transferring these cost overruns to their customers, even without a contractual clause that allows it. This has motivated A FACUA WARNINGwhich remembers that raising rates unilaterally is illegal if it is not expressly foreseen in the contract. In some cases, surcharges of up to 6 % per year have been notified under the argument of greater technical costs, which could constitute an abusive clause according to consumer defense regulations. Structural challenge. The April blackout uncovered deficiencies that were already there: an excessively centralized system, little storage, few micro -redes and little local reaction capacity to disturbances. The solution does not go through abandonable, but by complementing them. The gas, for now, plays that role. But the challenge is to do so in the future the storage, demand management and a more robust network. That requires difficult time, investment and political decisions. Image | Pexels and Pixabay Xataka | Broady in April, more expensive invoice in May: thus has affected the system reinforcement

The loss of the Broadcom chips factory is a malazo for Spain. Now you have to trust everything to your plan B

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For Spain lose the packaging plant Integrated circuits that Broadcom was going to build on Spanish soil is a real maza. And it is for several reasons of weight. The most obvious is that the presence of a factory of this American company would place the country on the European map of The production of advanced substrates. And, in addition, presumably would generate high qualification jobs, would develop the technological ecosystem of the area in which new investment would finally be installed and attracted. As we explain yesterday, this project finally It will not come to fruition. The leaks ensure that the negotiation held by the Spanish government and the Broadcom directive since July 2023 entered a man -dead point several months ago. There is no doubt that it was a very interesting plan for Spain, but, fortunately, it is not the only project that seeks to develop the local semiconductor industry and increase the relevance of Spanish companies in the global market of integrated circuits. These projects give Spain the opportunity to grow in the chips industry The installation that we can see in the cover photography of this article is the authentic protagonist of one of the most important projects that Spain is developing in the sector that concerns us: INNOFAB. The image building is the Alba synestron, which is housed in the Catalan town of Cerdanyola del Vallès, just 6 km from the center of Barcelona. And his role in the Innofab project will be crucial. An note before moving forward: a syncrotron is an electrons of circular electrons used to analyze atomic level the properties of matter, such as various types of materials, or even proteins. The Spanish institution that is involved in this Plan is the Barcelona Microelectronics Institute belonging to the CSIC (IMB-CNM-CSIC), a center that has a lot of experience in both microelectronics and in advanced techniques for integrated circuit manufacturing. INNOFAB will be a state -of -the -art semiconductor factory which will be housed next to the Alba syrrtron. It will cost approximately 392 million euros and will be financed with funds from the Next Generation Plan of the European Union, as well as with capital contributed by the governments of Spain and the Generalitat. Innofab’s construction works will begin soon with the purpose of the plant starting chips production in 2028 Construction works will begin soon with the purpose of the plant starting chips in 2028. This project is led by the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, and will reside very close to the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Its purpose is to develop, as I have mentioned a few lines above, next -generation integrated circuits, but it will not be conventional chips; They will be semiconductors in which advanced materials, such as graphene, will be used to unmark silicon semiconductors whose production It is controlled by Asia and the USA. When the INNOFAB factory is ready, the ALBA particle accelerator will allow to analyze the candidate materials to be used in the production of semiconductors atomic. And also the properties of integrated avant -garde circuits. An important note is that Innofab will not produce chips in large quantities; Your role will be to develop advanced technologies which will then be commercially exploited in other plants. This role in a way justifies that its cost is somewhat less than 400 million euros. In any case, Innofab is not the only project dedicated to the chips that Spain is developing. The Godic plan It seeks to develop the necessary technologies to make possible the large -scale manufacture of polyristaline silicon carbide. This initiative is framed within the belonging of microelectronics and semiconductors (popularly known as the chip) and has a budget of 3.3 million euros to which the State contributes by assuming 68% of the total cost. It sounds good, but there is more than we should not overlook: the reason why this project is so important to Europe and Spain. The Godic plan seeks to develop the necessary technologies to make possible the large -scale manufacture of polyristaline silicon carbide The current situation of tension in geopolitical and geostrategic fields That they support the US and Europe on one side, and China to the other, it is promoting that the old continent is doing everything in its hand to reinforce its supply chain linked to the integrated circuit industry. Its purpose is put an end to its deep dependence of Asian suppliers in general, and of China in particular, so having a manufacturing plant of their own silicon carbide is crucial on the road to this objective. It is for Spain and also for Europe because it currently lacks this resource. The Diosic project began its journey at the end of 2023 and will last 26 months, so presumably the Spanish companies involved in it will conclude the development of innovations that are necessary to carry it forward in early 2026. Or, perhaps, if everything goes like silk, at the end of 2025. Anyway it is important that we do not overlook that beyond consolidating the independence of Spain and Europe Cost of the production of integrated circuits by 30%, and, at the same time, increase their yield by 35%. Before concluding this article, it is worth not overlooking another project that is also very important for Spain: the set -up The new European pilot line that pursues Lead the integration and encapsulation of components and electronic systems. The Spanish institution that is involved in this plan is the CSIC Barcelona Microelectronics Institute (IMB-CNM-CSIC), a center that has a lot of experience in both microelectronics and in advanced techniques for manufacturing integrated circuits. Any initiative that increases the competitiveness of Europe in a strategic industry such as semiconductors must be welcome “We intend to work on two approaches depending on whether the evacuation of high heat densities is required, as in the case of the ASIC, or if what is sought is a homogeneous distribution of temperature, more applicable to … Read more

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