Spain

The strange thing is not that Spain has opposed 5% of GDP for defense. The strange thing is that it was the only country

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At the gates of the Great summit From The Hague, NATO has seen how their debate on military spending had a Unexpected protagonist: Spain. Pedro Sánchez’s refusal to expand that chapter until reaching 5% of GDP has resulted in a strip and loosen between Madrid and the alliance that has resulted in a covenant in extremis which will give greater flexibility to Spain. The key will be that it meets the objectives agreed by the rest of the members, not whether or not you need 5% to achieve it. The position of Spain is interesting because it opens a background debate: should defense capacities be set based on a random percentage or based on the real needs of each country? Are general spending thresholds? A percentage: 5%. Beyond the capacities, objectives, pacts or the role of each country, over the last months the debate within NATO has revolved around a figure: 5%, the percentage of GDP that, According to the allianceeach member nation must allocate to the investment in defense. To be more precise, the idea of ​​NATO is that 3.5% is dedicated to basic expenditure, and the remaining 1.5% to “related investments”, which allows infrastructure or expense in industries. The figure is not accidental. Is exactly the commitment that He claimed Donald Trump, who in December, before even settling in the White House, already He complained openly of the low level of investment of the rest of NATO members and accused the alliance of “taking advantage” of the United States. A protagonist: Spain. With that backdrop and after months, emphasizing the idea that the allies had to increase their expense in defense, to early month NATO made it clear what its new requirement would be for the allies: to raise the 5% defense expense of GDP in 2035. The agreement was accompanied in addition to an investment plan and a list of new objectives that must be validated at the summit that will be held this week in The Hague. Before that date arrived, however, a voice that was not willing to comply with the 5%goal arose: Spain. “For Spain to commit to a 5% goal would not only be unreasonable, but also counterproductive,” said Pedro Sánchez in A letter Sent to NATO general secretary, Mark Rutte. In his letter he remembered that raising the investment in 5% defense of GDP would be “incompatible with our welfare state and vision of the world.” With its position, the Moncloa became A loose verse Within the alliance, which even annoying To Washington. The Giro: A letter. The disagreement between the NATO dome and Madrid did not last too long. Yesterday Sánchez revealed that both parties have reached an agreement that basically gives Spain wide to decide what percentage of its GDP dedicates to meet the objectives set by NATO. That is, the country undertakes to reach the new Capacity objectives military of the alliance, but without having to dedicate 5% of their GDP. The key is to get there, not how it gets. Sanchez even shared in X Mark Rutte’s letter confirming that NATO will be flexible in that last aspect. In it, the general secretary of the Alliance is clear: “I assume that Spain is sure that the new capacity objectives can be met with a spending trajectory of less than 5% of GDP,” Explain: “I confirm that the agreement reached at the next NATO summit will grant Spain the flexibility to determine its own sovereign trajectory to achieve the objective.” The agency, of course, will review its advances in 2029. New percentage: 2.1%. The million dollar question arrived at this point is … How much does Spain plan to invest? In 2014, NATO It was marked and the goal that the defense spending reached 2% of GDP, but many of its members were maintained last year far from that threshold that is considered today “insufficient”. Among the lags are Portugal, Italy or Canada, countries that, in some cases, have made a effort To get to the Hague Summit fulfilling 2%. In the list also appears Spain, whose investment in defense was around last year, according to The data from NATO, 1.3% of GDP. The Government It has moved token Already for the investment to reach this year in 2%, but they do not seem willing to go much further. In yesterday’s statement in which he announced the agreement with NATO, Sánchez insists that the country is in a position to comply with the rest of the allies without moving too much from the 2%threshold. “Spain will need 2.1% of its GDP to acquire and keep all personnel, all equipment, all infrastructure requested by the Alliance to deal with our abilities to those threats,” Sánchez wields. And emphasize: “2.1%, no more, or less.” “Going from 2 to 5% from here to 2035 would demand to spend about 350,000 million euros, which could only be achieved based on raising taxes at 3,000 euros per year, eliminating benefits, reducing pensions by 40% or cutting in education.” The substantive debate: capacity or percentage? The case of Spain is interesting both for what it represents within NATO and for the debate that opens: does it make sense to link the objectives of GDP expenditure percentages? What is that general threshold for? Is it only political, a mesurable consensus point, or is it really related to the capabilities of the different allies? Sanchez has gone to the background of that discussion and throws doubts about the usefulness of setting an expenditure objective such as 5%, shared by the 32 NATO members. “They think that, for example, in some countries the average salary of a soldier is three times greater than in others who are also NATO members, or that producing or acquiring these defense capacities in certain countries costs half than in others,” reason The socialist. It is not the only one in which it points in that direction. A WARNING: “Insufficient”. In A recent article Published by Andrew Horton and Putri Handrianti and … Read more

Spain is no longer the ugly duckling of the European technological ecosystem. Now has the opposite problem

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Spain is ceasing to be the lagged technological ecosystem of Europe. The venture capital funds have invested just over 1 billion euros in 95 Spanish startups only in the first quarter of 2025. That represents an 184% increase on the sum collected in the first quarter of 2024, according to a long report published by Sifted. Why is it important. Spain is already the Fourth European country in technological financing this yearand its operations count is already close to Germany and France, with populations and income per capita notably higher. The context. This moment is not accidental, but arrives at the confluence of three factors that have created the perfect storm: The gold fever that is being AI worldwide. Government movements favorable to technology, such as generous fiscal disasters, Visas for Startups and Digital Nomads wave Sett. The appearance of the so -called ‘Mafia founders’: those that have experience in large Spanish companies such as Cabify, Glovo and Job & Talent. There is a turn here: recent rounds are larger and faster to run than before, according to Sifted in statements from sources in the sector consulted. In figures: 95 capital rounds. 910 million euros collected in what we have of a second quarter … … which is 90% more than in the second quarter of 2024. And the trend accelerates: more than half of all financing operations in Spain had at least one foreign investor. The accumulated in what we have of the year is more moderate if we attend to the figures of The referentwhich reach 1,774 million euros compared to 1910, depending on the methodology and type of operations included. In any case, the amount is higher than that of any year except 2021, 2022 and 2024. And we have not even reached the 2025 Ecuador. In the foreground. The big names are here: Between the lines. It is a change that goes beyond money: that there are Spanish founders contacting large investors is a double sign: Increase confidence in your own startups. They look for better conditions than those offered by Spanish funds. This contributes to the gap between British and Spanish equivalent rounds, to give an example, reduce. Yes, but. The background question is whether there really is a change in the trend or if we are simply seeing the consequence of large funds looking for destiny to your money. And that arrival of foreign funds also represents a dilemma for national risk capital: More legitimacy for the ecosystem. But also more competition. Spain has gone from being ignored by the great international funds that its own founders often prefer the conditions that foreign investors can offer. Spanish funds now face a competition that previously existed. The problem contrary to the one they had five years ago. In Xataka | The worst nightmare for governments is to have more pensioners than workers: in Galicia it is already happening Outstanding image | Per Lööv in Unspash

It is increasingly easy to see from the road a crop that had never been dominant in Spain: the pistachio

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Its production volume is still far (far) from which the US, Iran or Türkiye, the heavyweights of the sector, but Spain is increasingly A pistachio country. And it has all the meaning that is so. Your cultivation adapts well to certain regions From the Iberian Peninsula and above all it offers background penguins to farmers, who have been planting hectares and more hectares of pistachers for years, hoping to cover a global market In full expansion. “Many people have opted for this crop as a substitute for others less profitable, such as cereal,” They recognized Recently from the sector. Pistacho “Made in Spain”. If it is true that a picture is worth a thousand words, Castilla-La Mancha It probably leaves the best reflects the accelerated expansion of the pistachio cultivation in Spain. A walk comes through the province of Toledo to see hectares of soil that until not so ago they were dedicated to cereals or the grass of cattle and have now been converted into pistachio plantations. Castilla-La Mancha agglutina more than 80% of the national surface and production of the fruit and has achieved put on the top 5 of the great pistache regions of the world. A few days ago, in a forum dedicated precisely to the pistachio, the regional government explained that the community already dedicates about 65,000 hectares to its cultivation and in 2023 reached the 5,600 tons of dry fruit with peel. A figure: 78,500 ha. To understand how the speed has extended pistachio plantations in Spain, it is good to take a look at the report that the agricultural group dedicated last year Agrouptimum: If in 2016 there were barely 15,000 hectares dedicated to its cultivation, in 2022 that surface was already risen to 70,000 and in 2023 it touched 78,500, 68% in the dry land. Last season it is estimated that the 79,200 hawhich explains that the pistachio monopolizes 10.3% of the soil dedicated to producing nuts in Spain. “Win by win”. The success of the pistachio among farmers, especially Castilla-La Mancha, is explained for a very simple reason: his juicy profits. He was openly recognized recently Juan Gallego Arroyo, founder of the Iberopistacho group, to electionomista.es: With gross bottling per hectare that leave a profitability between 10 and 20%, the pistachio is much more attractive to farmers than other traditional crops, including cereals. “The pistachio wins by a win in terms of profitability within the crops in open and permanent. The comparison is with the olive tree, the almond or the vine, for example,” Clarify Galician. Translated into figures and according to the data handled by the manager, “with the pistachio plantations a gross hectare turnover is being achieved that can reach up to 12,000 euros in the case of using irrigation. In the case of dry dryland, we are between 5,000 and 6,000.” “Very profitable alternative”. He is not the only one who has drawn attention to the benefits of this fruit, increasingly demadiated. In 2022 Balam Agriculture made A balance of the most profitable crops of the year looking for the income, expenses, investment and risks assumed. The list was listed by the plantations of olive groves, those of Almendros and (exact) those of pistacheros, which despite requiring a notable initial investment offers benefits and profitability in the medium term. “Its high sale price, close to € 6/kg (with average production of 1,000 kg), as well as the increase in demand for this product, make it a very profitable alternative,” Balam stands out. In optimal conditions, with intensive irrigation and in ecological pistachio crops, electionomista.es Precise that the annual income generated per hectare can even be higher and move between 8,000 and 10,000 euros. The final net profit is lower, but depending on the case, it ranges between 1,200 and more than 10,000. A millionaire market. Although Spain is betting on the pistachio its production is far from what they reach Heavyweights of the cultivation, the USA, Iran and Türkiye, that a large part of the cake of a millionaire and growing business are distributed. Data Bridge estimates that market size reached 4,350 million of dollars in 2024 and will continue to grow to exceed 5,800 in a few years. There are consultants convinced that It won’t take long In passing that figure. With that backdrop, Spain and more specifically regions Like Castilla-La Mancha, Andalusia, Extremadura, Aragon, Castilla y León or Catalonia, they are positioning themselves to participate in that world cake and The increase of domestic demand. “The evolution of pistachio cultivation in recent years has been very large,” Recognize To Efeagro Mario González, from Pistachopro. “Many people have opted for this crop as replacement for others less profitable.” Images | USDA (Flickr), Marcos Paulo Prado (UNSPLASH) and Brad Spry (Flickr) In Xataka | For more than a thousand years Spain was a world power in pistachio production. Then disappeared completely

Vitoria has been the greatest city in Spain for years. Now he has turned against him for a gardener strike

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Vitoria-Gasteiz can boast many things. Of gastronomylandscapes or heritageto quote only a few examples. If something has presumed, however, in recent years the Basque capital is from Green areas. Its city council ensures that the city has 42 m2 of landscaped areas by each inhabitant, allowing it to be sneaking often in The Top 10 of the greatest cities in the country and even won the title of European Green Capital. Now its gardeners have strike and that vast vegetation cover has become a problem. The parks have gone from being a reason for pride to a headache. Vitoria, “Green Capital”. With the global warming Converted into the subject of priority (and recurring) discussion, more and more cities They choose to apply a “green” logic when planning their urban planning. It occurs both in Spain and in other countries, but few cities have taken a step as determined as Vitoria. In Your website The Basque City Council presumes to have 42 square meters of green areas for each neighbor, 171 kilometers of bike lanes, 115,000 trees in streets and parks and a green ring of 33 kilometers with hectares Field. The bet has not gone badly and the city It usually sneaks in The highest of the national top 10 of green cities. The effort has been accompanied in addition to some important international recognitions: the European Green Capital 2012, the Green Ciudad Global 2019 and the Biosphere Responsible Tourism certification. So much so that the city presumes being a “Green Capital”. And the strike arrived. For A few months However, the residents of Vitoria look at that vast green area, which include parks and gardens, but also roundabouts, gutters, alcorques and curbs with some concern. And the reason is very simple: professionals who are in charge of their care are on strike. At the end of March, the Envier Company Committee, the hire of the maintenance of the green areas of the municipality, He summoned a strike for Demand improvements labor. “Their working conditions are absolutely precarious, with salaries that barely reach the minimum interprofession He warned In March, the ELA union on the situation of the 85 employees affected by Envise. The first day of strike the tracking has already been around 90%, according to the workers, and the City Council has found that its municipal gardeners template It falls short to assume the management of all parks and gardens. “It is a risk”. Three months later and despite the Mediation attempts Among the parts involved, the gardener strike is still underway in Vitoria to desperate the authorities and neighbors. Its acts of fact were noticed very soon. Without pruning, irrigation or stubble withdrawal, the vegetation of the city has faded … with all its consequences. In May Antena3 He informed Already with grown weeds, plants more than a meter high in the gardens, green on the sidewalks and even the appearance of insects, including ticks and mosquitoes. “The presence of fleas and ticks begins to be common and is a health risk,” Recognize to Basque chronicle Rafa Busto, member of the ELA union. To the weed, the carelessness of the parks and the risk of bites is also added another handicap: a much harder year than usual for the allergic to the pollen. After three months of strike, the City Council has also found that the news has climbed nationally and Furibunda complaints of its citizens. “Threatens lives”. The situation has reached such a point that a few days ago the Basque Government ordered to the gardeners who guarantee minimum care of the green areas. The decree has served to The seasons come back to the parks of Vitoria, but has further walked the spirits. The syndiacts already They have warned that will resort to an order that, they insist, “condition the strike”; and the reports of the transport and firefighters service in which the Executive has been supported to make its decision stands out for its forcefulness, warning of serious risks. “The lack of clearing threatens lives, properties, infrastructure and public health, in addition to overflowing emergency services,” They warn Firefighters in their analysis. In a similar line, the traffic service warned that in some areas of Vitoria the vegetation has been felt so much that it has gained height that prevents traffic or traffic light signals. More vegetation, many more flowers. Not all the effects of the strike are negative or all see them with the same eyes. The rains and the fact that the bushes grow at ease has led certain areas of Vitoria to have seen a floral explosion, to the joy of botanists and biologists. “The flowers that we previously considered very rare, today we found them almost in any split”, Point out Gorka Belamendia, of the Center for Environmental Studies, in the SER. “If plants are allowed to develop, biodiversity is multiplied: insects and invertebrates especially,” coincides in The country Pello Urrutia, president of the Alavés de la Nature Institute (Ian). Irene Zúñiga, doctor in urban architecture, even He went further When assessing the effects of the strike: “All botany schools should be here, taking out inventory.” Images | RDA SUISSE (Flickr), Euskadi.eus and Mariya Prokopyuk (Flickr) In Xataka | The most unknown language in Spain is in danger. The 500 gypsies who speak it just want them to leave them alone

The “rearme” in Europe has encountered an obstacle that neither US imagined: Spain

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A few days after the NATO Summit in The Hague is held, the main concern among allied leaders does not revolve around To Ukraine or Russiabut how to prevent Trump from dynamite. The US president has become the axis around which he orbits the transatlantic policy, and in an effort to maintain their support (or at least their neutrality), the organizers have compressed the format less than two days. What nobody expected was the “bomb” that It had Spain. Spain and the rearme. Yes, the planned summit has been involved in a strong tension After the firm opposition of the president of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, to the new objective of military spending that the United States seeks to impose. In a categorical letter sent to the Secretary General of the Alliance, Mark Rutte, Sánchez qualifies “Irrazonable” The claim to raise the 5% defense expense of GDP, a requirement promoted by Trump under the threat of withdrawing US military protection to countries that do not comply. The Spanish refusal is not symbolic: it calls into question the political foundations of the summit and could dynamite a consensus that It was assured Among the 32 members, at a time of deep uncertainty About him future commitment Washington with European security. The Spanish model. Sánchez argues that a hurried adoption of such a threshold would have negative consequences both economic and social. In his opinion, fulfilling 5% would force Increase taxes On the middle classes, drastically reduce essential public services and sacrifice high economic impact investments in sectors such as education, health, technological research or ecological transition. Sánchez and two dangers. The warning according to Spain is double: on the one hand, Budgetwarning of a brake to growth derived with greater indebtedness and inflation. On the other, policypointing out that this sacrifice would fall on structural pillars of the welfare state. In Your letterthe president also emphasizes that this imposed goal would lead to countries to make hurried military purchases that would only increase the dependency of non -European suppliers and would erode the industrial base of defense of the continent. Beyond the economic, Spain exposes a strategic concern about the Interoperability and operational cohesion Within the alliance if the Member States begin to rearm without a common road map. Fracture within the alliance. The Financial Times counted that the Spanish position coincides with the resistance of few other members, although most have given their support to the Rutte proposal to reach an expense of 3.5% of GDP in direct defense plus 1.5% in critical infrastructures and cybersecurity, configuring a total equivalent to 5% required by Trumpbut more nuanced. However, the Negative of Spain It arrives at a time of special institutional fragility: Trump has demonstrated manifest disinterest by multilateral summits, leaving a G7 meeting after disregarding the meetings with Zelenski and showing irritation to Macron to hinder their aspirations on Greenland. European makeup According to the New York Timesthe (re) flag -bearer definition in the matter of “rearme” has generated a mixture of confusion and discomfort among the defense ministers, many of which are not clear about what can be included or when the objective should be achieved. The result is, in the words of European analysts, a makeup operation Political: an inflated figure with inaccurate concepts to satisfy Trump without really compromising the economic and social model of several countries. According to Nathalie Toccidirector of the Institute of International Affairs of Italy, “3.5% is real and responds to the needs of NATO, 1.5% is pure theater to calm Trump.” Without compass club. The scenario also reflects other tensions. The main one: the debate has revealed deep divisions Within the alliance. Some border countries with Russia demand Accelerate spending To dissuade a possible Russian offensive in the next five years, while others (such as Canada, Italy, Spain or Luxembourg) barely have just achieved the 2% target set a decade ago (Spain or that). Germany asks A “realistic commitment” between what is necessary and the feasible, while Luxembourg denounces that the figures should not guide securitybut real capacities. The Rutte proposal Nor has it managed to clarify whether part of military aid to Ukraine can Computing as an expense Internal defensive, a key aspect for countries that wish to sustain their contribution without weakening their own national capacities. This ambiguity has led to debates about what is considered military investment and what enters the “related” spending category, leaving the land paid to opportunistic interpretationsdouble computations and/or statistical divergences that can erode mutual trust. Europe under pressure. Even if governments promised to spend more, it is not clear that the defense industry (neither European nor American) can absorb quickly Those funds. The bottleneck It is not just prosecutorbut logistics, industrial and technological. In addition, increasing spending without a common strategy could be translated In precipitated purchasesuncoordinated and focused on external suppliers, aggravating operational fragmentation. While, I remembered the Times that the Russian threat is still tangible. NATO’s intelligence services estimate that, once the war in Ukraine ends, Moscow could reconstitute an offensive force capable of directing directly to the eastern flank of the alliance within five years. We have already told it, countries as Estonia or Finland consider that There is no time to lose and demand immediate actions. However, the United Kingdom will not reach 3% to 2034 And other allies continue to drag Structural delays that question their real commitment. The structural challenge. So, Spain, one of the few allied capitals that has not even reached the current threshold of that 2%, is now in the center of a pulse strategic that transcends the budget. The Sánchez letter raises Two outputs A RUTTE: to be exempt from any new approved objective or allow a flexible formula that volunteers will volunteer the 5%goal. Thus, what is at stake is not only spending, but Shared Defense Model and the principles of balance and proportionality between allies. Historical Summit. In short, Sanchez’s letter reveals a deep crack between the strategic priorities of … Read more

In the middle of the chaos because of the environmental badges, the DGT has shown the red label to Spain. It’s excellent news

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Spain has just taken the most important step to date in relation to the legal framework for the circulation of automated vehicles. The DGT has announced the Safety and Technology Evaluation Framework Program of Automated Vehicles (ES-AV Program), The new regulatory framework under which all those operations related to Automated vehicles On traffic open. The red label. In the next few days, it is more than likely to start listening to the new “red label.” It is one that has nothing to do with the system of DGT environmental labelsready of suffering modifications by the government. Soon you will begin to see on the windshield of all that automated vehicle that wants to perform open road tests. It will be the way we will have to recognize that a vehicle, be it prototype, in pre-homologation phase or driven remotely It is moving autonomously. In the face of cameras and agents of the authority, it is the legal proof that said vehicle has the necessary authorization to circulate without physical supervision. The new legal framework. The ES-AV program is a national code that regulates how, where and under what conditions you can test with autonomous cars in Spain, without the need for human supervision on board. In it, vehicles with levels of autonomy are reflected SAE 2 A SAE 5as well as those driven remotely. There will be a total of three access and authorization systems, under the umbrella of the General Sub -Directorate of Mobility Management of the DGT itself. EEE Recognition System: Recognition of tests already authorized in other countries of the European Economic Space. Special system: independent evaluation in Spain. External evaluation system: Exceptional tests for vehicles have already obtained authorization in countries external to the EU. The test phases. The DGT establishes three test phases in its program, depending on technological maturity and the range of open road operations. Each of these phases establishes what will be the minimum requirements to be met, and it will be those responsible for the autonomous vehicles that will have to inform about which phase they want to participate. Phase 1, controlled: operational environment of up to three vehicles, not admitted vehicles with level 2 SAE of automation, mandatory that there is always a safety operator on board, restricted circulation space. Phase 2, extensive: simultaneous operation of up to 10 vehicles, operator always aboard, without restricting space. Phase 3, pre-despleger: simultaneous operation of more than 10 vehicles, optional on board, remote operator, exceptionally, it can be circulated with definitive plates from the EU. Sae 2 vehicles admitted. Transparency in data. Since the entry into force of this new legislative framework, the DGT will reflect on its website the data with the ongoing tests. In the same way, it establishes the obligation to the testers to deliver periodic reports of the operations carried out, not having detailed on the website the data that it will require in them. On the DGT website, we can observe some of the tests already carried out in Spain, as well as some that are currently underway at the hands of ALSA and the Ctag (Galicia Automotive Technology Center). A pioneer regulation. Spain has been one of the first EU countries, together with Germany and Francein creating a clear legal framework for the circulation of autonomous vehicles in test phases. However, it is important to point out that the regulatory framework supervises pre-commercial phase operations, does not authorize the use of completely autonomous vehicles. In Spain, the autonomous circulation of levels 3 and 4 is not yet regulated, and in Europe it is taking its first steps in authorized trials and restricted areas. Outside Europe there is no clear consensus. In fact, Waymo has just announced his arrival from his taxis to New York … Operated with human supervisionsince state law still does not allow the operation open to traffic of a vehicle in a 100% autonomous way. Other cities, such as California, They allow robotaxis to be operated to which we have come to. Countries like China They have advanced to the United States in this race, with Baidu announcing that their service Apollo Go has completed 11 million tripsin front of the 10 million reported by Waymo. At the moment, the step taken by Spain is not a victory, but one of the most important advances to date in this area. Image | Xataka In Xataka | While European manufacturers think about what the car of the future will be like, Huawei is already thinking about the post-coche era

Spain has become so expensive that the British are starting to choose another place for their vacations: Morocco

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When years ago a British family began to plan their summer vacation could doubt with the dates, the accommodation, with which airline flying or what clothes to put in The suitcase; But in many (many) cases what had no discussion was destiny: They were traveling to Spain. Especially to the Mediterranean coast, Balearic Islands or Canary Islands, where they were looking for sun, heat, beach, good landscapes and better food. Now that decision is no longer so clear and increasingly British choose to fly to somewhat more southern latitudes, to North Africa. The reason is simple: the price increase is leading them to change Catalonia and the Balearic Islands for Tunisia or Morocco. Issue of expenses. British tourists like Spain. A lot. And that is easy to check. He arrives with a walk through the Canary Islands, Catalonia, Balearic Islands or the Costa Blanca (to name a few destinations) or take a look at the INE data: in 2024 the flow of tourists from the United Kingdom grew 6.6% until adding 18.4 million travelers, which allowed Spain to close the year with A record of almost 94 million foreign visitors. The influx of tourists is nevertheless the only thing that grows in the sector. They also do the rates. Latest National Price Index It shows that so far this year, hostels, pensions and accommodation services have become sensitive to each other until they are placed almost 7% above a year ago. If we look back the increase is even more pronounced. RTVE Calculate that from the pandemic the hotels have increased more than 50%. Looking north of Africa. With that price increase as a backdrop and despite the considerable pull of Spain in the British market, more and more families in the United Kingdom opt for alternative destinations (and cheaper) in which to spend your vacation. And in that search they end up looking north of Africa, places like Egypt, Tunisia or Morocco. The trend was verified A few days ago The newspaper Daily Mail, although it is not really new. The sector It has been verifying how English tourists are responding to the rise in prices of Spain or Portugal Looking for more southern alternatives, in North Africa. At the end of 2024 Mirror I already reported that there were British families who were changing the Canary Islands to Egypt to enjoy their winter vacations. A percentage: 39%. Beyond the statements of the agencies and tour operators, there are a series of data that help to understand the growing interest arouses North Africa among British travelers. For example, Booking has proven that between January and May searches related to Tunisia on their platform have fired 68% compared to the same months of 2024. In the case of Egypt they have grown 64% and in that of Morocco 39%. And it is not only about plans, desires or forecasts in the medium or long term. The change is already underway. This same summer the tui uk platform has registered 30% more reservations for Egypt that a year ago. In the case of Tunisia, growth also reaches double digit and the company also recognizes a strong demand for Morocco. More interest, more flights. British airlines have quickly captured that interest and have not taken long to act accordingly, reinforcing their connections with the continent. This year it is expected that the United Kingdom airports take off 19,847 flights destined to North Africa, more than double the 8,653 registered operations before the pandemic. The connections with Spain and Portugal will also grow, but to a much lesser extent: just 10 and 9%. In that new context Morocco also plays with an extra advantage: proximity. A British who wants to fly to Alicante must invest about two and a half hours on the flight. If you want to go to Cairo the trip will last much more (almost double), but if you choose to move between London and Marrakech the journey will not reach four hours. Is there so much price difference? Yes. For a British traveling to Tunisia or Morocco translates into more flight hours, but in his favor he has the cost of accommodation. EUROWEEKLY has made calculations and assures That a seven night stay in Agadir, to the south of the country, costs about 889 pounds per person while other similar packages to stay in Mediterranean destinations in Europe, such as Marbella, Santorini or Mykonos, requires Between 1,000 and 2,700 pounds. “There is a trend, especially in the family segment, towards cheaper destinations,” explained In December a Mirror Sebastien Ebel, executive director of Tui Group, after checking how more and more people were choosing to spend their winter vacations in Egypt instead of the Canary Islands. Already by then Easyjet Holidays found an increase in demand in other African destinations, including Morocco. Prices … and something else. That more and more British imagine spending their vacations in Tunisia or Morocco instead of in the Balearic Islands or Canary Islands not only explains by the price difference. In play more factors enter. For example, the ‘democratization’ of the tourism market, with a growing group of travelers who do not give up their country despite having adjusted budgets. “We frequently see new customers with less income, but still want to travel with budgets of 800 pounds. If they do not find it in Spain, they look for alternatives,” Ebel points out. Another key is what tourists are in Tunisia, Morocco or Egyptwarm destinations, with a rich heritage, beaches, landscapes and a hotel sector that has been put the batteries In recent years and offers options that are not far from which British can be found in Spain or Portugal. The new trend also coincides with protestsIn certain points of the country, such as Balearics either Cataloniaof residents tired of the impact of mass tourism. Images | Heidi Kaden (UNSPLASH) and Calin Stan (UNSPLASH) In Xataka | The north of Spain has been complaining about mass tourism for years. Asturias has discovered … Read more

If the question is whether Spain can deny its bases to give air support to Israel, the answer is not so simple

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And suddenly, Spain. Actually, and as we will see, the country’s geographical situation makes it a kind of “technical stop” for the different military conflicts in which the United States has been. The war that is taking place In the East It is another chapter, but with the exception that, quite possibly, Spain will not enter. What raises a logical question: could it refuse to use its air bases? Reinforcements from Spain. First the news. Within the framework of the growing military escalation between Israel and Iran, the United States has discreetly intensified its deployment in the Middle East with the help of key infrastructure in Europe, including Bases in Spanish territory. It is official, since the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, confirmed that Washington has begun to use the Rota bases (Cádiz) and Morón de la Frontera (Seville) To park cistern airplanes, a measure framed in the bilateral agreements in force between the two countries. Robles said that the presence of these aerial means is carried out within the limits established by the joint defense treaties. Specifically, the agreement allows the deployment of up to 15 replenishment aircraft in Morón, although international media Like BBC They have reported the arrival of “something else”: at least 30 KC-135 aircraft In recent days, distributed between Spain, England and Scotland. Logistic support for fighters. We have come counting these days. The role of these cistern aircraft It is strategic: They allow to expand the operational scope of combat aircraft such as the F-16, F-22 and F-35 that the Pentagon has mobilized towards the Persian Gulf region. According to Reutersthis aerial reinforcement would also include the deployment of a USE USERindicating a projective combat capacity in several dimensions. Although the Secretary of State for Defense, Pete Hegseth, has insisted that it is a deployment for purposes andStrictly defensiveUS military sources have confirmed that these platforms have already been used to Interception operationsdemolishing drones and missiles launched by Iran in response to the Israeli attacks initiated the previous Friday. Reactions in Spain. No doubt, the use of Spanish military facilities by the United States It has generated restlessness within the Spanish parliamentary arch itself. Podemos has presented a Question battery In Congress to demand explanations to the Executive on the arrival, last Friday, of the cistern aircraft to the base of Morón. In their brief, they express suspicions that these facilities are being used as a logistics scale in support of military operations in favor of Israel. The party led by Ione Belarra has also questioned the government about itself I was aware Of these movements and if it supervises its purpose, putting on the table the debate on operational sovereignty and indirect involvement of Spain in an international conflict of high intensity. A Eurofighter Typhoon from Ala 11 in Morón in 2015 Legal and preceding basis. The current use of the military bases of Rota and Morón by the United States is part of a strategic relationship Started in 1953when Spain, even under the Franco dictatorship, signed the calls Madrid agreements. In exchange for financial and military aid, the installation of US bases in Spanish territory was authorized, in what was a shy international opening step. This initial network It included the bases from Zaragoza, Torrejón de Ardoz, Morón de la Frontera and broken, and constituted one of the First gestures from Spain to aspire to NATO entersomething that would not be completed until 1982 with the firm, and until 1999 with full accession to the integrated military structure of the alliance. The agreed of 88. The current legal basis that regulates the shared use of Rota and Morón It was established With the Defense Cooperation Agreement Signed on December 1, 1988 Among the governments of Felipe González and Ronald Reagan, he was finally the final of the Cold War. This text has been amended Three occasions (In 2002, 2012 and 2015) to adapt to geostrategic and operational changes. According to the Ministry of Defense, the second amendment protocol set a period of validity eight years old since its entry into force (May 21, 2013), which made it expired on May 22, 2021. However, article 69 of the agreement provides for a Annual automatic extension If none of the parties expresses its opposite will six months in advance, which has been happening until today, with Some exceptions. Rattan Operational limitations. Although US jurisdiction governs certain aspects within the perimeter of the bases, Spain retains sovereignty and political control over its strategic use. In fact, the United States cannot use the facilities unilaterally, but requires express permission from the Spanish government, as stipulated The agreement. This principle has been maintained, although in practice it has not meant obstacles during, For examplethe wars of Iraq and Afghanistan, when the governments of José María Aznar and José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero authorized their use No restrictions. Similarly, in 2021 Spain allowed both bases to temporarily welcome Afghan collaborators of the United States during his escape from Kabul. Military presence. According to the agreementUnited States can keep up to 2,200 military, 36 aircraft and 500 civilians in Morón, although the current contingent is around 600 troops. In rota, the allowed limit amounts to 4,250 military and 1,000 US civilians. These figures reflect a gradual reduction compared to previous decades, and in 2023 The transfer of the rapid response force for Africa was confirmed from Morón to A base in Italyevidencing an operational replication that directly affects the employment and economy of the nearby areas, which receive about two million euros per year in direct income of the State. Real veto capacity. Therefore, to the big question, could Spain deny the use of its air bases to the United States with respect to the Israel-Iran conflict? The short answer is that yes, in fact, There are examplesas with the return of Torrejón in 1991 and Zaragoza in 1992. Plus: In 1986, the government of Felipe González advertisement that would not automatically renew the pact, also demanding The withdrawal … Read more

The atmosphere has been stuck in a “extreme heat generator” on Spain. That means something: a hard summer

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The first fortnight of June has brought us more typical temperatures at the end of July or even August: there have been numerous days in which wide areas of the southern peninsular have seen the thermometers exceed the 40º line. The problem now is not that heat stays with us throughout the summer, the problem is that it may go more. Same trend. The heat seems determined to settle on the peninsula, or at least that is what can be detached from models such as those used by the European Center for Middle Term weather forecasts (ECMWF). To understand why, we have to look higher towards the atmosphere. About 1,500 meters high. According to Explain The physicist, disseminator and researcher at Aemet JJ German in his account Twitterwe have the track in the forecasts on the temperature at height at 850 hectopascales (HPA), which usually refer to an approximate height in the atmosphere of 1,500 meters, the low troposphere zone. The temperature at this level tends to be related to the temperature that we see at soil level, so it can serve as a reference for how temperatures will evolve in the coming days. According to data shared by German, we not only find a temperature above the climatological average (an anomaly above the 5th Celsius), but the situation will last, with the possibility that this anomaly approaches 10th towards the end of June. “This is barbarity: far from returning to balance as normal, atmospheric dynamics on the Iberian Peninsula seem to get stuck in an extreme heat generator,” explained in its publication. Looking at the map. If we focus on The map Prepared by ECMWF, we will also see that heat will remain foreseeably installed on our heads. The forecasts indicate that during the next ten days the almost entire peninsula will be under the influence of temperatures above 20º to 850 HPA, with large areas above the 24th and with some points, the 28th barrier temporarily exceeds. What’s happening. In a second TweetGerman explained what is happening. According to the expert, a Dana located west of the peninsula and a dorsal (an extension of high pressures associated with an anticyclone) would be responsible for the situation. A situation that would be seeing aggravated by the low atmospheric movement, thus achieving what German refers as a “static equilibrium point.” The result: heat and more heat. The result is the intuitive: this warm episode seems to be sentenced to extend over time, at least during the next week. The maximum in a large part of the Peninsular South They could stay above 36º and promptly above 40º. In Xataka | At the end of May we reached 40ºC: it is only the appetizer of the decimer summer a consecutive warmer than normal according to aemet Image | ECMWF

An island wants to unite Spain and be the autonomous community number 18. The problem is that it belongs to the USA

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It We count A while ago, in front to secessionismboth in Europe and in other continents we find the face of the other currency: movements that what they are looking for is the union against separation. One of them has sounded again these days. Actually, It is not newbut it always gives speaking in the case of a territory Very particular from the United States … and want to be part of Spain. Union is strength. As we said, this Another face of the currency travels shared historical and historical narratives, from the desire of the Moldavos to return to the body of a Romania with which They share languageculture and past, even, as we will see, in the echoes of Imperial nostalgia of some Puerto Ricans who, in a gesture as unusual as revealing, imagine their future not in the 51st star of the American flag, but as an autonomous community number 18 from Spain. Examples There are moresince Tyrol del Sur has revived in the past old belongings Habsburg-Germanic when dreaming of a Reintegration in Austriawhile The “Great Albania” Ethnic-national ghosts were revived yet lit In the Balkans. He Iberismmore lyrical than political, evoked the peninsular union between Spain and Portugal, sustained more by nostalgic intellectuals than by movements with real citizen traction. In parallel, The “Great Hungary” He kept beating on the margins of Magaria nationalism, especially among the Hungarians who were out of the borders after the TRIANON TREATYand in Valonia, a small game dreams of return to France a strip of the old Napoleonic space. The same end. All these movements, although of little practical viability, reveal that identities not only fragment: sometimes too They seek to reconstituteas if the map of Europe, far from stabilizing, was still an unfinished canvas where some villages aspire to join beyond the borders they have to live. Let’s put as an example the Puerto Rico case. A historical link. Among the embers of a Empire that dissolved More than a century ago, there are still territories and movements that, by conviction or nostalgia, aspire to restore the political ties that one day united them to the Spanish crown. This is the case of Puerto Rico, an archipelago that for more than 400 years was an integral part of the Spanish empire and that, after the effects of the Spanish-American war in 1898, was ceded to the United States. Since then, the island has lived in an ambiguous legal status as Associated free state: It is not an independent nation, but neither a sovereign state within the American Federation. In that institutional limbo the MOVEMENT AWARD MEASURESa group that proposes, in a serious although controversial, that Puerto Rico returns to Spain and becomes its autonomous community number eighteen. In other words, the initiative seeks to activate historical, sentimental and legal springs to reverse the course taken more than a century ago, challenging both the structure of the Spanish State and the constitutional rigidity of the United States. Legal obstacles. Obviously it is not so simple. In fact, the legal reality is relentless against the aspirations of the movement. The United States Constitution prohibits any form of territorial secession that is not mediated by Congress, which annuls the possibility of Puerto Rico abandoning its link with Washington without a highly unlikely legal process. On the other hand, Spain lacks a mechanism in its order that contemplates the Incorporation of a territory foreign as a new autonomous community. Although activists They denounce a blackout Informative that prevents the dissemination of their message within Puerto Rico, they claim to have the 16.3% support of the population (figure not verified by independent studies). There is no game. In addition, and very important, being constituted as a cultural association and not as a political party (a limitation imposed by US legislation on entities with proposals incompatible with their federal system) cannot attend elections or develop institutional political activity. All this gives the movement a more symbolic than pragmatic, more provocative than realizable. Background questions. Be that as it may, and despite the obvious limitations, AWAY MEETING Open a peculiar window on the perception of identity in Puerto Rico. In a territory where there is no Right to vote By the president of the United States, where American citizenship is granted without full representation and where Spanish remains the maternal language of the majority, there are sectors that feel culturally closer to Hispanic Europe than to the Anglo -Saxon universe. The phenomenon, although minority, Old debates revives On decolonization, self -determination and belonging, not only from a legal perspective, but also from an emotional, historical and linguistic. Image | Pexels In Xataka | The ghost of secessionism travels Europe In Xataka | A Caribbean island causes a new exodus of millionaires: Puerto Rico

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