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Local Spain
09-07-2025
- Business
- Local Spain
How Spain plans to stamp out planned obsolescence
Spain's leftist coalition government is to try and take on the big tech model of 'planned obsolescence', the practice of allowing technology to quickly become outdated or non-functional and therefore require users to buy newer models. The practice often ensures that old parts, such as batteries, are no longer manufactured so older models cannot be repaired. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs wants to limit the practice through measures such as incentivising the repair of electrical appliances during the legal warranty period and creating an online platform that provides access to trusted repair services. The idea is to try and protect consumers and provide them with easy access to repairs rather than buying new models. The Ministry headed by Pablo Bustinduy of the far-left Sumar party has included the idea in a draft bill of the Sustainable Consumption Act, which was recently approved by the Council of Ministers. In the text are several measures to extend the life of electrical appliances by encouraging repairs during the legal warranty period by increasing them by a year when the consumer opts for repair instead of replacement when using the warranty. In addition, the manufacturer, distributor or importer, if from outside the EU, will be obliged to cover 20 percent of the cost of repairs during the first two years after the end of the legal warranty. This will be reduced to 10 percent if three years have passed since the end of the warranty, and to 5 percent in the fourth year. Another tool being considered is repair vouchers for consumers, as well as plans to create an online platform where consumers can access trusted repairers in an affordable and free manner to request quotes and repairs. The draft bill still has several requirements to meet before returning to La Moncloa and being brought to the Congress of Deputies. The bill must first be submitted to a public hearing so that civil society including consumer organisations and manufacturers' associations can make their contributions. It will also be put to the Consumer and User Council, the representative body for consumer organisations. Reports will also have to be requested from institutions such as the Council of State and the Economic and Social Council (CES) and the opinions of regional authorities will also be sought. Sources consulted estimate that it will take 'around six months' for the bill to actually reach the Congress of Deputies.


Yomiuri Shimbun
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
As Trump Shuts out Migrants, Spain Opens Its Doors and Fuels Economic Growth
MADRID – When night falls on the other side of the Atlantic, her 32-year-old cousin, a house cleaner in New York, huddles inside a dim basement apartment, terrified of ICE raids. But in a burgeoning quarter of the Spanish capital, where immigrant-staffed restaurants tempt newcomers with Dominican chicharrones and Venezuelan empanadas, Edith Chimbo sat in the sunlight, musing about the Spanish Dream. 'My cousin told me, 'Go to Spain'' said Chimbo, 22, who landed in Madrid earlier this year from the Ecuadorian highlands. Armed with a college degree but no work permit, she's cleaning houses under the table, just like her cousin in the United States. Yet she is counting on something in the weeks ahead that her kin almost certainly cannot: legalization. 'Here,' she said, 'we have hope.' As the Trump administration's crackdown on immigrants and asylum seekers brings tear gas, protests and raids to the streets of the United States, Spain is positioning itself as a counterpoint: a new land of opportunity. In this nation of 48 million with long colonial links to the New World, an influx of predominantly Latin American immigrants is helping fuel one of the fastest-growing economies in Europe. The Spanish economic transformation is unfolding as the center-left government of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has streamlined immigration rules while offering legal status to roughly 700,000 irregular migrants since 2021. A landmark bill now being negotiated in the Congress of Deputies could grant legal amnesty to hundreds of thousands more – most of them Spanish-speakers from predominantly Catholic countries in Latin America. Those newcomers often enjoy visa-free travel to Spain, even as Madrid controversially works with Morocco, Mauritania and other countries to block irregular arrivals from the African coast, though Sánchez has also called for tolerance toward migrants fleeing poverty and violence in Africa. Spain's approach is attracting at least some migrants rejected or barred from the United States, including Venezuelans who are now subject to President Donald Trump's travel ban. The number of Venezuelans applying for humanitarian protection in Spain surged to 36,923 between January and May, a 36.4 percent spike from the same period last year. With no visa requirements, all Venezuelans need is a valid passport and a plane ticket. In May, the most recent period available, applicants enjoyed a 98.6 percent acceptance rate. 'My hopes and plans for the United States ended overnight,' said Alexander Salazar, 34, a Venezuelan living in Peru who found out in February that his U.S. visa, on humanitarian grounds as an LGBTQ+ migrant, had been suspended. His plan now is to join other family and friends who have already left for Spain. 'That's where my road leads,' he said by telephone from Lima. Sira Rego, a minister in Sánchez's government, said she was glad to see immigrants choosing Spain. 'It makes me feel a certain pride because it represents the kind of country we want to build: a welcoming country with rights.' Sánchez now finds his party embroiled in a political corruption scandal that has sparked calls for new elections. Still, Spanish lawmakers across the political spectrum have adopted a less demonizing approach toward immigration – at least from some countries – than many of their American and European counterparts. Even the far-right Vox party has appeared moderately welcoming of some Spanish-speaking, culturally similar immigrants from Latin America. Spain, which like most European countries has an aging population, for decades was more a source of outward emigration than a destination for immigrants. It first emerged as a tempting target for foreign job seekers during its economic boom in 2000s. More recently, it has experienced a historic post-pandemic surge, with 2.67 million people born outside the European Union arriving between 2021 and 2023 – an 85 percent increase compared with the previous three year period. Many of its immigrants, particularly from Latin America, arrive legally, either with work or student permits or as tourists, and later seek to change their status. Yet the country still harbors a hidden mass of migrants without legal permission to work. The government has no official figure of how many could be legalized under the new bill, but estimates suggest anywhere from 600,000 to 1 million. Critics point to Spain's unemployment rate – over 10 percent, the highest in the European Union, though less than half what it was a decade ago – as evidence that welcoming migrants is wrongheaded. They argue it suppresses wage growth, increases competition for Spanish workers and threatens Spanish identity. Some opinion polls also show a hardening public stance on migration. Yet the legislative amnesty push came not from a government plan but a grassroots effort backed by civil actors including small-town mayors, companies, migrant advocates and the Catholic church. Spain also has a history of normalizing irregular migrants who can prove steady work, with the last large-scale amnesty under the center-left government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero in 2005. Should Sánchez survive the corruption crisis – and Spain's economy continue to thrive – his policies could set up this nation as the antithesis of Trump's America: a migrant-friendly progressive paradise. Under Sánchez, Spain has leaned in as few other nations to diversity, equity and inclusion. A new government rule effective May 1 compels companies with more than 50 employees to enact antidiscrimination policies protecting LGBTQ+ workers. The government is also forging a close economic relationship with Beijing, generating large-scale investment including Chinese auto giant Chery's first factory in Europe. No policy has been as transformative to Spanish society as the stance on immigration, which officials and economists say is helping to reverse population decline and boost social welfare funding at a moment when baby boomers are retiring. Immigration is also helping drive the strongest period of economic growth since Spain's construction boom in the mid-2000s. Between 2022 and 2024, average GDP per capita increased 2.9 percent – the strongest of the E.U.'s four largest economies. A report published this year by the Bank of Spain estimates that up to 25 percent of that growth was linked to the influx of foreign workers paying taxes, filling jobs, renting homes and purchasing goods and services. 'Spain is a complete anomaly, a country where the government is easing the arrival of migrants, and migrants have been absolutely existential to the dynamism of the economy,' said Gonzalo Fanjul, co-founder at porCausa Foundation, a research group on migrant issues. Experts and officials say the arrival of large numbers of Latin American immigrants, who speak Spanish and are overwhelmingly Catholic, has led to fewer societal divisions over assimilation than in countries like Sweden or Germany, which have experienced a large influx of Muslims. 'I really doubt that there is any other country in the world where migration is playing as much a role in economic growth right now as it is in Spain,' said Juan Cerruti, an Argentine émigré to Spain and now the global chief economist at Madrid-based Banco Santander. Immigrants are filling labor gaps not only in Spain's lower-wage tourism, construction and agricultural sectors, but also in the more highly skilled tech and medical sectors. In an office park on the edge of Valencia, companies such as Avantio, a digital services and software provider for the tourism industry, have leveraged Spain's streamlined immigration rules to employ foreigners and grow business. Company officials say they have turned to foreign labor for positions that otherwise might take up to a year to fill. Almost 73 percent of the company's hires in 2024 were born outside Spain, mostly in Latin America. 'We hire people from outside because we need them, we don't differentiate' based on where they are from, said Rebeca Jorge, Avantio's director of human resources. Spain has also changed its rules to help legalize the status of migrants with proof of long-term work, to ease access to work visas for new immigrants, to loosen work restrictions on student visa-holders and to simplify family reunification rules. Those simplified rules could aide Chimbo, whose mother immigrated from Ecuador to Spain a decade ago and became a citizen. Chimbo arrived on a three-month visa in April and is now applying for long-term legal status and the right to work through family reunification. She said she is confident that if that fails, the amnesty legislation could aid her. Before arriving, she considered following her cousin to the United States – a path Chimbo's father tried before being detained and deported from Texas last year. Speaking on a video phone from her dark basement apartment in a New York City suburb, her cousin Cristina said she warned Chimbo away from the United States. 'I'm afraid all the time now … whenever I'm outside, taking the bus to work … I'm afraid,' said Cristina, who is trying to apply for asylum but frets about her chances. 'I've seen the videos. I've seen what they're doing to migrants in the U.S.,' Chimbo said. 'Here, my biggest fear is Mondays, when I have to go to work.' Two hundred and twenty-five miles east of Madrid, in the orange blossom-tinged air of Valencia, men from Colombia, Ecuador, Morocco, Senegal and a host of other countries labored on crews rebuilding infrastructure and erecting new apartments following the devastating floods that hit the region in October. This year, Spain offered legal status to more than 22,000 irregular migrants in the affected area – helping populate an army of construction workers and filling other key jobs in the rebuilding effort. It was a decision driven by humanitarian concern for migrants unable to access government aid following the disaster. But it was also driven by pragmatism. 'I asked the Spanish government for this,' said José Vicente Morata, president of the Valencia Chamber of Commerce. 'We needed these people to have an identification number, the number to be able to exist in Spain. There was a bottleneck in the procedures, [and] we needed workers.' The region has now evolved into a mini-test case of Spain's legalization efforts. After the floods, Gerardo López Mateu, mayor of the nearby village of Real, struggled to find workers willing to work in the town's ongoing cleanup effort. He had four positions open – three of them now filled by migrants. 'We still can't fill the fourth job,' he said. There are some jobs that 'Spaniards just don't want to do.' One of his workers is Ibra Bayane, a 24-year-old Senegalese who arrived in Spain by sea in 2021, living ever since off the precariously shadow economy. He'd pick oranges or deliver food. At best, he said, he'd earn the equivalent of $35 a day. As a documented migrant, he has been able to get a driver's license for the first time and access basic medical care. Now, he can also travel back to Senegal to visit family without risk. His salary is no fortune – 60 euros a day – about $70 – for cleanup work in the hot southern Spanish sun. But it's twice what he was earning before – and enough to afford a small room with a vase of fresh flowers on a desk, and a large window that brings a cooling breeze. 'My life is better now,' he said. 'I can live.'


Euronews
15-05-2025
- Science
- Euronews
Spain identifies power failure 'ground zero' in Iberian blackout probe
Spain's investigation into the blackout that affected the Iberian Peninsula in late April revealed initial power generation failures in three Spanish provinces — Granada, Badajoz, and Seville, Minister for Ecological Transition Sara Aagesen told the Spanish Congress of Deputies on Wednesday. The substation in Granada was ground zero, and the power failure caused a loss of 2.2 gigawatts of electricity, causing a chain of grid disconnections. The cause of the substations' failures remains unknown at this time. During her speech at the plenary session, Aagesen said that the ongoing investigation has ruled out several hypotheses, including that the massive outage that started on 28 April was due to coverage, backup, or network size. The government is acting seriously to get to the bottom of it, Aagesen reiterated. "The government is working with rigour and not making hypotheses, because that is what the Spanish people deserve. Rigour and truth," she explained. The findings are the first clear conclusions to be made public after more than two weeks since the blackout that saw Spain and Portugal grind to a halt. Aagesen said this remains "an extremely complex investigation" because "millions of bits of data" are being analysed. At the same time, the energy minister pointed out that, according to the data available, half an hour before the blackout, "two oscillations in the Iberian system with the rest of the European continent" were recorded. This observation coincides with preliminary reports from the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E), which pointed to "two periods of power and frequency swings in the synchronous area of continental Europe." Aagesen has assured that the government will continue "relentlessly" to "identify the causes" of this "extremely complex" incident, which "does not come with simple explanations".


Local Spain
14-05-2025
- Business
- Local Spain
How Spain's 75% flight discount for Canary and Balearic residents works
For residents in Spain's Canary Islands, Balearic Islands or, in some cases, Ceuta and Melilla (more on the specifics of that below), there's a 75 percent discount available on flights to the mainland and some baggage costs. The idea behind the scheme is to reduce costs for residents of these separate Spanish territories as flights and ferries to mainland Spain can be very expensive, especially during peak season. In fact, it's often cheaper to book a return flight from to the UK to Tenerife or Mallorca than it is from those islands to Madrid or Barcelona. For many Canary and Balearic residents, this is essential travel for personal or professional reasons, and having to fork out huge amount to travel to the majority of Spanish cities puts them at a big disadvantage economically. The descuento de residente de islas (discount for island residents) started in 1994 for Canary residents and in 1997 in the Balearics. Spain's Congress of Deputies recently approved a bill which included an allocation of a further €319 million to compensate airlines, suggesting that the rebate system is here to stay. It also follows reports in the Spanish press that some non-resident foreigners have been benefiting from the offer when they shouldn't. So how does Spain's 75 percent flight discount for Canary and Balearic residents work? So, how does it actually work? These are the requirements according to Ryanair's rulebook: The 75 percent resident subsidy is applicable to: Residents registered on the padrón (town hall registration) in the Balearic/Canary Islands travelling between their region of residence and any other part of the Spanish state territory. Residents of Ceuta travelling between Seville, Málaga or Jerez and any other part of the Spanish territory. Members of Parliament and the Senate of the Balearic Islands/Canary Islands or Ceuta travelling on government business. Passengers requesting this discount must have a residency travel certificate (certificado de viaje) issued by their local town hall of the municipality in which they reside that is valid for the entire period of travel. This is different to the padrón document. Residency information you provide during the booking process will be shared with Spain's Ministry of Public Works and Transport. If you receive pre-validation of your residency documents before completing your booking, you will not be required to present your residency certificate at the airport. Otherwise you will have to show the certificado de viaje at the check-in counter If your residency document was not validated during the booking process, you will be required to present one, along with your DNI/NIE, before proceeding to the boarding gate. In order to get the discount, depending on your nationality you'll need one of several documents to prove your residency in the case it's not pre-approved: Spanish citizens: a valid empadronamiento certificate and a valid national identity card/passport. Spanish citizens under 14 years of age without ID: a valid empadronamiento. EU/EEA/Swiss citizens: a valid empadronamiento and a valid national identity card/passport issued by their country of origin. Family members of EU citizens: a valid residence permit indicating your status as a family member of an EU citizen. Non-EU citizens with a long-term residence permit: a valid empadronamiento certificate together with a valid residence permit indicating long-term resident status. Basically if you're from a non-EU country you won't have the right to the travel discount while you hold temporary residence. Note that Ryanair specifically says: "if any of the passengers in the booking are non-residents, they must book separately" and can therefore not benefit from the 75 percent discount. All airlines operating flights between Spain's two archipelagos and mainland Spain will have the discount option available on their websites, usually at the initial stage when you're choosing the flight dates and other key details, so don't to tick it if this applies to you.


United News of India
08-05-2025
- Business
- United News of India
Spain to invest over $3.3bln in cybersecurity as part of defense plan
Madrid, May 8 (UNI) Spain will spend about 3 billion euros ($3.39 billion) on developing cybersecurity as part of a new plan for the industrial and technological modernization of the kingdom's security and defense sector, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said. "We are talking about an industrial and technological plan for security and defense ... What is planned to be done? It [the plan] provides for the allocation of 3 billion euros to combat threats by developing cybersecurity systems based on artificial intelligence and quantum computing, in which Spain, fortunately, is well versed," Sanchez said on Wednesday in a speech to the Congress of Deputies, the lower house of the parliament. Spain faces more than a thousand cyberattacks on critical infrastructure facilities every year, Sanchez noted, adding that the funds will also be used to strengthen the army's telecommunications capabilities, create new communications satellites, modernize radar systems and introduce 5G networks. As part of the overall defense plan approved by the government, Spain will increase defense spending to 2% of GDP in 2025, including by redirecting part of the funds from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. Total investment in security and defense next year will amount to 33.1 billion euros. UNI SPUTNIK GNK