Spain is blocking the notification of the European electoral law that has been agreed by both co-legislators for years. The new electoral law provides for a national blocking clause of between two and five percent in each Member State. Sven Simon (CDU), Chairman of the Constitutional Committee (AFCO): “Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has assured small […]
The political instability in Portugal continues after Sunday’s parliamentary elections. Luis Montenegro of the Christian Democratic PSD, the previous Prime Minister, did win the elections. Montenegro won 32.7 percent of the vote and won 89 seats (plus nine) with the Democratic Alliance (AD). That is more than the united left. However, he has no chance […]
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, who belongs to the Christian Democratic Partido Social Democrata (PSD), will face a vote of confidence that is likely to lead to the fall of his minority government in Portugal. President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will then have to decide whether to call new elections just one year after […]
Spain is far from reaching the NATO targets for defense spending. At 1.28 percent of GDP, Spanish military spending is below the two percent agreed in 2014 and far from the five percent demanded by US President Donald Trump. Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte has called on the allies to reach the two percent target […]
Germany remains in recession for the second year in a row. According to preliminary figures from the Federal Statistical Office, Europe’s largest economy shrank by 0.2% in 2024, after GDP had already fallen by 0.3% in 2023. Economists also expect little momentum for the new year, meaning that the former driving force of the eurozone […]
After seven years abroad, Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont has returned to Barcelona. Despite a large police presence, he was not arrested during a public speech in front of thousands of supporters in Barcelona on Thursday and has since gone into hiding. The 61-year-old announced that he wanted to revive efforts to achieve Catalonia’s independence […]
After almost seven years in exile in Belgium, Carles Puigdemont from the separatist Junts party wants to return to Spain. This is a risky move, as the separatist leader faces arrest if he enters the country. Puigdemont was elected regional president of Catalonia in 2016. He initiated a referendum and then proclaimed independence from Spain. […]
The leader of the Spanish far-right, Santiago Abascal, has broken the governing alliance between Vox and the People’s Party (PP) in the regions of Valencia, Aragon, Murcia, Extremadura and Castile and León. Vox has been in the regional governments for just one year. The PP had agreed to take in 347 underage migrants. Abascal then […]
António Costa’s track record as Portuguese head of government and his good relations with his European colleagues are some of his strongest credentials. His decision to resign from office has also earned him respect. In November, the public prosecutor’s office linked his name to the so-called Operation Influencer – based on “vague and contradictory” suspicions, […]
In the dispute over the controversial amnesty law, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has bowed to the demands of Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont. The Socialists (PSOE) and the separatist parties Junts and Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) agreed on four important amendments to the law last week. They are to be passed in Congress […]