Spain News Media

[Spain]

ISSOLA (GSSA) AND MARTÍN GALLEGO (ASMSA) MEET IN GIBRALTAR TO ANALYZE MEASURES

Albert Issola (L), GSSA Director and Francisco Martín Gallego (R), ASMSA Director

Albert Issola, Councillor for Digital, Financial Services and Public Utilities of Gibraltar and Francisco Martín Gallego, Councillor for Innovation, Industry, Transport and Commerce of the autonomous community of Cantabria are both meeting in Gibraltar this morning to discuss about possible measures that could be taken to enforce payments and in other areas like borders or flora and fauna conservation. The Cantabrian Councillor has arrived on the first flight of the morning into Gibraltar and has been received by the Gibraltar Strait Security Agency director. Then, both have got into a Government car and headed into the Gibraltar's Digital, Financial Services and Public Utilities.

The meeting is taking place after the European Council, with a proposal of the Reitzmic Deputy Councillor Yahontov taken both taxing cases into a discussion and proposed sanctions to Spain, along with the elimination of tax. This continues former Reitzmic Councillor van Allen wish to destroy both taxes with the European Maritime Standarts Act 2020 proposal, which was refused by an 8-0 vote with the own Reitzmic Councillor voting again. The meeting, which is expected to last 3 or 4 hours, will be also writing an statement which is expected to be published this afternoon. Whatever the outcome is, the Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation will be covering the event until something is announced.

Meanwhile, the Minister for Overseas Territories and Missions and Straits is suspected to be in Gibraltar aswell and could be taking part in the meeting taking place at the moment on Gibraltar. Teodoro García Egea has been following the debate on the European Council very carefully and, according to the Ministry sources, Spain is not going to give up anything if no laws are established or Moriagaru doesn't wake up. He has been speaking to Councillor Tusk lately, and for a long time he has been looking to the Adventuranza Strait situation. Meanwhile, the opposition to the Government has expressed their support to whatever action is taken, except for VOX, which has said the tax must go and they would remove it. The President, who is travelling to Catalonia today, will be giving a Press Conference but nobody knows if he will address the topic.

[Spain]

THE SNP WINS THE AUTONOMICAL ELECTION IN SCOTLAND

Full results of the Scottish Election

The Scottish National Party, led by the current First Minister of Scotland (the equivalent to an autonomous community's president) Nicola Sturgeon, has won the Scottish election standing just one short of majority, but likely regaining power with the support of the nationalist Scottish Greens, coalited with Más País. Ms. Sturgeon, who promised to force the Spanish Government to hurry up on the procedures concerning the full autonomy status for Scotland, has called this a historical result that should never be forgiven by any of the parties that ran on this election.

Jesús Aguilar congratulated Nicola Sturgeon after the result was revealed, as well as announcing the elected First Minister that the King, Felipe VI, would travel to Scotland the following Tuesday, in order to visit the Scottish troops and having a summit with the Scottish autorities. Meanwhile, within its territorial mess, the Kingdom of Spain continues to figure out what to do with all the territorial entities that have not yet been included within the autonomous status recognised by the Constitution; a proof the well-known Transición only ended for the non-forgotten parts of Spain, while the rest awaits their autonomy.

[Spain]

JUNCKER CONFIRMS HE WILL RUN FOR PREMIER COMMISSIONER

The whole of Europe loves him, and now he wants to go a step further

When Juncker was forced to leave the European Commission because of term limits, he published a book called "I'll come back", in which he said he wanted to run for Premier Commissioner if the European Progressive Alliance allowed him to do so and if he thought he was still able to be the European Union's most powerful man. Yesterday evening, his press team announced that a very important press conference would be taking place this morning in Europolis. The main reason of summoning the press: an important announcement from Jean-Claude Juncker referring the European Commission Elections which are coming as soon as the month ends. Just a few minutes after Dr. Walter Cocx released his statement saying he would not rerun for Premier Commissioner, Juncker appeared on the press conference room alone, with no papers.

"Good morning and thank you for coming, I really appreciate you still pay attention to this old man"; said Juncker, making the journalists there laugh for some seconds along with him. The press conference, which seemed to be done in order to present the 2nd part of his memories (mostly every journalist there had carried the book to get a sign from the former Commissioner and now candidate for Premier), suddenly changed to a political atmosphere, with the foreign media writing fast to their bosses to announce what was a matter of minutes to be announced. Everyone competiting to be the first news channel to publish such an announcement from the former Internal Affairs Commissioner, but they all wanted to confirm if he was going to run under the Eeuropean Progressive Alliance umbrella.

"If you have read my book, you will all know what I am doing here this morning; while if you haven't, you will have to wait a few more minutes to discover what's going on, but don't worry, there will be autographs for everyone." Juncker said, before getting into the main matter: "As you might now, I was born to be a public servant: during all my life, I've served my region, my autonomous community, my country and I have served Europe. Some said I should run for Councillor and Donald (Tusk) should run for Commission, but I didn't want to do the most dangerous job in the European Union, nor I wanted him to lose all of his progress. And neither does him, don't you Donald?" Asked Juncker to the Spanish Councillor, who was seated just in front of the Premier Commission candidate. Tusk started to laugh and denied he wanted to run for Commission with his finger.

After that, Juncker kept on going: "So, that's why today I have decided to announce my candidacy to become the next European Union's Premier Commissioner. This hasn't been a difficult decision, but an easy one: I will always serve Europe, until the very end. I will run along with the European Progressive Alliance, and all that I can anticipate is that I'm going to put forward a very diverse platform, that can host people from any country of Europe. The rest will just remain secret until the campaign starts. But my message remains the same: Europe needs to forget about the fascists versus communists battles, and has to work towards integration and solidarity. I also want to wish the best of luck to Mr. Cocx, who has recently announced he won't run for re-election. Even if I disagree with him on some things, like the Sanctioning Powers Act, he deserves the best treatment from a former Commissioner and a Commission candidate."

Finally, Juncker answered some journalists' questions, signed autographs and left the room where the news were announced. We all know a massive part of the European Union's citizens love him, as we all know Jean-Claude Juncker doesn't do this to gain power, but to do a better Europe in his opinion (many agree, some doesn't). Will he be able to win Europe's most powerful place, or will he be defeated? Just a month left to discover if he becomes Premier Commissioner, to discover if Juncker comes back.

[Spain]

EXCLUSIVE - CORINNA'S NIGHT OF PASSION AND FIRE WITH CZECH MINISTER ŠÍN

Corinna, photographed last month in a very exclusive party at Ibiza

Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, mostly known as Corinna Larsen or Europe's most satisfied woman, has been caught in Prague (Czech Slavia) this morning exiting a very luxurious and known hotel along with the Czech Minister of Culture, Karel Šín. Both didn't realise about the presence of paparazis behind the cars parked in front of the very discreet alley. This news haven't been yet reported by the Czech media, which aren't expect to report or publish these news concerning their Minister.

With this man, Corinna has achieved a new record: 3 men in less than a year: After the King Juan Carlos had to leave Spain into Nofoaga, she adopted Renata as a name and tricked the regionwide known Spanish-Inquistan man, El Capitán Juan Bernardo Fernández-Velázquez. His wife, Mikaela Klienberg, Archbishop of Inquista, heard about these news while being in Spain, according to close fonts to the Archbishop. In the EuroVoice 40 show, which was hosted in Nueva Antequera, we were able to see her trying to persuade the Reitzmic Prime Minister, Simon Bridges, without success. Now, it was Karel Šín, an actor who left Spain after his drug addiction and played a role in the Spanish comedy show "Jersey", who fell into Corinna's beauty and habilities.

[Spain]

BREAKING - AGUILAR PRESS CONFERENCE: "2 DIPLOMATS' DEATHS ARE ENOUGH TO SEND THE ARMY TO CONTROL THE SITUATION"

When you travel abroad, Spain is referred as the country where we all live happily and peacefully. Now, the situation in El Rif, a Spanish protectorate which main etnicity is Arabic, changes everything: last night, the known millionaire Abdul Al-Rasheed, interrupted all the local private TV channels broadcast to give a speech to the people of el Rif. In that speech, he announced the creation of 'the Kingdom of Huriyah' as well as the establishment of a terrorist group which, according to Al-Rasheed words, pretends to kill the President and his family's lifes, "one by one, cutting their heads and shooting them in the fields" of El Rif; along with killing any single Spaniard that's left on El Rif.

Last night, the Minister for Home Affairs announced El Rif's airports had been shot down and meanwhile, the Guardia Civil would control every single road which exited El Rif into any of the neighbouring autonomous communities from a safe distance. The army in those communities has also been instructed to protect the police officers and shoot to death any person trying to end with the police or the soldier's life. The Minister also wanted to thank a 'foreign actor' for "helping Spain to be alert on the actions that have taken place on El Rif", but not referring to any country in particular.

Today, President Jesús Aguilar has given a Press Conference in Moncloa with the same security as always, something which experts qualify as unusual. He has "no fear to those that threaten him", because he thinks "being scared is the worst thing a victim can do". He has also ordered the Army on El Rif to stop this Coup d'Etat attempt and ordered the submission of the Section 155 of the Spanish Constitution about the Autonomy suppression. Finally, he has made the following statement: "Two young diplomats, aged 27 and 29, were kidnapped, raped and killed in Mustafa Begum's palace. Their names were María and Antonio, and both had recently ended their Master's degree in El Rif. These 2 deaths are more than enough to send the army to control the situation, and I want to send a message to both Begum and Al-Rasheed. You better hide or run away to somewhere else in Europe, because we are not letting you free after killing 2 young people with a bright future ahead."

[Spain]

PAY FOR YOUR DOG: GOVERNMENT INTRODUCES NEW DOG TAX

They might be cute, but you will now have to pay for them

The Spanish Government has recently passed a bill within the Council of Ministers to tax dogs, and now both the Congreso de los Diputados and the Senado have given the bill the green light needed. From the 1st July, dog owners will have to pay 10 EMUS a month per dog, in order to fund the Spanish Government budget from other minor taxes. According to recent data collected by the Instituto Nacional de Estadísitica (INE), and in co-operation with the autonomous communities, there are around 25 million dogs in Spain, with a registered owner, which could make the Government earn an extra 3 billion EMUS revenue for the yearly budget.

This tax, according to the Minister for Climate Change, Environment, Rural Development and Demographic Challenge, Jaime de Olano, won't make dogs neglects increase, but decrease: "if you want a dog, you will need to pay a tax for it, so you won't get one unless you can afford it. And for those that want to abadon their dogs, I would like to remember them that's illegal." Since the animal welfare law was passed last week, animal protectives are able to request extra funds to the Government, which they thank, but they disagree with the government on this tax: "The main interest might sound stupid, but it's prioritizing humans over animals, again. Why don't you need to pay a tax for a baby but you'll need to pay one for a dog, whcih can be seen as a baby aswell?" asks one dog owner who is a volunteer for an dogs protective, which by the way, are exempt from paying the tax.

Of course, that is another reason the Government gave to pass this tax. According to Minister De Olano, who was the Minister in charge of defending the proposal in the Congreso, "rural development and pensions won't be payed by getting a pet, but by having babies. The rural world needs babies, so does the cities' world. Having dogs won't help our country to solve its rural challenge, and this tax is necessary to stop the tendency towards having less babies than getting a dog per year. I'll tell you an interesting fact: at the moment, there are more dogs than babies in Madrid, the capital city of our country, which is worrying and should be worried." Despite the Minister effort, only Ciudadanos supported the proposal, which made it go forward to the Senate. So we will see for how long does this new tax last.

[Spain]

THE GOVERNMENT TO DECIDE THIS FRIDAY ON PARDONING CATALAN POLITICIANS; CIUDADANOS THREATS TO TAKE THE GOVERNMENT DOWN IF THEY DO SO

The Minister for Justice, Rafael Catalá, on the Congreso de los Diputados

The Spanish Government will decide this Friday on wether to pardon or not the Catalan politicians that were jailed back in 2019 due to crimes of rebellion (in Puigdemont's case), sedition and embezzlement of public funds. Carles Puigdemont, Oriol Junqueras, Jordi Sànchez, Raül Romeva, Jordi Turull, Dolors Bassa, Carme Forcadell, Joaquim Forn, Josep Rull, Jordi Cuixart, Clara Ponsatí, Toni Comín, Lluis Puig, Anna Gabriel, Marta Rovira and Meritxell Serret. All of them were involved in the well-known "Procès indepentista de Catalunya", which ended up with sentences from 17 to 9 years and 3 fines for Carles Mundó, Meritxell Borràs and Santiago Vila. All of them were as well made unable to practice any civil service position during some years.

The President, who has visited Catalonia during the last weeks and met with Salvador Illa, President of the Generalitat de Catalunya; as well as meeting with the Episcopal Conference, the Catalan management and the Catalan trade Unions, which informed the Spanish President that the pardoning of the Catalan politicians is "necessary in order to tackle the last pieces of the procès". The chance couldn't be better: the Partit dels Socialistes de Catalunya controls the power of Catalonia and there's a Constitutionalist majority on the Parlament de Catalunya.

But pardoning them would put Aguilar on a weak situation: Ciudadanos has threatened the President to take the Government down if he pardons the Catalan politicians, but the Partido Socialista has offered the President support for what's left of term under the agreement he signed with Ciudadanos and some more measures that would need to be agreed during the course of the term. Rivera and Abascal have united in a single front and called the Spanish society to demonstrate in Colón Square (Madrid), against the possibility of pardoning them. What Jesús Aguilar will do, along with his Minister for Justice, will remain like that until Friday.

[Spain]

INTERNATIONAL SIGNAL - PRESIDENT AGUILAR PRESS CONFERENCE CONCERNING NOFOAGA

Journalist: And now we are interrupting the regular Televisión Española Internacional schedule in order to offer a Press Conference from President Jesús Aguilar, on behalf of President Romain Guichard of Nofoaga, concerning the latest news of the island. We can see 3 black ribbons, one in the Spanish flag, one on the Nofoagan flag which is present on this press conference, as well as a black ribbon on the European Union flag. Now President Aguilar appears on the room, he seems to be quite shocked about the news and now he proceeds to speak:

"A very good morning to the whole of Europe, as well as to every Spanish following this press conference in which I will address the latest news I have from the Republic Nofoaga and what might happen with the island in the next days and weeks.

Before I start, I would like to tell you that the news are really shocking and that I am very sorry if I start crying. You will all understand once I release the official data of the disaster the European Union has been able to see and that, sadly, the Nofoagans and the foreign citizens living there or staying there for travel or business purposes had experienced. It is with great regret to inform you that 92.287 Nofoagans have either lost their lives or are missing in the Atlantic Ocean. This means only 11.751 have been able to make it on time to the bunkers. It is even more sad to tell there are no chances, nor any hope, to find any other Nofoagan alive or lost in the Atlantic Ocean.

Concerning foreign citizens, I have slightly better news: the Spanish Army has been able to save every foreign citizen in Nofoaga, even though many have required medical assistance, some even requiring to be sedated in order to be tranquilized. There were 3,000 foreigners at the moment in Nofoaga, from mostly every country on Europe. We have been receiving a lot of requests from countries all around Europe during the night asking us for permission to evacuate their citizens. The Spanish Government and the Spanish Army have spoken about this, and we have both come to the same conclusion: no evacuation of foreign citizens is allowed until it is safe enough to proceed. Once this prequisities are met, the Spanish Army will evacuate all citizens exclusively, as we have already prepared the evacuation routes.

Finally, I would like to speak about the future of Nofoaga and the island where the Caribbean nation is established. According to the experts in the bunkers and our own experts, that have spoke to those in Nofoaga, the island will likely explode. We estimate that a 98.44% of the surface of the island will blow up because of the volcanic eruption and many other factors about the soil of Nofoaga. Harder days will come, but... (A short silence takes place, Aguilar dries a tear from his eye) sorry. As I was saying, harder days will come, but we have enough hope to say this will go away soon. Thank you very much."

[Spain]

CATALAN POLITICIANS NOT PARDONED BY THE GOVERNMENT AFTER NEGATIVE INFORMS FROM THE COURT AND THE PROSECUTOR

Some of the Catalan independentist leaders in jail, posing for a photo

The Government of Spain has decided not to pardon the Catalan political leaders Carles Puigdemont, Oriol Junqueras, Jordi Sànchez, Raül Romeva, Jordi Turull, Dolors Bassa, Carme Forcadell, Joaquim Forn, Josep Rull, Jordi Cuixart, Clara Ponsatí, Toni Comín, Lluis Puig, Anna Gabriel, Marta Rovira and Meritxell Serret. The Aguilar cabinet has decided the pardon was unnecessary and also was going to be dangerous for the country's estability, as the civil prosecutor and the Supreme Court both had shown their negative answer to the possibility of pardoning them, which was the main feeling around the Congreso de los Diputados.

A 67% of the total population of Spain is against the pardoning of the Catalan politicians, with all the autonomies and territories being against except Scotland, the Basque Country and a 46% of the population of Catalonia. With this decision, Aguilar saves the Ciudadanos' support to his Government but the political situation of Catalonia gets more tense as the independentist parties were waiting for the President to pardon the politicians. Tense months are coming, but Aguilar has not lost the match yet: with Salvador Illa's Government depending of VOX at the moment, this move assures VOX won't leave the Constitutional side of Catalonia.

[Spain]

AGUILAR AND DE OLANO REVEAL THE 'SPANISH GREEN PLAN'

The President, Jesús Aguilar, revealing the Spanish Green Plan

The President of Spain Jesús Aguilar and the Minister of Climate Change, Environment, Rural Development and Demographic Challenge, Jaime de Olano, have both presented the Spanish Green Plan in the Palacio de la Moncloa today, accompanied by several green activists, the IBEX 35 enterprises CEOs and the rest of the cabinet. The Green Plan comes after standing the European Union's former Commissioner Münnever Birdane and the leaders from many countries around Europe up because of the famous Carbon Tax, a measure to tackle Climate Change according to many, but not feasible for the Spanish President.

Aguilar has re-affirmed himself concerning the tax: "The biggest mistake on the European Union's Green Deal is the Carbon Tax, and those who are here right now all agreed that what is really going to happen is that the companies will not pay a single EMU for that, but charge it on the consumers' bill and make a profit in order to pay the tax. If someone in the European Commission knew about Economics when the conference took place, we would have had a competent agreement. But now we don't, and that gave us a very important advantage towards the rest of the European Union, which is freedom to decide the range of action and freedom to decide when it's going to happen."

Olano then proceeded to speak, saying the Government and especially his ministry have given their very best to get the better outcome possible from the original Green Deal, but adapting it to the Spanish reality: "The Spanish Green Plan is adapted to our reality, to our territorial division and the resources and ambitions of each territory, getting a common agreement between all the Autonomous Communities, Cities and Entities in order to move forward the same direction, and with the sole purpose of tackling Climate Change together, with efficiency and sustainability, without risking the economical stability of our country and guaranteeeing our people that they won't pay the unfair prize of tackling Climate Change with ridicolous taxes."

The Spanish Green Plan is expected to be published during the week, but the Government has already advanced that the Carbon tax will be absent on the paper and that single use plastics will be banned next year, with those used for packaging being banned on July 2023. Apart from that, a Climate Change law will be passed before the summer ends, along with some other climate laws that will adapt the country for a greener future.

[Spain]

THE POLITICAL SEASON COMES TO AN END AFTER THE KING AND AGUILAR MEET IN MALLORCA

The King, during his vacations in the lovely island of Mallorca

His Majesty the King Felipe VI of Spain and the President of the Government, Jesús Aguilar, met yesterday in the King's summer holidays residence in Mallorca, the Palacio de Marivent. As usual, the King and the President spent more than 2 hours and a half speaking about several topics in the anniversary of King Juan Carlos' departure from Spain to Nofoaga, where he is residing now even after the volcanic eruption the Caribbean island suffered recently. This meeting marks the end of the political season and the start of the holidays for the political class until September, along with the Royal Family's holidays.

The President said the meeting was "productive and friendly, as it is always". He was also asked by King Juan Carlos, a question he decided to answer by avoiding the main purpose: "the current head of state, King Felipe VI, is committed with transparency and the Government will support the Monarchy until the very end. He represents a new era for this country, and so we will stand next to the institution. And about King Juan Carlos, we should respect his innocence presumption before anything is done. If there's something bad about what he has done, and the justice has, at the moment, said the opposite, our justice system will determine what to do."

After the meeting, Jesús Aguilar departed to Ibiza, where he will join his family on a beach and sun vacation in a exclusive beach of the island. He is expected to be joined by some foreign personalities, such as Mikaela Klienberg, according to some gossip magazines.

[Spain]

WILDFIRE THREATENS IMPORTANT AND SPANISH FIR AREA IN ESTEPONA (MÁLAGA)

Firefighters have said the fire is a 'hungry monster' and 'extremely raging'

The summer had a last surprise for the people in the Costa del Sol, Málaga, Andalucía. After the very worrying wildfire in Galicia, Andalucía is the new home for general concern and broken hearts for the massive disaster a fire causes. At the moment, 3,600 hectares of land have burnt, and the fire is still out of control. This morning, the Junta de Andalucía and the Spanish Government have compromised to cooperate in order to put the fire off; which came before the Andalusian Government decided to raise the Alert level to 2, which implies that firefighters and means owned by the Government can now act (like the Unidad Militar de Emergencias or the BRIFs). The area has a high ecological value, as it's home to a huge number of Spanish firs, a Mediterranean tree unique in the World and heavily protected by the Government and local authorities.

Not all the news are positive this morning: a fireman from Almería died last night while fighting against the fire. He was 44 years old, and he had been part of the INFOCA (Andalucía's forests firefighters service) for six. The Copernicus satellite, which was activated yesterday to track the wildfire, has also sent a report this morning, which doesn't look very promising:

The wildfire has expanded considerably from yesterday, reaching another town's territory

Juanma Moreno, President of Andalucía, has said he will 'haunt those murderers' if the wildfire was man-made. There are several proofs that this could be true, as the fire started in 2 separate locations at the same time, with the weather being 'highly helpful' for wildfires to expand and grow rapidly. Nobody knows if the fire will be declared to be 'under control' during the weekend, but one thing is sure: if it's not declared on that status this weekend, the weather is going to help: rain is coming, once again, to the south of Spain after a sunny weather.

[Spain]

AND AFTER THE ASMSA BOATS... GSSA GETS THEIRS

The new GSSA boats, already navigating the Strait of Gibraltar to control and enforce the tax's payment

Back in March, the Adventuranza Strait Maritime Security Agency (ASMSA) got their new Border Patrol boats, also used to protect the waters or enforce the tariffs' payment imposed in the Strait. Now, the Gibraltar Strait Security Agency has got their boats and they will accomplish the same functions, in a new attempt from the Spanish Government to prove they still 'have the power and the strength' to enforce their water borders as well as the tariffs imposed. And now, with the taxes more relaxed than ever before and going back to normal levels, the Spanish society has two questions that should be answered: Will the Straits' tax keep being benefitial for the Government's bank account? And more importantly, who had the idea to impose those taxes and why are they still in place if the ones that got the idea are gone?

The first question is easy to answer: Yes, they will keep being benefitial because Spain perfectly knows which countries they can 'challenge' to pay and which ones they cannot challenge. As long as Spain plays the game correctly and establishes strong military and political alliances (like the Treaty of Telum or the Treaty of Finisterre), they won't have problems with nations 'outside their treaties'. In fact, justifing the raise of taxes for some nations has been easy, which allowed the Minister Egea to 'hide the truth': As more discounts are done to nations, others will have to pay more.

But the second question is a bit more complicated to answer and can remain to be difficult for decades. We all know the Ottomans, those friendly neighbours (the only friendly ones along with Red Croatia we have got in years; unless you also consider Alkharya as a neighbour) proposed the Spanish Government to establish the taxes at Gibraltar and share the benefits, a thing that was done while the Ottomans were alive. But after the country's fall, Spain took over the waters as they did with Adventuranza, assuring the taxes would be kept even if the idea wasn't theirs. So, why do we keep them? It's just business after all, a profit for our bank account and another income for the Government. We make some exceptions to our allies and some regional powers in order to keep the tax undisputed, or that is what most of us think, and we tax those that cannot dispute us because of every secondary effect that action would have.

In the end, both the Adventuranza Strait Maritime Security Agency (ASMSA) and the Gibraltar Strait Security Agency (GSSA) are just Government-created organisms to keep the business rolling, as well as keeping the autonomous communities which are part of the areas happy. And these boats, ladies and gentlemen, are just part of the bussiness-keeping actions. Adapt yourself or die, said somebody; and the boats are part of the adaptation to avoid the business' death.

[Spain]

AGUILAR URGES TUSK TO "CONTROL HIMSELF" WHEN IT COMES TO COUNCIL SESSIONS IN A PRIVATE MEETING

The Spanish President, Jesús Aguilar; and the Spanish Councillor and Council's Deputy Speaker, Donald Tusk

It is no surprise to anybody that Donald Tusk loves political clashes, something he proved as Chancellor of Germanium and he still proves it on the Council. When he makes a mess, he is sometimes called the uncorrectible: his apologies are indeed sincere to those that feel offended by his words (if they receive some sort of apology, something Tusk isn't frequent at). But if there is something the Spanish Councillor loves, those things are political clashes, sarcasm, social networks, long and amazing speeches and political dramas. Mostly always, he succeeds on getting away with murder when he does a polemical speech, but his last one is not going to be an easy one, as the Council is now debating some sort of punishment for the Deputy Speaker after using a vulgar Spanish expression.

As it is obvious, the Spanish population was divided in two halfs, which match the political spectrum that supports and hates the European Progressive Alliance's Chairman: those who don't support the Councillor neither voted for him say "he deserves a punishment that teaches him something about gender equality and avoids this from happening in the future", while his supporters defend him: "if a Spanish Councillor cannot use Spanish expressions, no matter how bad they sound or vulgar they are, maybe the European Union has a deep problem that should be looked into by the next Commission". As it is obvious, the political parties haven't waited for too long to pressure the Government or to make a war out of Tusk's words: on the one hand, Podemos asks for the Councillor's resignation; on the other, VOX directly asks for a ESPEXIT referendum.

Nonetheless, a new political actor has joined the match. The Spanish President, Jesús Aguilar, would have secretly met with the Spanish Councillor, EPA's Chairman and European Council Deputy Speaker, Donald Tusk, to talk about his latest polemic action in the Council. According to sources close to the President, he would have urged Tusk to 'control himself' when delivering a speech on behalf of Spain and 'think about what he is going to say before speaking'. Still, Aguilar is not thinking on recalling Tusk or forcing him to resign - that would mean losing the only power position that the Kingdom holds at the moment - something that isn't on the agenda. Whether if this conversation felt bad to Tusk, we will see it tomorrow. Will he change? That is a question only the honourable Deputy Speaker knows how to answer.

[Spain]

SPAIN CELEBRATES ITS NATIONAL DAY

The Patrulla Águila, flying over Madrid this morning

The Kingdom of Spain celebrates its National Day, 529 years after Cristopher Columbus reached the Caribbean and then, the European Americas; after beginning a trip in the Andalusian city of Sanlúcar de Barrameda to discover a new route to trade with Asia. When he first arrived into America, he believed that he was in Asia, but it did not took long for the Spanish expedition to realise they were not: the explorers, with Colombus on the lead, had discovered a new continent. This happening marked the start of the Spanish Empire, remembered by those who have not studied history as 'one of the bloodiest' and always subject to revisionism; but also as 'the Empire which committed crimes and, at the same time, included the natives and imported libraries or universities to America'. Of course, everyone makes its own interpretation of history, but three things must be made clear: first, the Spanish didn't kill as many people as other empires; second, the Spanish committed awful crimes that should be condemned no matter what and thirdly, the natives joined the Spanish in many battles to end with other natives.

As every year, the capital of Spain hosted a military exhibition, to which the King, the Queen and Princess Sofia; along with the Spanish President and all the autonomical presidents with the exceptions of Alberto Núñez Feijóo (Galicia) and Emiliano García-Page (Castilla-La Mancha) attended. The Spanish Councillor, Donald Tusk, also attended to the parade and spoke for a long time with the President, a relationship that seems to be as it was before the secret meeting Euronews reported. His Majesty the King, Felipe VI, has president all the day events, such as the tribute to those that died for Spain or the whole military parade. Although this country would not be this country if there was no polemic about something: this time, the Patrulla Águila's first fly-over is being heavily inspected, as many people are commenting in social networks about the possible 'Republican flag' that popped in the sky as a result of it.

At the moment, the King and the Queen are hosting a banquet in the Palacio Real, where 2,000 people are expected to attend.

[Spain]

DASTIS SAYS SPAIN 'WON'T BE LECTURED' BY THOSE WHO KILL CATS AND ARE TAKEN TO THE ECoJ UNDER SLAVERY SUSPICIONS

Alfonso Dastis, Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation

The Spanish cabinet has met today as they do every Friday in order to discuss several new laws and initiatives that need to be approved and agreed there before taking them to the Parliament. The best of these meetings, that take place once a week except when the politicians are on holidays (usually the whole of August), is not the deliberation and the meeting itself, but the subsequent press conference to let the press know what they have been discussing about and getting to ask part of the cabinet (the spokeperson and up to 2 ministers, if you are a lucky journalist) about anything you want, apart from the obvious content of the cabinet meeting or Consejo de Ministros.

Today, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Alfonso Dastis, was not going to be less than any of his colleagues and, by surprise, he joined the cabinet's spokeperson, Méndez de Vigo and the Minister for Culture and Sport, Soledad Cruz-Guzmán, on today's Press conference. Of course, he didn't get much to comment, but as soon as the questions arrived, the Minister (also known as the one that never shuts up) started his answer show, full of jokes but also firm statements that convince and warn many when asked not only about foreign policy, but also about local one.

Nonetheless, today's awarded country was no other than Strathae, which yesterday attacked not only Spain, but the United Duchies, to 'merely seeking for carbon neutrality' and lecturing both about what they should do. Of course, Dastis didn't shut up: "I am very pleased about somebody asking about Strathae. I will be very clear, Spain will not accept any lection from a country that has been taking to the ECoJ under slavery suspicions or that are devoted to killing cats because 'it's their culture'. Maybe if they didn't believe they are superior to the rest, they would have better relationships with the rest of the EU." Not everyone applauded this, but many citizens agree that Spain needs a "strong foreign policy" that doesn't let countries attack us easily. And it seems Alfonso Dastis thinks the same.

[Spain]

THE INIMICAN FIRST FLEET ARRIVES TO ADVENTURANZA STRAIT

3 patrol boats, 3 corvettes, 4 frigates, 2 destroyers, 5 cruisers, 5 transport / auxiliar, 2 amphibious carriers, 3 helicarriers, 2 light air carriers, 2 standard air carriers, 2 supercarriers, incluiding the HIMS Artabanos and 5 maintenance and support ships; or to say it with less words, the 1st Inimican fleet. The Empire of Inimicus and the Kingdom of Spain have agreed the deployment of the 1st Inimican fleet to enforce the taxing on the Strait of Adventuranza, according to the Ministry for Overseas Territories and Missions and Straits and the Ministry of Defence. The Spanish Navy and the Adventuranza Strait Maritime Security Agency have also deployed ships to reinforce the tax even more now the Inimican help arrived.

Minister García-Egea has offered a summit to Yosai in order to handle the situation correctly: "I will travel to Yosai if they want to seat and negotiate with us, but we have some red lines that will not be crossed." Many foreign governments have expressed their concern about the measures that can be applied for tax avoidance, but García-Egea has said this is something that happens all around the European Union: "Reitzmag faces pirates on the Caspian Sea, the Kingdom of Mennrimiak does the very same to boats carrying drugs with our help." Still, he remarked once again that the "Spanish Government compromise is to a peaceful but taxed Strait of Adventuranza, with a 10NM waters recognition and a scheme that shares the benefits of the tax."

[Spain]

AGUILAR AND THE KING ADDRESS THE ADVENTURANZA CRISIS

Sources from Zarzuela have stated the King has given the President his full support on this crisis

The situation has turned to be more tense than expected in the Strait of Adventuranza, after the Kingdom of Reitzmag confirmed the deployment of ships on the Spanish strait, accusing the Kingdom of Spain and the Empire of Inimicus of piracy and terrorism. Inimicus, which is one of Spain's allies on this crisis, has not taken a long time to answer these accusations from the Reitzmic Prime Minister, describing his behaviour as "rash and erratic". Meanwhile, in Europolis, a motion has been brought up to the European Council on the Status of the Strait of Adventuranza, a bill the Spanish Councillor is already working on along with the 1st Vice-President of the Government, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría. According to sources from Moncloa, a huge majority of the Spanish Government is involved on the matter and will not rest until the President declares the crisis as over.

Jesús Aguilar and Felipe VI have both met this morning in the Palacio de la Zarzuela, where they have addressed the crisis. There is no public statement concerning the matter, but sources from Zarzuela say the King has given his whole support to whatever the Government does to protect national sovereignty. Nonetheless, this support has some boundaries; and the same sources have stated Felipe VI and the President are not willing to shoot or use weapons for a mass of water. The Spanish President, who recently travelled to Inquista and according to his agenda, had pending summits with Reitzmag, Montenbourg and Czech Slavia; seems to be focused on the matter and has summoned the press today in order to make the Spanish position clear.

[Spain]

AGUILAR ADDRESSES THE NATION ON USUAL NEW YEAR'S EVE SPEECH

Good afternoon my dear compatriots,

I appear before you today to take stock of the year behind us, as has been my custom since I became President, and to set out my resolutions for the year to come. After my appearance two days ago in which I took stock of the commitments made by the Government of Spain in its electoral pacts and promises, it is now that, personally and objectively from my perspective as President, I assess what 2021 has been for all of us, not only individually, but as a society that has faced many challenges and that has always tried to be responsible and to stand shoulder to shoulder in times of difficulty. I do not want to begin the content of this speech without remembering the people of La Palma, affected by the volcanic eruption that they have had to suffer in their own flesh. The Government and the institutions of the Canary Islands are with you to help you in everything you need.

First of all, I would like to talk about our year from an international perspective, and take stock of it in a positive way. During the year, we have proven that we are able to respond to any threat and challenge that is put in front of us. I remember, at this moment, the volcanic eruption that our ally, Nofoaga, suffered this summer and the great efforts that the Spanish Army made to save as many lives as possible, and as many species as possible. Thanks to the great preparation of the Spanish military and the protocols established by the Ministry of Defence, we were able to meet and even exceed expectations. I still think of the victims of that catastrophe and how hard those days were, but Spain is there not only to protect the good people of the island, but also to help them rebuild their home. The Spanish military are doing all they can and more to make that reconstruction, as on La Palma, quick and safe.

It is also worth mentioning our closest allies, who fall under the new Telum Treaty and who have remained loyal to our country, as we have to them. The cooperation established with Inimicus, the Duxburian Union, Inquista and North Diessen, which was reaffirmed in this new treaty that we all signed a few weeks ago, makes it clear that our bloc of closest allies is a solid, compact bloc that will not be broken thanks to the great trust that exists between all of us. I know firsthand the love that both Ms. Kligenberg and Emperor Artabanos have for our country, world leaders whom I cherish and whose countries I adore, as do the other members of the Treaty of Telum. This treaty is the step we all had to take to make the Red Sea area, including our beloved Bay of Biscay, a safe and peaceful place in Europe.

I would like to remember not only our closest allies, but also those with whom, although we have no treaty, we consider them as close friends and countries we can trust, such as Mennrimiak, Ruthund, Fremet, Icholasen, Vayinaod, Gadalland and Aspern, Leagio, United Duchies, Montenbourg or Reitzmag, with whom our relations are improving all the time; and also those countries with which we want to build a stable relationship and incorporate them into our group of very close friends, but which we already consider friends, such as Ineland, Istkalen or Czech Slavia, Brickston, Gania or Angleter. Spanish diplomacy has worked excellently in 2021, and I will ensure that it continues to do so in the coming year.

To continue with this speech, I would like to talk about our territorial integrity, questioned during this year 2021 not only by rebels who took up arms against the legal order of this country, but also by foreign countries that believe they have the right to question how far our waters reach when they are not regulated under any European or international regulations. Huriyah, although no longer a risk to us, remains in our sights as a country we cannot trust at all. No sign of life or virtually opaque communication does not mean that 2022 will not be a year in which the rebels in the Rif and associated provinces will not stop trying to torpedo us. The Spanish population must remain alert and distrustful of those who assassinated two Spanish diplomats, who only sought peace and to avoid returning to that dark past, marked by terrorist attacks carried out by ETA. Spain continues to hold out its hand to negotiate, we continue to try to reach an agreed solution, but all we find is an insurmountable wall.

The last time I appeared before you, I did so to speak about the Strait of Adventuranza and to reaffirm Spain's position on the issue, a position that has the support of many countries of the Union and of many of our allies. The strait is, has been, and will continue to be Spanish no matter what anyone says, and in 2022 we will once again reaffirm our position. The treaty we signed was to restore stability to this region, far from closing or pretending to close this episode. The coming year must be used to restore our normality to our strait, and we will do it gradually, but we will do it. Those who, a few months ago, were celebrating the collapse of the system that was in place there, will have to stop celebrating. Once again, I would like to take this opportunity to say that the Strait of Adventuranza is, has always been and will continue to be Spanish, no matter what certain cheating states do.

At the national level, we must continue to work to make a better country than the one we had a few years ago, to become leaders and benchmarks in many areas and to be an open, pluralistic country that shows the world that it is possible to live in peace even if there are a plethora of political ideas, each one different from the other. Many of you, when you see me in the street, always ask me the same thing: to be honest, to work for you, but above all, not to harm future governments, much less future generations. And believe me, every day that I sit in the office of this Palace I am aware of your proposals and of the enormous weight that being your President of the Government will carry. In 2022, we are going to commit ourselves to the Spanish Green Plan to continue with its fulfilment, to make progress in science, in the field of space, as well as to continue eliminating unemployment, poverty and overcoming many of the challenges that our society faces.

I am well aware that it is tempting to be lured by those who promise gold in vast quantities, but like everything that is free in this life or appears to be a bargain, we have to be careful. Basically, to get the message across in a more understandable way, we should read the terms and conditions of a contract before signing it. I would ask you, please, to respect political plurality and anyone who disagrees with you, but please, as a society, let us not allow violence and tension, idleness and demagoguery to take over our way of seeing things, our way of life. Spain must be a cohesive country, inspired by its own revolution, by the Transition of '78, in order to continue growing and advancing, incorporating the values of this century in order to continue being that open, humble country that so many people visit every year, an attractive country full of hard-working and humble people.

In conclusion, I would like to stress once again the role of the Crown in our country, guarantor of the neutrality and good representation of Spain. I agree with the words of His Majesty in his Christmas message, and I join in his call for responsibility, as well as abiding by it and carrying it out. We politicians are but the representatives of the people, the ones in charge of giving voice to their ideas, their proposals and, in return, making this the best country in the world. The corruption of many of us prevents this. We must be responsible and apply ourselves to what we are asking of society, both the Members of Parliament and I, the President of the Government.

I will not go on any longer. I hope that this year 2022 will be a good year for all of us, in which we will find joy, health and that our lives will be considerably better than the year we left behind. I hope that your resolutions will be fulfilled, and if it is up to me, you can be sure that I will work to make them happen. I wish you a very Happy New Year.

Thank you, Gràcies, Eskerrik Asko, Grazas, Merci, Gracias y buenas tardes.

[Spain]

CASTILLA Y LEÓN FACES A REGIONAL ELECTION WITH THE UNCERTAINTY OF A PEOPLE'S PARTY MAJORITY

The Partido Popular's (People's Party) candidate and Acting President of Castilla y León, Alfonso Pérez Mañueco, oin a rally the past weekend

What will happen next Sunday is still unknown, but what many predict is that it will be tight for the Partido Popular, fighting for a majority that seems to be more far as the campaign advances and non having to ratify a deal with the far-right party, VOX, which seems to be growing. Meanwhile, in the sunny south of the country, the President of Andalucía, Juanma Moreno (Partido Popular) looks carefully to whatever the outcome of the call to the polls is, debating himself between calling for a regional election if the result is extraordinary or either hold them and wait until the summer or autumn. It seems like the start of a novel, doesn't it? For those believing it is one, I am pretty sorry, this is what is going on in Spain right now.

After the regional elections in Madrid, where Isabel Díaz Ayuso (Partido Popular) got 64 seats (5 short of a majority) and could make her dream of just the Spanish President's party governing Madrid; and in Escocia, where the nationalists of the Scottish National Party just missed one seat for the wished majority, the Partido Popular-Ciudadanos crisis just gets worse, with our autonomous community as the stage for a new battle for the control of the right-wing. The strategy seems not to be controlled by Jesús Aguilar, whose power inside the Partido Popular would be questioned by a somewhat more conservative faction led by Pablo Casado, who is a member of Aguilar's Executive Committee. After the attempt of a no-confidence motion in Murcia by Ciudadanos, which forced Ayuso and Aguilar to push forward an election in Madrid; Mañueco, without any apparent reason but excusing himself on a "possible Murcia's strategy between PSOE and Ciudadanos", summoned an election for the very same Sunday that, one year ago, saw another call to the polls, that time in Catalonia.

However, the polls seem to be getting worse for Mañueco and Aguilar: when the election was called, the Partido Popular was given a majority by most of them; today they would need to sign an agreement with either VOX or the localist / regionalist parties all around Castilla y León, running for the election to make their voice heard. These parties, which group theirselves in the "España Vaciada" platform (a social movement to ask for measures to protect the rural way of life, with parties such as Soria ¡YA! or Vía Burgalesa) or independently (such as Unión del Pueblo Leonés, a Leonese autonomist plaform; XÁvila, a party made of former PP members which believe on Ávila's regionalism or Zamora Decide, a regionalist party from the province of Zamora).

One of the last polls released for the Castilla y León election

With VOX growing faster and faster, Ciudadanos close to disappearing from another regional parliament and many regionalist parties arising with enough political force, the Government's pillars start to shake like if an earthquake was hitting them hard. Ciudadanos' candidate in the region, Francisco Igea, has stated that "he will not sign an agreement with Mañueco, who backstabbed me and is the one lying to the people of Castilla y León", while today, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who seems to have been urgently deployed to rescue the bad result the Partido Popular could get, has opened the door to an agreement with VOX. Whatever happens on February 13th, it will have consequences for every single contendents, and who knows if it will have consequences for Jesús Aguilar as well.

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OCC: This is a Roleplay-based article, not one pretending to report what is going on in Castilla y León. This article does not intend to break the LOREG law of Spain, which has forbidden the publication of polls for this election since yesterday.