Spain News Media

[Spain]

SPANISH GDP GOES OVER 4 TRILLION EUROS BARRIER

Pascal Donohoe, the Government's main economical advisor, this morning in a press conference

The Spanish Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has gone over the four trillion euros barrier today, according to the daily data provided by the European Central Bank and the Bank of Spain. The current value is at 4,012,032,411,692.31€; the highest value it has ever been at. After the milestone accomplished has been announced by the Bank of Spain, the Spanish Government main economical advisor, Pascal Donohoe, has summoned the press in the Ministry of Economy's building to celebrate this achievement.

"Spain continues to grow, continues to be an economic superpower and despite the many foreing attempts from some European nations to sabotage us and make us look bad, we will continue our economical growth and keep our fiscal policies". Asked about what the next economical aim of the Spanish Government is, Pascal Donohoe has set two new goals for 2022: "First of all is closing the gap we currently have with Vayinaod and try to equalize their GDP by the end of the summer while opening a higher gap with the smaller economies behind; and second of all on the list is keep the smooth growing rythm and reaching a GDP value of 5 trillion Euros by the end of this year. They are ambitious goals, some could they are unrealistic but these goals are setted because we believe that they can be reached; if we did not believe on them, we would not set them".

Jesús Aguilar, who has also expressed his happiness after the great news coming from the European Central Bank and the Bank of Spain, has responded criticism over his large international agenda and his Government's economical policy: "Foreign policy is pretty complex to understand for many, and I understand that some of the opposition parties might be nervous or just lacking of knowledge about how important it is for Spain to settle down its most prioritary foreign relationships. 2022 had to be the year in which Spain had to go a step further, and we are under way. About the economical policies my Government applies, I think there is not much to say and that the data speaks for myself and my Government"

[Spain]

ENAIRE ANNOUNCES "AIR TRAFFIC RESTRICTION" OVER GIBRALTAR AND THE STRAIT

An EasyJet plane, departing from Gibraltar Airport

The Spanish air navigation manager ENAIRE has released a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) for the area of the Autonomous City of Gibraltar and the homonimous strait, that forbids air traffic to fly over the area at whatever altitude and impedes operations in the Airport of Gibraltar, unless authorised by them. This news have been surprising for the First Minister of Gibraltar, Fabián Picardo, who has called ENAIRE's chief to get to know more about it and has received the guarantee that flights between Madrid, Antequera as well as other destinations will be operated normally and will not suffer any delay or cancellation at the moment.

Albert Issola, the Gibraltar Strait Security Agency director, has also been asked by the news coming from ENAIRE, as he also occupies the Councillor for Transport position in the city's government. He has stated he "trusts the First Minister would get into it and get his questions answered" while, at the same time, assuring that "naval traffic on the Strait and taxation would continue as normal, as well as the presence of the Spanish Armada, as it has been for years all around the Strait and the GSSA boats, since its creation. Nobody has anything to fear", he has concluded.

[Spain]

THE MINISTRY FOR INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE WARNS ABOUT "CRITICAL ECONOMIC SITUATION FOR BUSINESSES" IN UD

Román Escolano, Minister of Industry and Commerce of Spain

The Ministry of Industry and Commerce of the Kingdom of Spain has warned consumers and enterprises about the "massive inflationist path" the United Duchies has taken in the last weeks, which could lead to a huge rise of prices and an economical disaster for lower and medium classes. Accoridng to the last reports from the Duchian Government, crops' prices have risen up to a 15% compared to their value in 2021, and the rise could even reach a 60% figure, which would cause a huge devaluation of the Duchian economy and the companies operating on the country.

The Ministry, nonetheless, has made clear the Spanish economy will not be affected by such price rise, as the Spanish Government had other alternatives for the supplies it majoritarily buys from the United Duchies, such as Magnesium and Chromium, which could be now majoritarily imported from Istkalen and the Apostolic Kingdom of Angleter. Many Spanish enterprises have already started to turn to these countries in order to keep their materials coming on time and their prices at their current value. The Spanish Government has also approved to create a new "national strategic reserve" for these two natural resources, with the same expectations as the one previously announced for other minerals.

Reactions have not taken a long time to arrive. Inditex, the famous clothes distributor, considers their decision to leave the United Duchies temporarily was made "on the right time" and that "they were right". Its CEO, Óscar García Maceiras, has said that "the United Duchies recently turned into a kind of an economic hell for anyone wanting to do business, which allows the market to become unstable and be ran by several cartels that will blacklist you if your company does not do what they say. Many Spanish and foreign enterprises are still on time to temporarily suspend operations, and come to Spain if they wish to, where they will surely find less trade barriers or difficulties and more people willing to buy their products and a market they will be pretty happy with."

One of the Spanish companies operating in Duchian soil, Air Europa, has released a statement in which they affirm the company is "following the situation closely and that it will temporarily suspend operations if the economical situation becomes worse than it is at the moment", as well as criticising the local authorities for letting "minoritary cartels ruin the businesses and savings of millions of Duchians".

[Spain]

SPANISH GOVERNMENT BANS CITIZENS TRAVEL TO STRATHAE

A flight departing from Madrid to Strathae's capital city

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation has announced a ban of all kind of travel to the Republic of Strathae for Spanish citizens, which will start applying from tomorrow, when the clock hits twelve o'clock. The ban comes after the many "attempts of forgiveness" from the Strathaean society, such as singing in public asking for such thing or hugging people (many times against their will, which ended up in fines or arrests in some small villages in Castilla y León) to make them forget about what the central European nation has done to Catholics.

While Strathaean citizens will still be able to come to Spain and explore our country, Spanish citizens will not be able to return the favour (if someone would have ever wanted to do it) and travel to Strathae. According to the Secretary of State for the European Union, the decision has been taken in order to protect "the Spanish citizens integrity and security when travelling abroad", as Strathae poses "severe danger to any traveller wishing to have fun or to know a new country". This kind of decision is taken after the Kingdom of Mennrimiak, who was the first to follow this path but in a more extreme way, banning Strathaean citizens from entering the country and even suspending flight connections with Strathae.

Some citizens have showed their disagreement with the new ruling, despite a huge majority supporting it. One of these citizens against, Sebastián Suárez, told us he had planned a 7-day-long trip to Strathae and now he fears to have lost his savings: "it is unfair for the people that love Strathae, their culture, their ways of acting. I was hugged by them, I have learnt to forgive them, why can't the EU politicians do the same? They are people after all, like you and me man. They deserve to be treated correctly." However, Suárez's opinion seems not to be shared by many people around Spain, neither around Europe.

[Spain]

The new Spanish Global Commanders, under the lead of the JEMAD Miguel Villaroya

The Defence Minister of the Kingdom of Spain, Pedro Baños, has revealed today the names of the newly created Spanish Global Commanders, which will operate from several countries where the Kingdom of Spain has bases at and will monitor the situation in the areas of action, which remain secret as of today. Baños has announced that the Spanish Foreign Base programme has now reached its main goals and it now enters a new phase, which consists of monitoring their assigned areas situation and protecting global peace and the security of states where Spain has defensive missions at, as well as their surroundings.

Some names on the list are not surprising at all: Carlos Brown, who will keep his duties as chief of the Spanish Army in Nofoaga, will also assume the functions as the Commander for the Caribbean, its surroundings and the Pacific Ocean; Daniel Hokanson, who until the closure of the base in Mennrimiak was in charge of the army deployment in the Nordic country and that now was in charge of the deployment in the Spanish Army base in Montenbourg, will also assume the duties of the Arctic command.

Nonetheless, new and surprising names have also appeared on the list, such as Laura Potter, who will take over the Mediterranean, Surroundings and Antarctic Commmand as well as the Government duties of the Research Bases in Antarctica, and that will be the link between the rest of Commanders and the Spanish JEMAD, Miguel Villaroya, who has been assigned the "Rest of the World command". Mr. Villaroya, who has shown up in the press conference along with Minister Baños, has said his colleagues and himself are "excited" for the new mission they have been given and that this operative commands will be key for the future of the Spanish Army and the compromises it has assumed.

[Spain]

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[Spain]

OPINION PIECE - A CHANGE IN HOW WE LOOK AT THE WORLD

Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation Minister, Alfonso Dastis

How do we want the world to be? How are we supposed to look at it? Those two questions, mostly asked in Secondary School's graduation parties when the most talkative classmate gets the main role for some minutes and tries to inspire his classmates, are the ones that have recently overflown the minds of the most veteran advisors of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The main goal of asking this? Trying to find a new way to make the Spanish response experienced, logical and reasonable. The old days of "overreaction", like when Reitzmag kidnapped Bernie Sanders and Spain copied Gallorum's sanctions, even extending them; are now over, according to these veteran advisors.

The dilemma has been presented to the Spanish President, Jesús Aguilar, who is also one of the foreign policy architects. Under the title of "Establishing a new path for our Foreign views", a 200-page-long document contains the new principles of the Spanish foreign policy. We can confirm two things about it: we have been able to see a sneak preview and no, Alfonso Dastis is not going to be dismissed as Minister, but rather seeing his powers increased and getting to speak more than he actually did. What is the sense of having a foreign affairs Minister when you do not listen to him as much as you should? Jesús Aguilar, who seems like he is a well-mantained machine, starts to show the weaknesses of a politician that has been in power for 6 years.

Under the new strategical views of the Spanish Government, several key topics can be found: the Treaty of Telum, the Spanish closest allies, neighbours, military strategies (with the recently revealed commands being a hint of what could come afterwards), international response and balancing power. When asked, Spanish advisors are able to recognise who the essential allies are, and which challenges we will have to face in the short / mid-term: "We are aware of them, and our response is ready. We have gained experience from the last avoidable situations, and the mistakes we have done before will not be repeated. Spain needs to go back to be that machine which never stops, never rests and keeps working for peace and security in the European Union".

How everything will turn out is still a mystery, little do we know about what Alfonso Dastis and Jesús Aguilar have prepared for us and the rest of Europe. However, asked in a party rally, the "Papacito" has settled some red lines: "the new design of our foreign policy will stay the same when it comes to the Strait of Gibraltar and so will our close partnership with our allies in Telum Treaty". What the future holds on the areas is, nevertheless, yet to unfold.

[Spain]

SPAIN BECOMES 7TH EUROPEAN ECONOMY

Madrid Stock Market and the IBEX35 are coloured in green after the announcement from the Government

"Someone should give Pascal Donohoe a reward for the great work he is doing since he got into the Government", someone said this morning while I took the Metro to the office where I am writing this article. Said citizen is not wrong: it only took 40 days to the Spanish economy to reach and overtake Vayinaod, a milestone that was planned to be reached by the end of the summer, that has not even started yet despite the high temperatures (around 30º in many parts of the country) and the bad weather being gone for weeks now.

Luis de Guindos, Minister of Economy, Commerce and Competitivity, has claimed this data "not only confirms the good work the Government is doing when it comes to economics", but also "the huge knowledge Pascal Donohoe has and how his shadow management of our economy is making us grow faster, and better". The Minister's words have, however, not received the same reactions depending of the ideological spectre of the spokesperson of the party you asked: while Ciudadanos and Navarra Suma have applauded it, the Partido Socialista has claimed the Government is "more worried about the economy rather than employment or the needs of the most needy families". Podemos has gone one step further, claiming the reported data "is fake and made up" and calling for "massive demostrations against this Government and their corrupt past, present and future".

De Guindos, who was also involved in the making of the Treaty of Finisterre, which led to the creation of the Emuzone, has also announced a huge tax drop that will be put in place in the coming weeks, as soon as the Congress and the Senate pass it; and he has made a proposal to the Top 8 European economies (Inquista, Duxburian Union, United Duchies, Inimicus, Fremet, Vayinaod, United Kingdom and Spain itself), calling for the creation of a restricted entry group formed uniquely by them to discuss several worldwide economic challenges.

[Spain]

MADRID TO HOST THE FIRST TELUM TREATY SUMMIT

Madrid Summit logotype, unveiled today by the Ministry of Defence

Telum Treaty has finally decided to have their first ever summit, and it will be in Madrid, according to the Spanish Minister of Defence, Pedro Baños. Mr. Baños has made this announcement alongside Alfonso Dastis, the Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation Minister; this morning in the Congress, after receiving confirmation from the invited countries, which are the members of the alliance, about the availability of the proposed dates, that have now become the official ones.

Both Ministers have confirmed the attendance of the Head of Government or State of the member nations, meaning that President Jesús Aguilar will welcome Archbishop Mikaela Kligenberg, Emperor Artabanos, Steward Dante Maximillian and Confederal President Nestor Karaman, whose first act will be this important summit for the alliance. In words of Minister Dastis, Spain "feels honoured to receive the visit of such important leaders and close friends of the Spanish Government and the people of Spain". Asked about the possible anti-Telum reactions and demostrations, majoritarily led by Unidas Podemos, nationalist and pro-independence political groups, the Minister has guaranteed the security of the attendants as well as freedom of speech to those against the summit. However, he has not doubted to criticise these as "pointless".

President Aguilar has reacted via Twitter, congratulating both Ministers for their hard work towards achieving this historical event, as well as expressing his personal wish of welcoming "his close friends" from Inquista, the Duxburian Union, Inimicus and North Diessen as soon as possible to the capital city. The venue where the summit will be held is IFEMA, which also hosts important events such as FITUR throughout the year. The Head of Government has also reacted positively to the announced proposal of the creation of a Group of 8 Top European Economies, saying it would "open a new chapter in international relationships" and the permanent member status of its members would "add stability to it, and avoid tensions or any bad gesture during its meetings".

[Spain]

MADRID ARMOURS ITSELF FOR TELUM TREATY SUMMIT

The event will take place on 29 and 30 June and will cause traffic disruptions and many inconveniences for security reasons.

The first ever Telum Treaty summit will be held in Madrid in the last week of June and will completely disrupt the life of the Spanish capital, causing a great deal of inconvenience to citizens. For several days there will be many traffic cuts and exclusive routes and lanes will be set up for the transfer of diplomatic delegations. Security will be another of the challenges of the meeting, as 4 international leaders will be coming to the capital and will be staying in the city's most luxurious hotels, which will be fully armoured for the duration of the event. The attendants, Emperor Artabanos from Inimicus, Archbishop Mikaela Kligenberg of Inquista, Confederal President Nestor Karaman from North Diessen and Steward Dante Maximillian of the Duxburian Union; will arrive the very same date of the start of the summit, leaving the day after.

In addition, air security plans are being designed, as well as cybersecurity plans for possible digital and computer attacks by hackers and special devices to deal with the call for mass protests by groups and organisations. The Home Affairs Minister is expected to transfer some 12,000 national police officers to Madrid, who will join another 12,000 officers from the capital, meaning that 25,000 police officers will be deployed in the city to protect the Telum Treaty summit, without counting the Madrid Municipal Police officers. In addition, the Madrid City Council will mobilise more than 1,000 Municipal Police and Mobility Police officers to facilitate the movement of attendees and diplomatic caravans.

The Ministry Home Affairs has already held the first meetings with the National Police and Civil Guard to design the security plans, having already begun to design the most important details and details. The meetings will be held in halls 9 and 10 of IFEMA and hall 1 will house the CECOR (Security and Emergency Coordination Centre), according to initial estimates. In addition, a gala dinner is scheduled to be held at the Prado Museum and another reception at the Royal Palace in Madrid. Other cultural meetings and visits to the city are also planned, although these have yet to be defined.

Most importantly, there will be exclusive itineraries for the transfer of delegations. This will mean that there will be times when traffic will be completely cut off between the centre of Madrid and IFEMA so that the delegations can circulate without stopping to the fairgrounds and vice versa. Officials expect each diplomatic caravan to spend less than 10 minutes travelling from the hotels in the centre to the Campo de las Naciones, where the Summit will take place. The intermittent interruptions will affect the Paseo de la Castellana, Paseo de Recoletos, Gran Vía, Avenida de América, Glorieta de Ruiz Jiménez and Bilbao, Plaza de Colón, Goya, carretera de Barcelona and M-11. Sources from the organisers assure that the traffic cuts will last no more than an hour and will take place between 09.00 and 10.00 and between 17.00 and 18.00 hours. In addition, all building work in the city will be halted during these days, and some of the areas where the processions will pass through will be cleaned and tidied up.

It is also not ruled out that the Metro will be cut on line 8 at IFEMA (currently without service until May due to building work) and it is even possible that companies based near the fairgrounds will be advised to close for two days for security reasons. The Juan Carlos I park and the surrounding area will also be closed. The Concejalía de Seguridad Ciudadana y Tráfico will also have more than 50 tow trucks available to check the streets through which the parades will pass. "Any car that obstructs the path of the visitors will be removed," said municipal sources. There will also be 100 patrol cars and 500 motorised agents on the streets of the city.

[Spain]

AGUILAR REFORMS THE ELECTORAL LAW ONCE AGAIN

The reform will just apply to the Congreso de los Diputados, which size will be reduced as the current system has been proven innefficient

The Extraordinary Cabinet Meeting (Consejo de Ministros Extraordinario) passed yesterday yet another reform of the Spanish Electoral Law, that will only apply to the Congreso de los Diputados as its size will be ‘significantly reduced’. The Congreso, which used to have 350 members of Parliament, saw its size increased to 768 members after the electoral reform, to increase representativity and political parties within the system, yet the new method has been proven to be innefficient, as debates take longer than expected and the chamber is slower than ever before.

Jesús Aguilar, who is on a roll after his party won the election in Castilla y Leon (even though he has been criticised for authorising the regional President, Alfonso Fernández Mañueco, to sign a Government agreement with the far-right party VOX) and the election in Andalucia, achieving a never-seen-before-absolute majority for the Partido Popular with Juanma Moreno as candidate, wants to take advantage of the great results his party is having and make up a new electoral system that benefits the big parties like the Partido Popular and the Partido LSocialista and damages the representation of smaller ones, like PACMA, Tú Patria or the regionalist parties.

The Minister for Home Affairs, Ana Beltrán, had to undergo the many questions of the journalists about this system, saying that some of the opposition claims that we have compiled on this article are ‘blatantly false’ and that ‘the Government is not reforming the system to gain advantage over its opponents’, but rather to ‘speed up Congress debates’. Ciudadanos, the main ally of the Partido Popular, has warned the Partido Popular that if they call a new general election after the passing of this law, they won't be able to expect another 4-year-long agreement. Will Jesús Aguilar call another General Election and try to gain an absolute majority once again? Only the President himself knows.

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USING THE SYSTEM TO GAIN AN ADVANTAGE
Opinion piece by Estefanía Molina

Aguilar, in a press conference this morning announcing his call for a general election on July 24th

Etta James' ‘At Last’ plays in the background. We are in the Palacio de la Moncloa, more exactly in the Consejo de Ministros building, first floor. It's Thursday, June 16th; and Jesús Aguilar has given the task to his Vicepresident, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, of preparing the royal visit to the Empire of Inimicus. His secretary, Carlos, has been ordered not to transfer any call to him for 2 hours. The door is closed, only Aguilar has the key to open it. He is not furious, he is not mad at anyone; he needs silence and to think what is over the table carefully. The balcony is open, even though the heat wave Madrid is undergoing is exhaustive to any human. Not even a single breeze can be felt.

Sounds like a novel, right? Well, it is not. According to sources close to the now Acting President of the Kingdom of Spain, Aguilar had been planning this for a week, and if things in Andalucía went alright, he would give it the green light. The polls are favourable to him, with all of them saying he would regain the absolute majority he lost 2 years ago, reduce Ciudadanos to ashes and ending with all those ridicolous parties that his first reform brought to the Congreso de los Diputados. The plan was perfect, he just needed the ideal excuse to call the election.

Ciudadanos, whose relationship with the Partido Popular has turned for the worse in the last year and a half, fell for the trap Aguilar prepared for them; and was planning a non-confidence motion at the backs of the President, without being aware that several loyal deputees were warning the Spanish President about what they were going to do. They failed in Murcia, in Madrid and now, they failed to kick Aguilar out. Ayuso, the President of the Autonomous Community of Madrid, warned the President that he had to act like if he "didn't know it" and "call the election as soon as the electoral law was passed". He did exactly what she suggested.

Yesterday night, the reform was passed, and Ana Beltre us dismossed the critics that said it was going to be used for meeting the "Partido Popular's electoral interests". This morning, Aguilar summoned the press for a conference, and told us what he had been warned of, before confirming he was indeed calling a general election. He says he is saddened for having to do things this way, but that he cannot risk the will of the Spanish people to be kidnapped by unwanted parties. Ciudadanos called him a "traitor", and the Socialist Party said that "they have told everyone what would happen if the law passed". Will anyone get him out of Moncloa? Only time will tell. But one thing seems clear: Aguilar used the system, and he gained the hugest advantage ever given to a President that calls for an early election.

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AND HE CAME BACK (SOON)

Jean-Claude Juncker, arriving this morning at Europolis

Jean-Claude Juncker will surely have to write another book, but with a different title, after his victory on the European Commission election against the Duchian candidate, Calvin Künhert, that makes him the new Premier Commissioner of the European Union. As a fun fact, he accomplished his first promise just after the results were proclaimed: he came back (soon), which also uses to be the title of his first book. However, what will Mr. Juncker face in his new term serving the Europeans? What challenges are waiting for him?

Firstly, he will have to do a new budget for the European Union, which is expected to raise massively after the European Development Agency gets a bump on its numbers and the European Agricultural Fund is created, something that is expected to happen before taking the EU's budget to the Council for discussion and vote. Juncker will also have to face the reform of the European Court of Justice and the European Council: the first one will be easier than the second, with the latter requiring a previous dialogue with the Council Speaker, Iras Tilkannas. According to Juncker, he wants "to include the Speaker on the reform so the Commission gets a better view on what the Council should become in the future".

With his nickname being "the orchestra conductor", Juncker will now properly do that from the position that is supposed to: the Premier Commissioner seat. A new era begins for Europe, and the old but smart Jean-Claude seems to be ready to deliver lots of changes in just four months. Will he call his second book "delivering"? Time will tell.

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MINISTERS SWORN-IN: WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE NEW MINISTERS?

A stock picture of the swear-in ceremony

The new Aguilar cabinet has sworn-in in front of King Felipe VI today at the Palacio de la Zarzuela, marking the start of the 4th Aguilar cabinet after the Congress approved the inauguration of Jesús Aguilar and the King designated him as candidate for the country's presidency. The Cabinet keeps the number of members (22 ministers and the President of the Government) and the number of women on the cabinet increases to 10, being the cabinet with the higher parity of representation in the Spanish history, and 8 new ministers.

What should we expect from them? According to President Aguilar, these new Ministers have been chosen because of their qualities and devotion to the Ministry they have assumed, and therefore the Spanish citizens "will be their first priority". In the 'relevant' ministries, there have been two important changes: the now former Galician President, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, now becomes Minister for Home Affairs replacing Ana Beltrán; and Pascal Donohoe replaces Luis de Guindos, who Jesús Aguilar intends to fill in as candidate to the ECB's Presidency, in the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.

Another big change to the Government composition comes with the division of the Ministry of Science, Innovation, Research, Digital Transformation and 2030 Agenda into two different ministries: Anja Karliczek will assume Science, Innovation and Research while Víctor Calvo-Sotelo assumes Digital Transformation, Cybersecurity and 2030 Agenda. While Calvo-Sotelo is a known face, being directly involved in the Hispano-Inquistan discovery of Atlantis, Anja Karliczek is a direct suggestion from the Germanium President, Erma Arbeit. Aguilar has also included in his cabinet a Grequian and a French Minister, Mariastella Gelmini (Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda) and Josianne Corneloup (Health, Consumption and Social Welfare).

The biggest change, and probably the most relevant, takes place in the recently renamed Ministry for the Spanish Commonwealth Affairs, Overseas Missions and Territorial Waters, now assumed by the Londoner Elizabeth Truss from Teodoro García Egea. According to sources close to the Spanish President, the election of Truss is not casual: Aguilar thought Egea's public image was way too weared away and that his policies were soft, when this Ministry requires "a hard line with hard, clear policies". Truss will have to deal with the protection of the Strait of Gibraltar and the taxing policy, one of the highest challenges for Spain every year.

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SPANISH TROOPS ARRIVE IN NEW SERTIAN BASE

Construction of a spaceport continues, expected to be finished by the start of 2023

Spanish troops have arrived today in the newly restaured military base in Gadalland and Aspern, where they have welcomed by the local authorities and the Commander for the Caribbean and the Pacific, Carlos Brown. The new base will serve as protection for the Sertian Government and citizens, the Caribbean region and their interests. The three branches will have representation on the base, with army, naval and air troops being deployed, all of them being sent from Spain as no troops have been removed from Nofoaga.

In his base opening speech, General Brown has remarked the existing "huge friendship and cooperation between Spain and the Caribbean nations", reaffirming this new base is "a new step towards reinforced security of the region and, more importantly, to protect the interests of Nofoaga and Gadalland and Aspern against new threats in a more tensioned region". Brown has also guaranteed the Sertian people that "if they ever need the Spanish Army to do anything for them, they will find Spanish soldiers and equipment next to them, assisiting every single person in the island", as proved in the volcanic eruption in Nofoaga last year.

The Spanish and Sertian Governments have also visited the construction of the base's spaceport, which is expected to be completed by the start of 2023. This also comes from the agreements reached in the three-way summit that Guthrun Wond, Lula Namatatiki and Jesús Aguilar held in Nueva Antequera early this year. The Spanish Ambassador to the CCCC has also announced the President's intention to visit the Caribbean again in 2023, to celebrate the spaceport opening and to reaffirm the Spanish-Caribbean cooperation.

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SPAIN BECOMES THE 6TH EUROPEAN ECONOMY

The Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness has released a statement today in which they announced that the Spanish gross domestic product had overtaken Fremet's, which means the Kingdom of Spain becomes the sixth European economy. The Ministry also announced a press conference of the newly appointed Minister, Pascal Donohoe, who until July 26th was the main economical advisor of the Spanish Government, a no longer existent role. In the last press conference he gave, he set 2 objectives for the summer: reaching a 5 trillion euros GDP value and overtaking Vayinaod, both more than accomplished as of today.

In his press conference, Donohoe has attributed these 'amazing' results to the former Minister, Luis de Guindos, who is now a candidate for the European Central Bank Presidency. According to Donohoe, these results are a product of the well-doing and hard work of the former minister: "even if these results have been achieved under my term, this is all a product of Luis de Guindos' management, which should be enough to prove that he is able to face any challenge he is given".

The Minister of Economy and Competititveness has also set new challenges for the Spanish Economy, that he has set for the end of the year but that he expects them to be accomplished way before the Ministry team expects: "this Ministry and myself want to be ambitious, and that is why we want to reach a 7 trillion euros GDP before January 1st, 2023. We are also the 4th richest per capita, and we aim to be the 3rd by the end of the year. This is the very conservative stage, and in the most positive one the only thing that we have altered is the GDP value to 8 trillion euros before the first day of 2023".

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THE NEW SPANISH GOVERNMENT STARTS ITS FIRST POLITICAL YEAR

President Aguilar, in the Palacio de la Moncloa on a joint conference with President Grimwald of Elthize

The new Spanish Government has turned its engine on and accelerated for the first time. The massive car, driven by the re-elected Jesús Aguilar back in the July general election, which awarded the Partido Popular with an absolute majority, starts its long journey towards July 31st, 2023, when the Government will once again take some holidays to enjoy the great summer days our country has to offer. However, many challenges are ahead for the executive power, in a increasingly challenging and changing world.

President Aguilar promised back on his campaign that this term would be "the term for Spain to improve to its highest level in history", a claim that Pedro Sánchez from the PSOE has discredited calling it "dishonest". The Spanish Government, however, faces the application of the first measures compiled on the Spanish Green Plan and the gratest drought since 1995, with water reserves in the south of Spain below 20%. The Government is also pursuing the construction of nuclear power plants or improving the transport network and the autonomical distribution of funds, and the regional ntegration of the pre-autonomic or protectorates into the Kingdom.

Internationally, the Spanish Government has also big challenges ahead: with Spanish people at the front of the European Commission (Jean-Claude Juncker) and the European Central Bank (Luis de Guindos, former Minister of Economy), the country has regained some influence within the European Union, and the Government feels ready to take that chance and give a boost to Aguilar and Spain's international image. The new strategy drawn by Minister Dastis and President Aguilar wants to show Spain is ready to hold important events, just like the Telum Treaty Summit back in June, and gain new partners and allies to keep growing economically, keeping preference for Telum partners and Spain traditional allies.

Aguilar's international agenda is expected to be filled up in these 3 months of the year, with several visits from new EU member states, a summit between Spain and Inquista which the Government claims it will be "different to any other" or reaffirming Spain's compromises abroad.

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MINISTER TRUSS MEETS PICARDO TO DISCUSS GIBRALTAR APPROACH

Minister Liz Truss and President Fabián Picardo, before their meeting this morning

The Minister for the Spanish Commonwealth Affairs, Overseas Missions and Territorial Waters, Elizabeth (Liz) Truss, has met today with the President of the Autonomous City of Gibraltar, Fabián Picardo, in order to discuss the approach the Spanish Government is going to follow on the area and hear the thoughts of the Gibraltarean President on said strategy, which has been described as "game changing" by Truss.

Picardo has defined the meeting as "productive and useful for the Gibraltarean people", while affirming that the plans drawn by Liz Truss on the summit are "satisfactory for the Gibraltarean Government and for Spanish interests in the area". Truss, who is expected to harden the approach followed by former Minister Teodoro García Egea, has stated she will not allow "any humilliations when it comes to Gibraltar" and that if someone expected her to be a "cute, lovely cat, they will be proved wrong", because she will be "a lion that will not hesitate to bite her enemies" if necessary.

Truss, who represents the hardest line within the Partido Popular, was appointed by Aguilar to reinforce that hard speech on the issue. According to Presidential sources the former Minister, Teodoro García Egea, was "really soft" and he had "no credibility" after the Adventuranza Sea dispute got resolved. Truss is, according to the same sources, a "reliable bet" and that she will "accomplish all the objectives she is given on his job". To prove she will be a hard Minister, she has joined the Armada soldiers on a ship deployed in the Strait of Gibraltar.

[Spain]

AGUILAR REFORMS THE ELECTION OF THE CONSEJO GENERAL DEL PODER JUDICIAL, NEUBERGER ELECTED AS NEW PRESIDENT

David Neuberger has been elected as the new Consejo General del Poder Judicial President

Believe it or not, it is real: judges are officially independent from the political parties after more than forty years. Last week, the Spanish Government managed to get both, the Congreso de los Diputados and the Senado, to pass their reform on the judiciary branch, which grants said power a greater independence when it comes to electing high officers and other positions of relevance. This comes after President Aguilar's campaign compromise to "grant Spanish judges the independence they deserve", something he has accomplished in less than four months.

The Consejo General del Poder Judicial (CGPJ), the constitutional body that governs all the Judiciary of Spain, such as courts, and judges, had had its mandate expired since 2018, as the Partido Popular and the Partido Socialista did not agree on who should be a member of the Council and who should preside it. While the socialists wanted someone more progressive to preside it and, therefore, achieve a progressist majority; the Partido Popular wanted a more conservative judge. That, added to the need of a majority that neither of them had to reform the system, kept the CGPJ on an interim role its now former President, Carlos Lesmes, was "sick of having to hold", according to sources close to him.

After the reform was passed and became effective, the judges started the procedures to elect a new CGPJ, which has a conservative majority and President: David Neuberger, from the autonomous community of Londres, has been elected by his workmates as the new President of the Tribunal Supremo (the Supreme Court) and the CGPJ. He is the first ever President of the institution from what the people call "Spanish core", formed by the 17 original autonomous communities and the 3 autonomous cities (Ceuta, Melilla and Gibraltar). Neuberger will be accompanied by 10 conservative and 10 progressive judges, so he will be the vote that will give conservative views a majority in the Spanish judiciary.

Justice Minister Rafael Catalá has congratulated Mr. Neuberger, and affirmed the Government's compromise with an independent judiciary: "this has always been a priority for the President and myself, and I am glad that we have finally been able to accomplish one of our promises on this area. Now, we will work even harder to continue upgrading our judiciary system". In the Partido Socialista, however, the conservative majority of the Council did not cause the same reaction, accussing Aguilar of pulling said reform to get his party and personal interests satisfied: "he made this reform just to get his friends as members of the Council, avoiding anyone's objections to the new Council composition". Pedro Sánchez has also guaranteed that if he becomes President in the next election, he will "bring back the old system", that has also been criticised by left-wing judiciary associations.

[Spain]

THE GOVERNMENT POINTS TO 2023

A stock picture showing a sign saying "2023 ahead"

With 2022 starting to prepare its farewell party, 2023 starts to warm up for the big celebration: with less than 2 months left for the arrival of the new year, the Spanish Government wants to get to New Year's Eve with all homework done for the next year and complete the pending one for the current one. Focus Africa seems to be the first completed task of the coming year, as the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation announced what the new foreign approach of the Government to mostly all African nations (even if Svarna Surya classes itself as Asian) will look like once January 1st, 2023, arrives.

The African continent will not, however, be the only region of the European Union on the spotlight of the Spanish Government: the Carribbean or the Mediterranean are expected to make their appearance in further press releases the mentioned Ministry will make public before the arrival of the coming year. The main goal seems to be clear: sending a message to the world that states how reliable our country is while trying to build new bridges between Spain and the many nations around the EU, while reinforcing the existing ones with Telum partners, close neighbours like California or Hellas and other nations that Spain has strong ties with.

So far, no criticism has been expressed by any party to Focus Africa 2023, nevertheless Aguilar faces intense criticism from left-wing parties as he focus more and more in preparing the arrival of 2023 instead of caring about "current and relevant affairs that worry the Spanish society". It is, to be honest, true that the Government seems to be focusing more and more in the future than in the present, letting Madrid's President Isabel Díaz Ayuso destroy the public health system, or lower taxes more than other autonomies, trying to force other regions of the country into a "tax war". On his side, the Spanish President has answered this critics saying that "the left is desperate for gaining some more votes, but the only thing they are doing is convincing people of not voting for them".