SPAIN: Aspides Mission & more – 1st Feb 2024

Buenos días from Greenway Parks! This is the Rorshok Spain Update from the 1st of February twenty twenty-four A quick summary of what's going down in Spain.

On Thursday, the 25th, Margarita Robles told Congress that Spain would not veto the US and EU's Apsis mission in the Red Sea. Aspis is a maritime security operation led by the US and supported by allies like Britain, Canada, Italy, and France. It aims to address ongoing missile and drone attacks by Yemen Houthis on merchant ships bound for Israel in the Red Sea.

In contrast, José Manuel Albares, Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union, and Cooperation, has been more cautious, stating that Spain is not inclined to participate in Aspis as it's not mandatory.

The Defense Ministry took a firm stance because Spain is dealing with Operation Atalanta, an operation against Somali piracy headquartered in Rota, Cádiz. Because of this project, they’re concerned that their resources will be strained and will have to assume a lot of responsibility if they get involved.

Meanwhile, Spain has been debating measures to reduce working hours with the same pay for full-time employees, but now attention is turning to the overlooked concerns of part-time employees.

Part-time workers may benefit from government proposals through increased salaries or reduced working hours, but only if their conditions align with equivalent full-time colleagues. Identical rights and working conditions are established through coefficients. This means that if a full-time worker receives a certain salary or benefit, a part-time worker will receive the proportional benefit.

Still, it's up to companies to adjust to this reality of new, fewer working hours.

And that's not all the government is focused on as the Executive and Together for Catalunya or Junts per Catalunya battled it out on Tuesday the 30th in Congress over the highly controversial amnesty bill.

Sanchez lost his first parliamentary proposal bill since re-election on Tuesday after the Catalan separatist Junts party voted against the amnesty bill put forward by the government, saying it didn't do enough to shield Catalan independence leaders against criminal charges. Junts wanted to make changes to the bill to ensure that Catalan separatists accused of terrorism charges would be protected. They want Carles Puigdemont, Junts’ leader, to return to Spain without any legal repercussions.

For its part, the central government questioned why Junts voted against the bill, which will help about 1,500 people currently awaiting trial and conviction for their part in the twenty seventeen Catalan independence bid. They will probably turn Sanchez's first defeat into pressure on Junts, accusing the Catalan party of failing to protect many people because they believe the current amnesty bill won't protect their leader.

So, it's back to the drawing board, where Sanchez's coalition must decide whether to give in to Junt’s demands.

It's no secret that self-exiled Puigdemont hoped for a quick return to Spain when he offered Sanchez his parliamentary backing in return for amnesty agreements. On Monday the 29th, his dream was somewhat shattered when a judge looking into allegations of support from Russia to the Catalan separatist movement decided to extend his investigation by another six months, meaning Puigdemont would have to stay put in Belgium for a little longer.

The judge is investigating if Nikolau Sadovnikov, a former Soviet and Russian diplomat, offered Catalan separatists 500 billion dollars and military aid for turning Catalunya into a global virtual currency haven. There's speculation that Russia wanted political and economic influence in an independent Catalunya, destabilizing the European Union.

Spain is angry at the Belgian presidency of the EU Council as it has decided to put aside the issue of granting official status to Catalan, Galician, and Basque in the Union. On Monday, the 29th, Belgium did not include proposals for this in its first General Affairs Council, and is accused of forgetting the issue. On a national level, politicians are allowed to use Catalan, Galician, Basque, Asturian, Aragonese, or Aranese in Congress.

Moving on, a Spanish pharmaceutical lab called Laboratorios Normon is set to launch a generic version of Champix, the groundbreaking smoking cessation drug created by Pfizer, who had to withdraw the drug in twenty twenty-one due to manufacturing problems and safety concerns.

The expiration of the molecule's patent paved the way for the new drug. Health authorities estimate that it will be available in Spanish pharmacies in two or three months.

Just for some perspective on tobacco usage, according to Eurostat statistics, in twenty nineteen, Spain ranked among the top eleven European Union countries for daily tobacco consumption, with slightly over 19% of the population consuming tobacco every day. In comparison, Bulgaria had the highest rate at 28%, while Sweden and Iceland had lower rates at 6% and 7%..

Meanwhile, in Catalunya, drought conditions are getting worse, and water reserves are depleting because there hasn't been enough rain to replenish them over the last three years. To combat this, the region has announced it will invest 2.6 billion dollars into a ten-year project to cope with severe water scarcity. Their plan aims to replenish reservoir levels, which have reached a critical point below 16% this month. They want to create more desalination plants and improve the current ones. Using methods like distillation or reverse osmosis can help ensure a reliable water supply, mitigating the impact of droughts and climate change while reducing dependence on traditional water sources. In the short term, however, the region has said it may have to import water from boats if the situation doesn’t improve, though this isn’t a long-term solution.

Catalunya isn't the only region reaching breaking point, as the Costa Del Sol in Andalucia has said it will introduce water cuts in March if it doesn't rain.

The Commonwealth of Municipalities has considered restrictions in cities like Marbella or Estepona due to dwindling reservoir levels—now below 16% capacity. The Andalusian government may implement reduced supply hours to ensure water is available during the coming tourist season, as tourism provides around 13% of the region's GDP.

Media outlet Olive Press reported this week that Andalucia's drought has hit families in Valle Romano, Costa del Sol. The 1,000 residents of the community, including many elderly and retirees, cannot shower or flush toilets because the water storage tanks are nearly empty, and only dribbles of water come out of the taps.

The record-breaking temperatures are definitely not helping.

Next up, a Spanish judge has said that Luis Rubiales, the former football federation president, should go on trial over his non-consensual kiss given to Jenni Hermoso, the Spanish national football player, during the women's World Cup win. Penalties for the contested kiss could include a fine or up to four years in prison since the case against Rubiales carries charges of sexual assault and coercion, with accusations that he had asked other football executives to pressure Hermoso to falsely say that the kiss was consensual. These other executives are also facing charges for their part in coercion. Lawyers involved now have ten days to request a formal trial before a court.

In more sports-related news, Xavi Hernández, Barca FC coach, burdened by internal and external pressures, announced last weekend that he will be leaving his position on the 30th of June. His decision wasn't made in the heat of the moment, as he'd already said he wanted to leave. The final straw was Barca's defeat against Villarreal on Saturday the 27th, prompting Xavi to share his decision straight after the game with Joan Laporta, the club president. On Sunday the 28th, Xavi told players that, "Being a Barcelona coach is cruel and difficult."

And finally, just a quick one for the foodies. Calçot season is fast approaching, so here's a quick lowdown on the seasonal oniony vegetable traditionally eaten between the end of December and March. Originating from Valls in Tarragona, Catalunya, Calçots have EU Protected Geographical Indication. Only those grown in this region are deemed authentic. They're also celebrated annually in a calçotada festival. People typically host calçotada barbeques where families gather in country homes or Masias and eat meat, like Catalan sausage or Butifarra, and drink wine from a glass bottle that looks like a small watering can called porrón.

Want to know more? Link in the show notes!

Aaaaaand that's it for this week. So you listen to us, ideally almost every week, but we don't actually know each other. Here's a chance to fix that. On Monday the 8th of April there is a total eclipse of the sun in Dallas, Texas, in the US. There will be events organized the whole weekend before. So on the off chance you can get here, send us an email or check the show notes for more information.

¡Hasta la próxima!