SPAIN: CGPJ blockage & more – 8th Aug 2024

Buenos días from Gracia! This is the Rorshok Spain Update from the 8th of August twenty twenty-four. A quick summary of what's going down in Spain.

To kick things off, starting in September, Daniel Esteve Martínez, owner of Desokupa, will train thousands of Spanish National Police officers.

Desokupa is a private company based in Spain that specializes in reclaiming properties from illegal occupants. Esteve, known for his evictions and his controversial social media presence, signed the deal with Mónica Gracia, head of the National Police Union.

The agreement has sparked a backlash from other police unions and the Ministry of the Interior, prompting an investigation into Desokupa’s compatibility with democratic values.

Esteve plans to offer both online and in-person courses covering self-defense and arrest techniques. Despite concerns over Esteve's reputation, a union representative insists the deal aims to enhance officer safety and training quality.

In politics, the General Council of the Judiciary, or CGPJ, remains without a president after its twenty members from the Socialist and Popular parties failed to reach an agreement.

On Monday the 5th of August, despite deliberating for over three hours, none of the seven candidates received the necessary twelve votes to become president of the General Council.

The council has postponed further voting and aims to reach a consensus in the coming weeks. The CGPJ has been without a president and a formal mandate since December twenty eighteen.

But the deadlock persists as both blocs accuse each other of trying to impose their preferred candidates. The CGPJ plans to meet on Monday the 19th, to address urgent administrative matters.

Keeping with politics, Carles Puigdemont, former Catalan president, announced he intends to return to Spain for the inauguration of Salvador Illa as the new regional head, despite facing potential arrest. Illa´s inauguration is likely to be on Friday the 9th, so we´ll have an update on this next week.

Puigdemont, who fled Spain following the twenty seventeen independence referendum, still faces embezzlement charges that are not covered by the recent amnesty law for Catalan separatists. The law pardons illegal actions by separatist leaders and activists from twenty eleven to twenty twenty-three, excluding embezzlement.

This political move underscores ongoing tensions and negotiations between separatist factions and the major party in Government, the Socialist PSOE, as Illa's new government depends on support from the Republican Left of Catalonia and Illa's own party, the Socialist Party of Catalunya.

Next up, the municipality of Níjar in Andalucia has taken a significant step towards approving a controversial hotel in the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park, despite strong opposition.

The project aims to transform the historic Las Chequeras farmhouse into a four-star hotel with twenty rooms and has received the Unified Environmental Authorization from the Junta de Andalucía.

Environmentalists have appealed this decision, citing potential harm to the protected area, but the Níjar City Council, led by the PP with Vox support, has already started the process.

Critics argue the project undermines efforts to preserve the region's natural beauty, while supporters say it meets all legal requirements. The final decision will hinge on whether the project is deemed of public interest.

This isn't the first time the Junta has been in hot water for its anti-environmental choices, building a fish farm just off the Villaricos coast in twenty twenty-one and dodgy water irrigation practices in the Doñana National Park, which was set to ruin the wetlands, are just some of the few questionable decisions they have made.

Speaking of the National park, Doñana has seen significant environmental improvements under the Ministry of Ecology’s improved framework policies.

Groundwater extraction, which damages the local ecosystem, has decreased by fifteen cubic hectometers annually, and illegal cultivation areas have been reduced by 40%.

Since the framework's introduction in November twenty twenty-two, approximately €47 million, 13% of the Ministry’s €356 million budget, has been spent, with a large amount focused within the Doñana National Park.

The plan includes a €28.5 million budget in twenty twenty-four to aid agricultural diversification across Spain and €70 million in direct aid to municipalities by twenty twenty-five for sustainable development projects.

Moving on to air quality, in Catalunya, according to a report by the Barcelona Public Health Agency, Barcelona celebrates its best air quality and lowest nitrogen dioxide levels since measurements began.

The report extensively details the air quality in Barcelona during the previous full year of measurements, twenty twenty-three.

However, it's not all rosy. Although the recorded average nitrogen dioxide level is just over twenty micrograms per cubic meter, below the EU limit of forty, it still exceeds the World Health Organisation's recommendation of ten.

Laia Bonet, Deputy Mayor of Barcelona, credits reduced traffic speeds, street pacification, and eco-friendly vehicles for the improvement. However, further reductions are needed to meet the twenty thirty EU target of twenty micrograms.

In Transport, Spain has inaugurated its first rolling motorway service facilitating the transport of lorry semi-trailers by rail between València and Madrid.

Logistics companies TransItalia and Tramesa operate the service with a large fleet of freight wagons and locomotives. The initiative follows a €3.7 million investment in gantry cranes at València port and upgrades at Madrid's Abroñigal terminal.

Future plans include expanding the service to Entroncamento, Portugal, and redeveloping Madrid's Vicávaro marshaling yard into a key industrial hub.

Turning to energy, Spanish energy giant Iberdrola has secured a deal to acquire UK power grid operator Electricity North West for approximately €5 billion.

Iberdrola will buy an 88% stake from Equitix, KDM Power, and CNIC for £2.1 billion, making the UK its largest market by assets. This acquisition, adding to Iberdrola's ownership of Scottish Power, extends its reach to nearly 5 million customers in northwest England, including major city Manchester.

Ignacio Galán, executive chairman of Iberdrola, emphasized that the deal aligns with their strategy to invest in robust electricity networks, which is critical for economic electrification and decarbonization.

This move increases Iberdrola's UK asset base to about €14 billion, surpassing its €13.3 billion in the US and €9.4 billion in Spain.

Moving on, the autonomous community of Valencia is intensifying efforts to regulate Airbnb-style holiday rentals amid rising concerns over mass tourism.

Valencia's regional government, which is in charge of popular destinations like Benidorm and Alicante, plans to fine rule-breaking landlords up to €600,000 if regulations for holiday rentals aren’t followed.

Nuria Montes, Valencia’s top tourism official, emphasized the need to control and regulate holiday apartments to prevent uncontrolled growth. The region has seen licensed holiday apartments surge to 106,000 from 40,000 since twenty fifteen, but estimates suggest over 50,000 unregistered apartments exist.

Valencia’s plan doesn’t go as far as Barcelona’s total ban on holiday rentals but aims to eradicate black-market rentals and improve safety standards. The regional parliament will vote on the measures in September.

In weather news, a rare supercell tornado was observed in El Toro, Castellón, in Valencia, during extreme weather following a recent heatwave.

The Spanish Meteorological Agency confirmed the tornado, while other meteorological associations called it a supercell. A supercell is a rotating thunderstorm while a tornado is the recognizable violently rotating column of air that extends to the ground.

The severe weather, caused by a temperature drop of up to eight degrees, included torrential rain, hail, and strong winds. José Arenes, El Toro's mayor, reported no major damage to the town center.

Turning to music, singer Rosalía is endorsing a new scholarship at the Catalunya College of Music in Barcelona, where she once studied, to support aspiring flamenco singers and artists.

The €15,000 scholarship (around 16,000 USD) will cover tuition and provide financial relief for the twenty twenty-four–twenty twenty-five academic year.

The registration deadline is Tuesday, the 27th of August, and students who pass the entrance exam will qualify. If you’re a budding flamenco artist, visit the Catalunya College of Music’s website!

And finally, culture. La Semana Grande, known as Aste Nagusia in Basque, is a nine-day festival held in Bilbao. It kicks off on Saturday the 17th of August at the Arriaga Theatre with the launch of a giant firework, or txupinazo (Chupinazo), and the appearance of Marijaia, the festival mascot.

The festival includes traditional Basque music concerts, dances, rural sports competitions like wood cutting and stone dragging, and food and drink stalls.

The festival concludes on Sunday the 25th of August with the symbolic burning of mascot Marijaia, signifying the end of the celebrations.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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