SPAIN: European Army Calls & more – 27th Mar 2025

Buenos días from Gracia! This is the Rorshok Spain Update from the 27th of March twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Spain.

What’s been going on in Spain over the last couple of weeks? Well, we're kicking off this week's special longer episode with the latest economic updates as industrial prices in Spain have hit a two-year high.

According to Eurostat, Spain’s Manufacturing Producer Price Index rose from 117 in December twenty twenty-four to 118 in January twenty twenty-five, with February seeing further increases. To put it simply, the index tracks how much prices are changing for goods made in Spain. Right now, those prices are rising, which isn’t good for economic growth.

The main driver is rising energy costs, particularly electricity and gas, which make manufacturing more expensive. As a result, companies may pass these costs on to consumers, leading to higher prices for everyday goods.

Next up, on Wednesday the 26th, President Pedro Sánchez called for a unified European Army, with troops from all twenty-seven EU countries, to ensure security and stability.

He argued that amid shifting U.S. policies and rising threats, Europe must take responsibility for its own defense to guarantee lasting peace.

However, this call comes at a time when Spain faces pressure to boost its military spending. With one of the smallest NATO budgets, the prime minister has promised to increase funding, but his left-wing coalition partners oppose reallocating funds from social services and decarbonization efforts to military priorities.

In healthcare, recent news suggests that measles has returned to Spain.

On Sunday, the 23rd, Spanish health authorities reported over 100 measles cases in the first eight weeks of twenty twenty-five, a sharp rise from just fifteen in the same period last year. Experts say the virus has entered Spain through countries such as Romania and Morocco, easily spreading across eight regions because of low vaccine rates.

But no need to worry too much—the Spanish Ministry of Health considers the risk low and is closely monitoring the situation.

Also, Spain isn’t alone—several other European countries are also seeing a resurgence, including Romania with over 27,000 cases, Italy with around 1,000, and Germany with more than 600.

From healthcare to housing. After years of frustration and protests over squatters, or okupas. On Tuesday the 18th, Congress proposed a new law that could dramatically speed up the eviction process for squatters.

The law, backed by both the Socialist Party and the Popular Party, aims to ensure that property owners can reclaim their homes within forty-eight hours of reporting a squatter. Currently, Spain’s squatter laws make eviction a lengthy and complex process, often requiring legal battles that can stretch for months or even years. Under the proposed law, the deadline would apply without delay, making it significantly easier for homeowners to recover their properties without navigating cumbersome court procedures.

Squatting has become a big issue in Spain over the last few years, as cases of illegal occupation rise, with more than 16,000 breaking and entering incidents reported in twenty twenty-four alone. In Barcelona in twenty twenty-three, figures were around 7,000, while in Andalucia and Madrid, there were between 30,000 and 40,000, though not all of these resulted in squatting.

Let’s talk about a heated debate over Moroccan cultural studies in southern Spain.

The Spanish government's plan to introduce the Arabic language and Moroccan culture studies in Andalusian schools for the twenty twenty-five-twenty twenty-six academic year has sparked strong opposition from the far-right party Vox. The program is designed primarily for Moroccan students, with Spanish students able to opt in voluntarily.

In a press conference on Thursday, the 20th, Vox’s Manuel Gavira criticized the initiative, arguing that such subjects should be taught at the Moroccan embassy or private schools rather than in public institutions. He said the program promotes a culture that contradicts Spanish values.

Supporters, however, point to Morocco's historical influence on southern Spain, particularly during the Moorish era, and argue that understanding this heritage is essential to appreciating Spain’s diverse cultural history.

On an unrelated note, on Monday the 24th, the European Commission backed Spain's decision not to pay over one hundred million dollars to the private equity firm Antin, despite a previous ruling that said they should.

This repayment issue began when Spain reduced renewable energy subsidies in twenty thirteen, which hurt Antin's investments. Antin took the case to an international court and won in twenty eighteen. However, the EU Commission now says that paying this money would be an illegal form of government support, which goes against EU regulations.

For all the expats that tune in to this podcast, this next one's for you.

The British embassy in Spain has urged British residents without a tarjeta de identidad de extranjero or TIE card to apply urgently, as Spain has confirmed the old green certificate will not be valid under the EU’s upcoming Entry Exit System or EES.

Without a TIE, British residents may be considered non-residents, risking travel complications or re-entry issues. The EES is expected to start this year, though no date is set.

The system will require non-EU short-stay travellers to register biometric data and passport details, which will be stored for three years to simplify repeat visits.

Even if you’re not British, if you are living in Spain, it may be worth reviewing which certificate you need!

Driving in Spain? You might want to be aware of new speeding cameras across the peninsula. According to news outlet Euro Weekly News, Spain’s traffic authority, the Dirección General de Tráfico, or the DGT, has installed seventeen new radar systems nationwide as part of its twenty twenty-five speed control plan.

This initiative forms part of the DGT’s twenty twenty-five national speed control plan, which aims to deploy over one hundred new radars as part of ongoing efforts to improve traffic safety and reduce speeding.

The new radar devices will operate under a one-month grace period. During this time, if you’re caught speeding, you won’t be fined, but afterwards, drivers should expect heavy fines.

The DGT has made the locations public. Link in the show notes!

Continuing with transport, despite pressure to align with EU road funding policies, the Ministry for Transport has reaffirmed that there will be no tolls, pay-per-use fees, or extra charges on state-owned highways, expressways, or roads.

Since twenty eighteen, Spain has been removing tolls from Spanish motorways and bringing over 1,000 kilometers (or 620 miles) of highways under state control. President Pedro Sánchez has insisted that this move helps reduce regional inequalities and makes road travel more affordable.

85% of Spain’s motorway network is now toll-free and the government is sticking to its guns to keep it that way.

It’s been a while since we gave an update on Valencia so let’s check in with what’s been going on in the region over the past couple of weeks.

On Sunday the 2nd, tens of thousands rallied against Carlos Mazón, the regional president of Valencia, calling for his resignation and displaying anger and frustration at his leadership since Valencia’s devastating floods in October of twenty twenty-four.

Banners and chants said that Mazón was incompetent and did not manage the warning procedures or post-flooding organization well. Mazón has consistently refused calls to quit and has vowed to continue until the end of his term in twenty twenty-seven.

Unfortunately, it turns out that Valencia can’t have a break from floods

On Thursday, the 6th, Torrential rain caused flash floods, sweeping away cars, closing roads, and forcing school evacuations. The state meteorological agency issued orange alerts for parts of Murcia, Valencia, and Catalunya, warning coastal residents to stay indoors.

Even though Thursday’s floods caused no casualties, Fernando López Miras, Murcia’s regional president, warned that rising water levels continue to flood streets, highlighting the lasting impact of October’s floods.

We’ve also got an update on Catalunya’s debt relief, which we reported on a couple of weeks ago.

On Sunday the 9th, during a conference, the Popular Party or PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo criticized recent agreements between President Pedro Sánchez and the Catalan Parliament, particularly the region’s debt forgiveness and transfer of immigration powers.

Feijóo argued that the debt relief simply shifts the burden elsewhere and that handing over immigration powers weakens Spain as a whole. He argued that Catalunya has more complex immigration, high crime rates and more okupas.

Sánchez agreed to forgive over €17 billion in Catalan debt in exchange for political backing from the ruling Esquerra Republicana party, securing his re-election as Spain’s president in December twenty twenty-four.

In his speech, Feijóo also assured Catalans, saying his party won’t make them feel like foreigners outside Catalunya.

Now, here is some interesting news: Horses and fire—what’s the connection?

On Tuesday the 25th, news outlet Reuters reported on an ecological jewel in the northwest of the country. In Barro, a village in Galicia, wildfires have dropped significantly since locals began grazing wild horses in twenty nineteen. A twenty twenty-one A Coruña University study found that these horses help preserve ecosystems by boosting plant diversity and aiding carbon capture. Unlike cows or sheep, they thrive in rugged terrain.

As climate change fuels more wildfires, locals maintain this Neolithic-era tradition to protect both the horses and the landscape. However, without government funding, rising costs for fencing, vet care, insurance, and tracking threaten their efforts.

Interested in cutting food waste? Well, Spain has introduced a new law that will help reduce food waste across many different Spanish industries.

The new law was passed on Thursday the 20th and requires bars and restaurants to provide containers for taking away leftovers, supermarkets to donate their surplus food, and all companies in the food chain to have plans to prevent further food from continuing along the chain.

Now, female empowerment! According to data from the European Patent Office, or EPO, Spain is the European country with the highest percentage of female inventors named in patent applications.

Just over 40% of Spanish patent applications in twenty twenty-four included at least one female inventor, a percentage much higher than that of Belgium at 32% and France at 31%.

In its twenty twenty-four Patent Index, the EPO reported that inventors worldwide filed over 200,000 patent applications last year, of which just over 2,000 were from Spanish companies.

EPO President António Campinos emphasized that, despite political and economic unrest, last year's patent requests demonstrate Spain’s technological prowess and continued investment in research and development.

Next, if you’re not familiar with AI and its applications in media, then this next story might surprise you.

Pedro Sandoval, a Spanish music artist, became the first person to create a full album using artificial intelligence after releasing it to Spotify earlier this month.

Sandoval used AI to generate singing profiles for two different singers; ZKY-18 and Dirty Marilyn. Sandoval has been a strong defender of artificial intelligence in the artistic field, despite many calling for it to be regulated, or outright banned.

If you want to check out the album, it’s called El Chulo de Madrid.

While on the topic of AI, Spain will impose large fines for not labelling AI-generated content.

The government approved a bill on Tuesday the 11th that will allow them to impose massive fines on companies that use content generated by artificial intelligence without properly labelling it as such, in a bid to flush out deep fake or misleading content.

Spain is among the first EU countries to implement strict AI legislation.

Shifting gears, here’s an interesting story about a wine with a new prestigious status.

The European Commission has granted wines from the Río Negro area Protected Designation of Origin status, recognizing their unique qualities and rich winemaking heritage.

The area with the new status is located in Guadalajara, Central Spain, and covers about 1,170 acres or 400 hectares, approximately 1.8 square miles. The region's winemaking tradition reflects generations of expertise adapted to its mountainous terrain and climate.

With the weather chopping and changing so much in recent times, let’s look at how April is predicted to pan out in Spain.

Meteorologists from Spain’s State Meteorological Agency are predicting a notably hot spring period, with temperatures expected to be roughly 70% warmer than last year.

This trend aligns with Spain's increasingly warm spring seasons. Rainfall patterns remain uncertain, though recent rains have helped ease Spain's long-term drought.

Winter was also unusually mild, marking the sixth warmest since nineteen sixty-one and part of a clear trend toward warmer seasons in general.

However, recent flash flooding might have something to say about this!

Finally, at this year’s Fallas festival in Valencia, a series of over-the-top caricatures of Donald Trump took center stage, ready to be set alight in the traditional fashion. These fiery paper-mache sculptures, part of the festival's satirical spirit, reflect Spain’s unique tradition of using art to challenge political figures.

Want to check out some of the sculptures? Link in show notes.

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

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