Madrid mayor slams plan to limit foreign property buyers
Madrid’s mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida has described the national government’s plan to tighten the requirements for the purchase of housing by non-EU non-residents as “absurd”, adding that it sends a "bad message" regarding Spain and the "insecurity" of its legal system.
"Making it more difficult for non-European foreigners to buy is absurd, because when you're talking about 20,000 Golden Visas, which I believe have been granted, it has absolutely no impact on the housing market," Almeida told Spanish news agency Europa Press.
Public transport discounts and rise in pensions and minimum wage back
Pedro Sánchez on Tuesday reached an agreement with Catalan separatist party Junts which will allow his ‘omnibus law’, voted down last week in Parliament, to be approved.
What this means in practice is that state-subsidised public transport discounts, a rise in the minimum wage and pensions as well as numerous other laws that formed part of the bill to be processed and reapproved.
In essence, everything is back to going as planned for the ruling Socialists, but it does showcase how much they rely on smaller political parties to be able to legislate.
Windy, wet weather continues across much of Spain
Storm Herminia may have swept past Spain but on Wednesday it's the turn of Storm Ivo.
Fourteen regions are on alert for rough seas, with Galicia again set to experience the windiest and wettest weather. In other parts of Spain such as Aragón or Castilla y León, the warning is yellow for snow, and in Andalusia, Asturias, the Balearic Islands, Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Navarre, the Basque Country and La Rioja it's the strong winds that will shape the day's weather.
Spain's top prosecutor in court in legal leaks case
Spain's top prosecutor is due to testify at the Supreme Court on Wednesday as a suspect in a legal leaks case, one of several affairs embarrassing Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's minority leftist government.
Álvaro García Ortiz is suspected of leaking secret legal documents about the partner of the Madrid region's influential conservative leader Isabel Díaz Ayuso and his court appearance is unprecedented in Spanish legal history.
Spanish media published in March last year a draft agreement between the public prosecutor's office and the lawyer of businessman Alberto González Amador, who is under investigation for alleged tax fraud.
The Supreme Court began investigating Ortiz in October after a complaint by Amador, who saw the earnings of his health company soar during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
The court ruled earlier this month that preliminary findings provided a "base of evidence" to suspect Ortiz's involvement in the revelations.
Ortiz, nominated by Sanchez's government in 2022, has denied leaking information about Amador either directly or via his office.
Comments (1)