Spain Today - Last Spanish News

🇪🇸 Here is the news summary from Spain Today:

1. Judicial Setbacks for Catalan Amnesty
Spain's Supreme Court has rejected applying the amnesty law to former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and ex-minister Antoni Comín for embezzlement, keeping national arrest warrants active. Judge Pablo Llarena determined that while a European Court of Justice (TJUE) ruling dismissed impacts on EU financial interests, the exclusion based on personal financial benefit remains applicable. Concurrently, the Court of Auditors rejected appeals to absolve financial liability for referendum expenses. At the Constitutional Court, a draft ruling by magistrate José María Macías supporting the Supreme Court's position on Jordi Turull's appeal faces a plenary vote, setting a potential precedent for Puigdemont. Justice Minister Félix Bolaños stated that full application of the law remains a "matter of time".

2. Fuel Prices Surge Past €2 per Litre
Fuel prices across Spain have escalated, with petrol exceeding €2 per litre at numerous stations amidst global supply bottlenecks caused by conflict in Iran, Strait of Hormuz shipping disruptions, and Russian export reductions. The International Energy Agency projects Hormuz crude flows will not recover until 2027. With current fuel subsidies set to expire on 30 September, the government is assessing whether to extend price relief for consumers and road transport operators.

3. Stiff Resistance to New Data Centre Regulations
The Spanish government has finalized a draft royal decree requiring new data centres with over 1 MW capacity to source 80% of their power from new-generation renewable energy. Industry association Spain DC warned the rule acts as a "de facto prohibition" that risks up to €9 billion in planned investments across three international projects. Government ministers defend the measures to prevent a speculative bubble and protect consumer electricity bills, whereas environmental researchers argue the decree is insufficient and demand a statewide moratorium and water footprint controls.

4. Former King Juan Carlos I Awarded Literature Prize
Former King Juan Carlos I received the Saint-Simon Prize in France for his memoirs, Reconciliación, co-authored with Laurence Debray. Speaking at the event, the former monarch—residing in Abu Dhabi for over six years—called the book his "final legacy" and declared, "Wherever I live, I will always belong to Spain". This marks the first time the historical memorialist award has been presented to a monarch.

🇪🇸 Ceuta's beaches are still crowded after Spain moved 1,700 migrants into a temporary port camp. Prosecutors are opening protection cases after underage girls allege abuse in Ceuta centres. Five years after La Palma's Tajogaite eruption, reconstruction sits near 60% while modular homes remain occupied and prices soar. And a 6.3 million euro Madrid penthouse tied to the Ayuso case goes to auction with no buyer — a judge asks who has jurisdiction.

🇪🇸 Severe storms and flooding hit Spain’s Mediterranean coast with orange alerts across Valencia, Barcelona, Murcia and the Balearic Islands. In Olivella near Barcelona, firefighters recovered a man after his car was swept by a flooded stream. ES-Alert messages urged people to stay clear of ravines and move upstairs if water rises. Airports, metro and rail were disrupted; schools closed in parts of Murcia.Congress passed a major dependency and disability reform: faster recognition, telecare as a universal right, more home care, and friends or neighbours recognised as caregivers with support. Waiting lists have been deadly — the government wants them halved by 2027 and gone by 2028.Congress also scrapped a lobby-regulation decree, putting about €1.5 billion in European funds at risk after PP, Vox, Junts and UPN voted it down. The government defended a public lobby register; critics called the decree rushed.Spain’s National Court provisionally froze a planned temporary migrant camp of 1,000–1,700 people at the port of Ceuta after a police-union challenge over safety and evacuation risks near critical port infrastructure.

🇪🇸 Spain's Data Protection Agency reported the first personal data breach executed directly by an AI agent: using a large language model, it searched for vulnerabilities, logged in, altered personal records, and accessed invoices. The agency says AI agents change the threat model by planning tasks, running code, and adapting at machine speed.Telecom operators have begun mandatory blocking of commercial SMS, MMS, and RCS messages that lack a registered alphanumeric alias in the CNMC database, under the government's Anti-Fraud Plan after hundreds of thousands of digital fraud complaints.August inflation rose to 4.3%, the highest in over three years, driven by fuel costs linked to the Strait of Hormuz: diesel jumped 30.3% and petrol 16.9%, while underlying inflation eased to 2.9%.In a letter to European Parliament members, Morocco pledged to readmit all irregular migrants who entered Ceuta during the late-July border crisis — Moroccan nationals, unaccompanied minors, and third-country nationals — with returns remaining the immediate priority.

🇪🇸 Ceuta Border Crisis & Unified Command Extension
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that the special unified command in Ceuta will remain active until "the end of the year" to stabilise the autonomous city following the entry of over 70,000 migrants in late July. The Spanish government is preparing up to 10,000 migrant places, with over 6,000 operational by the end of the week, as around 200 people return daily to Morocco. Sánchez attributed the migration surge to fake news and human-trafficking networks while defending ongoing diplomatic relations with Morocco. However, Ceuta’s regional president, Juan Jesús Vivas, warned that the city remains an unstable "pressure cooker".

CIS September Electoral Barometer
The latest CIS barometer reveals that the PSOE has dropped two points to 31% in voter intention following the Ceuta crisis, though it maintains a 5.5-point lead over the PP (25.5%, up 0.4 points). Vox gained 1.3 points to reach 16.6%, bringing a potential PP–Vox coalition to 42.1%. Meanwhile, 82.2% of citizens support strengthening border security in Ceuta and Melilla. Housing remains the primary concern for 37.5% of Spaniards, while concern over immigration fell to third place at 19.7%. Pedro Sánchez remains the preferred candidate for prime minister (25%) with the highest leader rating (4.18/10).

Suspension of Voting Rights Under the "Grandchildren's Law"
The Electoral Commission (JEC) voted 7–6 to comply with a Supreme Court ruling temporarily suspending voting rights for over 400,000 naturalised citizens under the Democratic Memory Law ("Grandchildren's Law"). The suspension affects descendants of individuals who left Spain between 1936 and 1955 whose exile status was automatically presumed rather than individually documented. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez criticized the court decision—spurred by legal appeals from the PP and Vox—questioning whether essential voting rights should be stripped from 400,000 citizens.

Catalonia’s €2.5 Billion Climate & Education Plan
The President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, unveiled the "Plan Actualiza Clima," allocating €2.5 billion through 2031 to climate-proof all public schools and elderly care homes across Catalonia. The initiative begins with €100 million invested across 100 priority schools, incorporating solar panels, thermal insulation, and aerothermal systems. Catalonia also announced the creation of an Observatory of AI and the Labour Market alongside an algorithmic systems registry to ensure human oversight of workplace artificial intelligence.