EU-DIGEST

"The (CNI's) Economic Intelligence division...is investigating whether investors' attacks and the aggressiveness of some Anglo-Saxon media are driven by market forces and challenges facing the Spanish economy, or whether there is something more behind this campaign," El Pais said.

Some French commentators are drawn to this scenario. It's the Anglo-Saxon banks and hedge funds who are behind the euro crisis, is their conclusion. Indeed, one French commentator was quoted as saying "those who played against Greece will pay dearly. The European Union states now view this as direct aggression against them." Even the head of the 16-nation Eurogroup, Jean-Claude Juncker, is drawn to the idea of the euro as victim. "We shouldn't accept to be the target of financial markets," he says. "I am concerned," he goes on, "at the irrational way of behaving of financial markets". In the UK, Labour MP and former Europe Minister Denis MacShane writes that "the Anglo-Saxon club of anti-Europeans is on the rampage".

The facts show that some if not all of these allegations are true - speculators have raised their bets against the euro. It is reported that the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, which reflects hedge fund activity, has witnessed growing positions being taken on the euro falling further. Nicolas Veron of the Bruegel Institute says "the markets are testing the limits of the single currency policy framework".

All this is unacceptable and must become the number one priority on the EU commission "to do list". If action is further delayed, the EU electorate and the EU parliament should seriously start questioning the motives of their national governments and the EU commission for not calling a halt to the manipulations of the international financial community on the sovereignty of their nations and the EU.

EU-Digest "Spain: Are international "murky manoeuvres" behind financial market pressure on Spain? Where are the EU regulations?"

Labels: EU, Financial Regulatory Controls, Goldman Sachs, Greece, Spain

Labels: EU Economy, Spain

Herve Morin told journalists that the positions of the seven countries — Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain and Turkey — and Airbus parent company EADS appear to be converging. "As it stands today we have the perspective in our minds to reach an agreement by the end of the week," he said.

The advanced and ultra sophisticated four-engine turboprop is seen as occupying an important niche market between the Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules, which carries only half the payload, and Boeing's C-17 Globemaster III, which is larger, costlier, and less tactically versatile. Once in full production this aircraft is expected to become a top seller for Airbus.

Labels: A400 military transport aircraft, Aircraft Industry, Belgium, Britain, EU, France, Germany, Luxembourgh, Spain, Turkey

Labels: EU, Spain

Labels: EU Presidency, Spain

Setting out the priorities for Spain's six-month presidency, Moratinos also revealed an ambitious personal goal.

Labels: EU, Spain

Bullfighting looks set to be banned in part of Spain as the Catalan parliament prepares to vote tomorrow to prohibit one of the country's most emblematic, and bloodiest, traditions. In a move that campaigners hope will mark the beginning of the end for bullfighting in the country that invented it, a petition with 127,000 signatures was delivered to the region's parliament earlier this week. Under local laws, the parliament must first vote on whether to accept the petition and then draw up a law, which would be subject to a second, definitive vote in several months' time. The law is likely to be passed, with minority separatist and far-left parties in the region committed to supporting the ban, while the major parties allow their deputies to vote freely. Separatists claim bullfighting is not a Catalan tradition.

Labels: Bull Fighting, EU, Spain

The historic link between Spain and its Jews has been a study of contrasts. Renowned as both the historic birthplace of Sephardic culture, Spain was also the site of dark moments in Jewish history. The American Sephardi Federation/Sephardic House(ASF/SH)) will examine this historic link between Spain and the Jewish people in a Symposium entitled "The Jews of Spain: Past and Present" which will take place December 5 - 7, 2009 at the Center for Jewish History in New York City.

Senior Spanish Government officials will be coming to New York to join eminent scholars from the United States, Canada and Israel in addressing both the triumphs and travails of the Sephardic Jewish legacy in Spain. ASF is organizing this international initiative with the invaluable assistance of the Consulate General of Spain in New York.

Labels: EU, Jews, Spain

Spain regained first place from Brazil in FIFA's monthly world rankings Friday. The European champions regained the top spot they lost to the South Americans in July after friendly wins over fellow World Cup qualifier Argentina and Austria. Brazil beat England 1-0 and Oman 2-0 in the past week but was still overtaken because older ranking points lost value and its wins came against lower-ranked opposition. The Netherlands and Italy stayed third and fourth, while the biggest mover in the top 10 was Portugal, which rose five places to fifth by twice beating Bosnia-Herzegovina 1-0 to qualify for next year's World Cup.

Labels: EU, Fifa, Soccer, Spain

Spain's face transplant patient 'happy'

Spain's first face transplant patient - the first anywhere to get a new tongue and jaw - is so pleased with his new appearance that he's smiling, hospital officials say.The 43-year-old patient, who underwent the surgery on Tuesday at La Fe hospital in the eastern city of Valencia, may go home in about a week, transplant specialist surgeon Pedro Cavadas said on Saturday. The man lost part of his face more than 10 years ago due to radiotherapy to treat an aggressive tumour. Cavadas said the patient will need to learn to eat and speak intelligibly again after more than a decade of not being able to, but he saw himself in a mirror and was so happy he smiled. ospital officials said on Saturday the patient, whose name has not been released, continues to make good progress.

Labels: EU, Medical, Spain, Transplantation technology

Spain's happy-go-lucky government: When good politics is bad economics

Luis Rodríguez Zapatero stands out among the small band of centre-left heads of government in Europe because he has managed to keep his head more or less above the political waters (see article). Next door in Portugal, the socialist government looks headed for defeat in an election in September; so does Britain’s Labour government next year. But Mr Zapatero’s Socialist party has slipped only slightly behind the opposition People’s Party, according to an opinion poll this week. Even if Mr Zapatero himself is less popular than he was, he still bests Mariano Rajoy, the plodding opposition leader. That is despite an unemployment rate that has shot up to 19%, double the average in the euro area.

Mr Zapatero seems to be counting on inertia to pull his country out of its slump, allowing him to win a third term in 2012. He will be lucky to get away with it. Even if he does, it is a formula for the Italianisation of Spain. Put off the pain of reform now—and recovery will take longer. As Spaniards head for la playa, it is time their government told them so.

Labels: EU, Spain, Zapatero

Soccer - US triumph over Spain helps image of soccer - by Robert Millward

The United States' amazing 2-0 victory over Spain at the Confederations Cup on Wednesday night sent out a loud and clear message that no one, not even the world's top-ranked team, is guaranteed anything in this captivating sport and no team is ever out of contention. Even a 15-game winning streak doesn't put the ball in the net. Look at this sequence of results. The United States loses 3-1 to Italy. Italy loses 1-0 to Egypt. The Americans beat the Egyptians 3-0 and then end Spain's 35-game unbeaten run and 15-match streak of victories to reach the Confederation Cup final. Does this make any sense? Or is it simply more proof that soccer, the world's most popular sport, is still capable of throwing up the biggest surprises?

Labels: EU, Soccer, Spain, US

Prostitution - Spain holds 'voodoo' traffickers

Spanish police have arrested 23 people suspected of trafficking Nigerian women into the country and forcing them into prostitution by using voodoo curses. Experts said the women were scared into submission because of a vow they were forced to take on the graves of their ancestors before they left Nigeria. The money the women earned was then kept until they had paid off the debt incurred getting to Spain, police said. The traffickers allegedly supplied women for the sex trade across Europe.

Labels: EU, Prostitution, Spain

Eurofighter relief as Brown approves order - Germany also orders more - by Jeremy Lemer

Gordon Brown, UK prime minister, gave long-awaited approval for an order of Eurofighter Typhoon jets on Thursday – but warned industry that he expected a much lower price tag. The decision came as a relief to Germany, Italy and Spain – Britain’s programme partners – which feared Mr Brown would abandon or delay the multibillion-euro third production run.

The consortium responsible for building the Eurofighter Typhoon combat jet on Thursday welcomed Britain's decision to take part in the next round of production and pegged the four-nation deal at around 8 billion euros. After weeks of pressure from European allies, Britain gave tentative approval earlier on Thursday to the next tranche of production and said it hoped to be able to order the planes later this year following further negotiations. "The agreement that the UK have confirmed today sends a clear signal of customer commitment," Enzo Casolini, chief executive of Eurofighter GmbH, said in a statement. The consortium -- grouping BAE Systems, Finmeccanica of Italy and EADS for Germany and Spain -- said the overall value of the contract under negotiation would be "in the region of 8 billion euros."

Labels: Aircraft Industry, Britain, Britain. EU, Euro Fighter, Germany, Italy, Spain

The pain in Spain proves too much as expat Britons pack their bags- by Graham Keely

Janine Richmond was busy packing boxes this week, ready to leave her home near Marbella for the last time. After six years living on the Costa del Sol, Mrs Richmond and her husband, Nicholas, reluctantly took the decision to return to Britain with their two young daughters. “We just couldn’t make it work any more financially,” she said, as she prepared for an emotional farewell. “We would have loved to have stayed but things are too hard here for my husband and we cannot last any longer.” The Richmonds, like a growing number of British expats, are heading home as the sun sets on their Spanish dream.

The low value of the pound, the end of Spain’s decade-long building bonanza and the global financial meltdown have conspired to make Britain a more attractive place to many expatriates, despite the deepening recession at home. No official figures exist for how many are heading home. The British Embassy estimates that one million Britons live at least part of the year in Spain. Many of them choose to remain officially living in Britain for tax or pensions, so to British authorities they never actually left.

Labels: Economy, EU, Spain

Avoid going to US and Mexico if you don't have to says EU health chief

(Reuters)Androulla Vassiliou, the European Union's health chief advised travelers on Monday not to go to areas affected by swine flu. Asked for details, she said: "They should avoid traveling to Mexico or the United States unless it's very urgent for them." The warning came as health officials in Spain confirmed that a man hospitalized in eastern Spain had tested positive for swine flu, becoming what appeared to be Europe’s first case of the disease. Health authorities were also testing 17 other suspected cases across Spain, a major hub for travel between Mexico and Europe.

The EU did not issue any formal instructions to travelers but said the bloc's health ministers would discuss ways to prevent the spread of the virus later this week and that EU foreign ministers would discuss the situation later on Monday. As Mexico struggled to contain its outbreak, the World Health Organization reported that the number of confirmed cases in the United States had doubled, rising from 20 to 40. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told reporters in Greece: "It's too soon to speculate about the situation. We are following the situation very closely, together with the member states."
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Labels: EU, Mexico, Spain, Swine Flu, Travel Industry, US

Alta Velocidad Española

For the complete report from the WSJ.com click on this link

Spain's Bullet Train Changes Nation -- and Fast - by Thomas Catan

To sell his vision of a high-speed train network to the American public, President Barack Obama this week cited Spain, a country most people don't associate with futuristic bullet trains. Yet the country is on track to bypass France and Japan to have the world's biggest network of ultrafast trains by the end of next year, figures from the International Union of Railways and the Spanish government show. The growth of the Alta Velocidad Española, or AVE, high-speed rail network is having a profound effect on life in Spain. Many Spaniards are fiercely attached to their home regions and studies show they are unusually reluctant to live or even travel elsewhere.

But those centuries-old habits are starting to change as Spain stitches its disparate regions together with a €100 billion ($130 billion) system of bullet trains designed to traverse the countryside at up to 218 miles an hour. By 2020 nine out of ten Spaniards are expected to live within 31 miles of a high speed rail station.

Note EU-Digest: The trains itself are also a marvel of engineering and design: Its 200-metre aluminium chassis carries 404 passengers, whose reclining chairs - which can swivel to face the direction of travel - are fitted with video and music players.

Labels: EU, High Speed, Railways, Spain

Soccer: Del Bosque Analyzes Spain's Turkey Win

Vicente Del Bosque enjoyed a successful return to the Bernabeu, as Spain claimed a 1-0 win over Turkey. After the match, he stressed his pride at the performance of his team. Speaking at the post match press conference, Del Bosque said, "It was a tough game because they played very well and offered a lot of resistance." "It wasn't as easy as on other occasions, but we deserved this win just as much. We controlled them well, albeit not with our usual style."

Labels: EU, Soccer, Spain, Turkey

Spain court mulls US torture case

Spanish judges have agreed to consider charging six former US officials with providing legal justification for alleged torture at Guantanamo Bay. Human rights lawyers brought the case against the six, who all served under former President George W Bush. Among those named was former defense official Douglas Feith, who said the charges against him "made no sense".

Labels: EU, Guantanamo, Spain

Spain's defense minister shot down over Nato gaffe - by Elizabeth Nash

On a morale-boosting trip to troops in Kosovo last week, Ms Chacón, Spain's first female defence chief and a star of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's majority female cabinet, declared: "The mission has been completed and it's time to return home." But her announcement burst like a bombshell among Nato officials, the US administration and senior diplomats who complained she had acted unilaterally and failed to inform them through the proper channels. The diplomatic gaffe is a reverse of fortune for Ms Chacón, 38, who made headlines when she took office last April and reviewed her troops while heavily pregnant. During a visit to Spanish soldiers in Afghanistan, images of this slight figure with her bump, her smock fluttering in the desert breeze, signaled a new mood of equality in Spain. She promptly purged the top brass, reformed and humanized Spain's discredited armed forces which became, within months, one of the country's most valued institutions. Spain has about 600 troops in Kosovo as part of a UN mission that includes some 15,500 soldiers from Nato members and allies.

Note EU-Digest: There is nothing wrong for a government official in making a gaffe every now and then when they are at least showing they are doing a good job for their country, which Ms Chacón certainly has done so far. As to NATO getting their feathers ruffled , who really cares?

Labels: Carme Chacón, EU, Nato, Spain, US

Wind turbines and hydroelectric plants generate 30 per of Spanish energy - by Graham Keeley

A wet and windy January and February boosted the amount of electricity produced from wind and hydro-power, according to the Spanish Grid. The impressive figure means that Spain has already completed targets set by the European Union in 2001 for renewable energy by 2010. In comparison, carbon energy produced 14.3 per cent and nuclear 20.9 per cent.

The rolling plains of Castilla-La Mancha are dominated by the windmills that provoked the fevered imagination of Don Quixote. But Spain’s relentless investment in wind power and other renewable energy sources has proved wrong those who thought it was tilting at windmills. The sleek white wind turbines and hydroelectric plants that have sprung up across the country in recent years generated 30 per cent of Spain’s energy this year for the first time.

Labels: Alternative Energy, EU, Spain, Windpower

Spain officially enters into recession

The Spanish Economy has officially entered into recession for the first time in 15 years. Confirmation has come this morning from the National Statistics Institute which says the Spanish Gross Domestic Product contracted by 1% between October and December. In the earlier quarter the contraction was 0.2%, and hence the two consecutive quarters, the official definition of recession. The advance numbers from the INE show that the in last quarter of last year the economy shrunk by 0.7% compared to the previous year.

Labels: Economy, EU, Spain

France and Spain deploy troops after hurricane force storm kills 25

France and Spain deployed troops Monday to join massive recovery efforts after violent storms killed 25 people and left hundreds of thousands without electricity across southern Europe. Mourners meanwhile gathered in the northeastern Spanish town of Saint-Bois-de-Llobregat to bury four children killed at the weekend when gale-force winds brought the roof and wall of a sports hall down on their heads. Thousands of workers beavered on both sides of the border to restore power and reopen roads and rail lines blocked by trees uprooted by the worst storms to hit southwestern France and northern Spain in a decade. The tempest has meanwhile barreled across the Mediterranean to batter Italy, where a young woman was swept to her death by a wave as she walked on a beach near the southern city of Naples.

Labels: EU, France, Spain

Spain receives first Tranche 2 Eurofighters - by Craigh Hoyle

Spain has followed Germany, Italy and the UK in receiving its first production examples of the Tranche 2 Eurofighter, with three of its 34 aircraft having been delivered to its Moron air base near Seville. Madrid had already received 19 Eurofighters under Tranche 1 production of the type, and its total commitment to the four-nation program totals 87 aircraft.

Labels: EU, EuroFighter, Spain

Soccer: Spain-Real Madrid - "Huntelaar Will Be The New Van Nistelrooy says Schuster"

It's crunch time for Real Madrid as they face Sevilla and Barcelona in games which could well determine whether or not German coach, Bernd Schuster, is still in a job at Christmas. The former Getafe man has come under some pressure lately but speaking to Marca today he sounded fairly relaxed about the situation. The German started by musing about the first winter signing, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, and said he expects him to do well. "He is a good signing who we have been looking at for some time," he declared.

Labels: EU, Huntelaar, Real Madrid, Soccer, Spain

Spain - Gene Expression: Spain, genes & Moors

Most studies of European genetic diversity have focused on large-scale variation and interpretations based on events in prehistory, but migrations and invasions in historical times could also have had profound effects on the genetic landscape. The Iberian Peninsula provides a suitable region for examination of the demographic impact of such recent events, because its complex recent history has involved the long-term residence of two very different populations with distinct geographical origins and their own particular cultural and religious characteristicsNorth African Muslims and Sephardic Jews. To address this issue, we analyzed Y chromosome haplotypes, which provide the necessary phylogeographic resolution, in 1140 males from the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands. Admixture analysis based on binary and Y-STR haplotypes indicates a high mean proportion of ancestry from North African (10.6%) and Sephardic Jewish (19.8%) sources. Despite alternative possible sources for lineages ascribed a Sephardic Jewish origin, these proportions attest to a high level of religious conversion (whether voluntary or enforced), driven by historical episodes of social and religious intolerance, that ultimately led to the integration of descendants. In agreement with the historical record, analysis of haplotype sharing and diversity within specific haplogroups suggests that the Sephardic Jewish component is the more ancient. The geographical distribution of North African ancestry in the peninsula does not reflect the initial colonization and subsequent withdrawal and is likely to result from later enforced population movementmore marked in some regions than in othersplus the effects of genetic drift.

Labels: EU, Geneology, Spain

Spain - Basque aerospace skills benefit Airbus and Boeing by Niall O'Keeffe

Two members of Basque aerospace association Hegan have been selected to manufacture carbonfibre components and structures for the Airbus A350 XWB. The contracts establish Aernnova and SK10 as risk-sharing tier-one suppliers to the European airframer's newest programme. SK10, part of the Alcor group, has won a contract to manufacture the A350's belly fairing, a 170m2 (1,830ft2) structure based on a metal grille and carbon fibre lining. The contract has a potential value of €1 billion. Aernnova's contract, with a potential value of €3 billion, covers the overall design and production of the horizontal stabilizer and elevator.

Airbus, a fairly near neighbor, is a strong supporter of the Basque aerospace sector. Despite the woes caused by program delays, the sector's A380 involvement has led to investment of €300 million and will generate €3 billion in revenue

Labels: Airbus, Aircraft Industry, EU, Spain

Spain to present 2-yr plan to boost demand

Spain's government will present a two-year plan on Thursday to boost demand in the country's flagging economy, the prime minister said on Tuesday. The measures would be aimed primarily at 2009 and 2010, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero told a forum organized by The Economist magazine in Madrid. He also said any breaches of the European Union's Stability Pact should be temporary. His comments came after he said last week that Spain will exceed the European Union budget deficit limit of 3 percent as it spends more to tackle the economic crisis. Last week, an OECD survey said Spain's economy would contract in 2009 due to falls in house building and consumer spending and would make a slow recovery in 2010 as financial turmoil recedes and world growth resumes.

Labels: Economy, EU, Spain

Spain barred to attend G20 summit by Bush Administration as payback for their Iraq position

Spain,which has the world's eight largest economy has pressed for an invitation to next week's global G20 financial crisis summit in Washington. They have won French support, which presently also represents the EU presidency, to attend as an observer, officials said yesterday. France, which first proposed the summit last month, has asked the U.S. to let Spain attend as an "associate". As the host of the summit, the Bush Administration is in charge of the guest list.

Labels: EU, G20, Spain, World Economy

The Cordoba Great Mosque

For more reports related to Europe click on this link

Europe's Muslim Legacy

In a fascinating book, God's Crucible: Islam and the making of Modern Day Europe, by David Levering Lewis one will quickly agree with the author that it took two ingredients to make Europeans believe in themselves as the center of civilization. One was the creation of the vast Holy Roman Empire by Charlemagne. The other was the development of the Muslim culture in what is now known as the region of Andalusia, Spain. The Arabs called it al-Andalus with the Great Mosque as the most striking physical example of this Muslim foothold in Europe. What probably was even more impressive, leaving a lasting mark on Europe were the Muslims intellectual and cultural achievements. Hundreds of mosques, thousands of palaces, scores of libraries were build in Córdoba alone. Towards the end of the ninth century, those libraries had acquired hundreds of thousands of manuscripts. Nothing else on the continent of Europe could compare. Just imagine the university of Córdoba was established more than one hundred years before the one in Bologna, Italy, considered today as the first European university.

Al-Andalus was already a truly regional cosmopolitan agglomeration of cities, when the rest of Europe was still a feuding environment of country estates and small towns. Towards the end of the millennium, Córdoba had a population of more than 90,000, many times the size of any town in the territories occupied by Charlemagne. Those Andalusian cities also became a great ethnic melting pot of Jews, Muslims, Christians, Arabs, Berbers, Germanic, Slavs, and countless other cultures. These eventually spread throughout the continent and transformed a barbaric Europe into a more enlightened and modern European society.

Maybe Europe's far right politicians, including Geert Wilders in the Netherlands, French "Front National" leader Jean-Marie le Pen and Belgian far-right politician Filip Dewinte should take the time to read God's Crucible: Islam and the making of Modern Day Europe, by David Levering Lewis. Who knows, they might realize al-Andalus showed Europe that what must empower man should always be compassion not hate.

Labels: Andalusia, Christianity, Cordoba, EU, Europe, Filip Fewinte, Geert Wilders, Islam, Jean-Marie le Pen, Spain

Embarrassing loss for Real Madrid and scare after Ruben De La Red faints on the field

Third-division Real Union upset Real Madrid 3-2 in the Copa del Rey on Thursday, continuing the Spanish league champion's poor record in the knockout competition it hasn't won since 1993. Juan Dominguez scored twice and Inaki Goikoetxea netted the winner for Real Union. There was a scare in the 14th minute when Madrid's Spain midfielder Ruben De La Red fell as he walked away from the Real Union penalty area. De La Red was carried off on a stretcher after being treated for two minutes. Madrid medical chief Carlos Diez said De La Red suffered a sudden fainting fit brought on by exertion and was not in danger.
The 23-year-old Spain international was taken to hospital and will spend the night there as a precaution. Diez said De La Red has undergone tests which have produced normal results and he was expected to be released on Friday.

Labels: EU, Ruben De La Red, Soccer, Spain

Solbes Says Oil, Euro May Help Spain Avoid Recession - by Maria Leaniz and Emma Ross-Thomas

Spanish Finance Minister Pedro Solbes said lower oil prices and a weaker euro may help the country avoid a recession. ``We're very close to zero,'' growth, he said in an interview in Madrid yesterday. Still, cheaper crude and the euro's decline may ``allow that if there is negative growth in the Spanish economy that it would be limited, if possible, to one quarter.'' The euro's 20 percent decline since a July peak will help sustain exports, while the drop in oil prices is trimming production costs and leaving consumers with more to spend even as growth slows.

Labels: EU, euro, Spain

Alternative Energy - Sevilla Solar Capital of the world ready to link up with Middle East and Africa for more Alternative power - by Carolyn Whelan

On the outskirts of Seville, Spain, 600 rotating mirrors send shafts of light to a collector atop a soaring 380-foot- (115-meter-) tall tower. Its scalding 480-degree-Fahrenheit (250-degree-Celsius) steam drives a turbine generating a peak capacity of 11 megawatts (MW) of electricity for the national grid. This "power tower" is the first of nine to be built by Spanish engineering giant Abengoa Solar, which all told will produce enough electricity for 153,000 homes by 2013.

Plentiful sunshine isn't the only reason entrepreneurs and industry have flocked to Spain. The Spanish advantage includes abundant land, strong demand for air conditioning, mammoth infrastructural firms to fast-track projects, and, most importantly, generous subsidies. The nation's feed-in tariffs guarantee 25 years of up to triple the market price for solar energy, making it the world's hottest solar market, trailing only subsidy-richer Germany.In fact, money committed for Spanish PV projects (mostly ground-based) shot up nearly 500 percent from 2006 to 2007 to a total of $3.45 billion, according to London-based New Energy Finance, a renewable energy market research firm.

Most importantly, the initial African power plants and Spain's solar-thermal test bed pave the way for energy export from planned solar farms in the Sahara Desert across a high-voltage direct current trans-sea line to Europe, pending political will and public funds. French President Nicolas Sarkozy resurrected the idea this year in a Plan Solaire. Studies show that harnessing just 0.3 percent of the sunshine on North African and Middle Eastern deserts could power those regions and Europe. Optimists, such as Nikolai Ulrich, head of renewables Europe at Germany's Nordbank, foresee energy export from Africa within seven years. Imminent milestones include talks in Algeria and Tunisia for transmission lines to Italy, planned for next year. Spain has an edge, because it has been swapping electricity with Morocco over their own two-way line for about a dozen years.

Labels: Alternative Energy, EU, Solar Energy, Spain

In an interview earlier this week, John McCain would not answer whether he would be willing to meet with Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. While some speculated that McCain either did not know who Zapatero was or thought he was some “Latin American bad guy,” McCain’s top foreign policy adviser Randy Scheunemann said McCain was not confused — he was simply articulating his policy of refusing to commit to a White House meeting with Zapatero. The logic behind this particular policy is baffling, considering that Spain has long been a U.S. NATO ally and currently has troops in Afghanistan. So why would McCain shun Zapatero? If President Bush’s actions towards the Spanish Prime Minster give some indication, the answer is Iraq. Zapatero withdrew Spain’s troops from Iraq soon after his Socialist Party swept to power in March, 2004 in a wave of Spanish anti-war sentiment, a move that reportedly angered Bush.

McCain’s incoherent answer to whether he would meet with Zapatero may indicate that he is interested in making Bush’s grudge against Spain permanent U.S. policy. As Max Bergmann notes, it is “beyond reckless” that McCain would refuse to meet with a democratic U.S. ally that has had soldiers killed in Afghanistan, was brutally attacked by Al-Qaeda and wields considerable influence in Europe and Latin America.

Note EU-Digest:

The EU does not have to justify any of their actions to the US and if any of their members is boycotted by the US the reaction by the EU must be unanimous.

Labels: EU, Spain, US

Madrid plane crash: Crash history of MD-80 series - by David Millward

The accident involving a Spanair aircraft which crashed at Madrid's airport on Wednesday killing at least 45, is one of the most deadly in Europe in the past 15 years. It is the worst in Spain for 23 years, when a February 1985 crash at Bilbao claimed 148 lives. Last year the Federal Aviation Authority ordered American Airlines to ground its 300-strong fleet of the aircraft to inspect a hydraulic wing. Of the 11 fatal crashes, two are understood not to have involved any potential failing of the aircraft itself – one was attributed to an air traffic control misunderstanding and the other to a passenger lighting a fire on the plane.However although the plane has been involved in a number of crashes, experts regard the MD-80 - a short-haul workhorse with a range of up to four hours – as among the safest in the sky.

Labels: Aircraft disaster, EU, Madrid, Spain

Spanish wines offer plenty of personality - by Geoff Last

It's difficult to keep track of all the great wine from Spain these days. It is a rare week when I don't taste yet another well-made vino from Spain, usually at an attractive price. Even regions once regarded as strongholds for mass-produced table wine, such as La Mancha, are turning up the quality dial.

Mencia is a somewhat obscure Spanish varietal once thought to be related to Cabernet Franc, but recent DNA fingerprinting has revealed it to be a unique varietal native to Spain and Portugal, where it's known as Jaen. It yields wines either soft and fruity or dense and concentrated, not unlike Tempranillo, Spain's most famous red grape.

Labels: EU, Spain, Wine Industry

Spain rejects banana deal between EU, Latin America

Spain has rejected the agreement reached by the European Union (EU) and Latin American banana producers on reducing EU import duty on the fruit. According to reports from Geneva, Spanish Rural Environment Minister Josep Puxeu told reporters Monday that Spain would support high duty on Latin American bananas for "as long as possible." According to the compromise reached on Sunday between negotiators from both regions, the EU would reduce the duty per ton on Latin American banana from the current 176 euros (about 276U.S. dollars) to 114 euros (179 dollars) in 2016.

Labels: Bananas, EU, Spain, World Trade

Spain's reign domain reaches three sports - Garth Woolsey

As Eliza Doolittle of My Fair Lady fame might say: The reign in Spain falls mainly on the ... tennis and cycling and soccer. Or, as they might say in Spain: Ole! Ole! Ole! These are high times for Spanish sports, what with Rafael Nadal continuing his assault upon Roger Federer's overall No.1 position in tennis with yesterday's victory in the final of the Rogers Cup. That came a few hours after Carlos Sastre was anointed victor of the Tour de France, the third consecutive Spaniard to hold that crown.

Labels: EU, Spain, Tour de France

Tennis Wimbledon - Spanish media hail 'King Nadal'

Just one week after celebrating Spain's Euro 2008 football win, Spanish media were full of praise for new national champion Rafael Nadal who became the first Spaniard to win Wimbledon in over 40 years. "Long live King Nadal!" wrote sports daily AS on its front page below a photo of the 22-year-old ATP world No.2 being congratulated by Spain's Crown Prince Felipe and his wife Princess Letizia after his win on Sunday. "Memorable victory in the best final in the history of Wimbledon," it added.

Labels: EU, Nadal, Spain, Wimbledon

Spain is finally Europe's pride with win over Germany - by Rob Hughes

The long wait in Spanish soccer is over. By defeating Germany, more emphatically than the 1-0scoreline in the Austrian capital suggests, the Spaniards thoroughly deserve to be called champion of Europe. They won it with victories every time they took the field, they won it majestically in front of their King Juan Carlos, and their near septuagenarian coach, Luis Aragonés, could now retire knowing he has disproved the myth that Spain's fractured regions could never learn to like one another to form a combined and victorious national side.

Aragonés intends no such thing. He might rest for the weekend, but he then takes on the task of managing Fenerbache of Istanbul. At 69, he lives for the game, and his game on Sunday night repaid him.

Labels: EU, EURO 2008, Spain

Soccer - Euro 2008: Germany 0-1 Spain

Spain win Euro 2008 to claim their first title in 44 years after a 1-0 win over Germany in Vienna thanks to a Fernando Torres goal.

Labels: EU, EURO 2008, Germany, Spain

EURO 2008 - Spain beats Russia 3-0 to reach Euro final vs. Germany

Spain scored three second-half goals Thursday to beat Russia 3-0 and reach the European Championship final, giving the team a chance to shed its status as football's biggest chokers. Xavi Hernandez, Dani Guiza and David Silva scored a goal each to give the Spaniards a shot at their second European title when they play Germany on Sunday at Ernst Happel Stadium.

Labels: EURO 2008, Russia, Spain

Spain's economy hits the wall - by Andrew Hay

"The Spanish economy is in for a ferocious fall," said economics professor Antoni Espasa at Madrid's Carlos III University. "It's going to suffer more than Europe and take longer to recover." Europe will feel the impact, economists say: Spain drove as much economic growth as Germany or France last year, according to Madrid's AFI consultancy, and created over a third of European Union jobs between 2004 and 2007. Big banks and construction firms like Santander and Acciona long ago diversified beyond domestic housing and today make much of their income abroad. But smaller banks and firms stayed at home, and Spain's socialist government continued to forecast high growth until after its March election victory. Up to last year, Spain financed and built more homes than Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom combined, making it more dependent on housing than any western country bar Ireland. Sprawled across the plains 65 kilometres south of Madrid, La Sagra's brickworks and builders are going bust as credit-starved banks cut off lending and Spaniards stop buying homes.

Labels: Economy, EU, Spain

John Edwards meets with Spain's socialist premier - by Martin Barillas

John Edwards, former US senator and presidential candidate, met with Spain’s Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero on June 6. According to Spanish daily “El País”, Zapatero referred to the recent contentious Democratic party primaries between Senator Barack Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton as “exciting”. For his part, according to the Spanish journal, Edwards said that Senator Clinton had ruled her campaign more with the “head” rather than the “heart.” Edwards added that the upcoming contest between Obama and Republican Senator John McCain will be difficult.

Labels: EU, Spain

Silvio Berlusconi angers Spain for mocking female cabinet

A heated row has broken out between Spain and Italy over whether women should be given powerful Cabinet jobs. Silvio Berlusconi, who takes power shortly as Prime Minister of Italy for the third time, caused outrage in Spain after he suggested that the new Government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was “too pink”. Mr Berlusconi, who won a sweeping victory in this week’s Italian election, told a radio station: “Zapatero has formed a government that is too pink, something that we cannot do in Italy because there is a prevalence of men in politics and it isn’t easy to find women who are qualified.”

Labels: Berlusconi, EU, Spain

We don't know where to look first. The massive pillars, looking like tree trunks, stone chameleons, tortoises and turtles, help support the columns. The sheer size of the place is amazing. Some of the towers soar more than 500 feet. Even jaded teens, like my 13-year-old niece, Erica Fieldman, can't help but be impressed.

We were looking at Antonin Gaudi's unfinished masterpiece, the Sagrada Familia (www.sagradafamilia.org), Barcelona's most famous site and Spain's most visited. More than 40 years after the eccentric and revered architect's death -- he was struck by a tram -- work still continues on the huge church first begun in 1882. Some 2.5 million people visited last year.

Labels: Antonin Gaudi, Barcelona, EU, Spain

Socialists of Prime Minister Jose Zapatero'win Spanish elections

Spanish state television said Prime Minister Jose Zapatero's party had won 172-176 seats in the 350-seat lower house, while the conservative opposition Popular Party won 148-152 seats. Other polls say the Socialists have won as many as 178, passing the 176-seat threshold needed for an absolute majority. That would spell the end of the hung parliament that has forced them to court smaller parties to pass laws.

Labels: Elections, EU, Jose Zapatero, Spain

Economy holds strong ahead of Spain election - by Marian Hens

Spain boasts the world's eighth largest economy with a yearly growth of 3.75%, double the European average. The country has a modern and solid banking sector, has been running budget surpluses and created around 600,000 jobs each year, reducing unemployment from 25% in 1994 to a staggering 8.6%.

"Spain's extraordinary economic growth over the last 14 years is the result of a combination of exceptional circumstances, such as cheap credit, vast amounts of EU funds, and a booming housing market", says Miguel Angel García, co-author of the report The Spanish Economy in 2008, published by CCOO, one of the country's main trade unions. The election is expected to be very close.

Labels: Elections, EU, Spain

Spain investigates 100 over Liechtenstein tax fraud

- Spanish authorities are investigating about 100 people suspected to be involved in the growing Liechtenstein tax evasion scandal, El Pais newspaper reported. Quoting investigators, the newspaper said the names of Spaniards who had taken part in the fraud had been handed over by the German government which paid an informer for a list of people using the tiny principality to hide their wealth. El Pais said there were 160 people from Germany, 200 from France and 150 from Italy on the list. No names were given however.

Labels: EU, Liechtenstein, Spain, Tax Fraud

Spain's Zapatero leads in Polls

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Zapatero outperformed People’s Party leader Mariano Rajoy in a televised debate, the first in 15 years in Spain, with less than two weeks before voters decide which of them will lead the next government, polls show . Four polls after the debate showed viewers thought Zapatero did better by margins of between 3,5 percentage points and 16 percentage points. The 90-minute encounter that finished at midnight on Monday was seen by more than 13-million people, almost a third of the population.

Unlike recent political debates among presidential candidates in the US, the two rivals did not couch their criticism with any praise for the other’s integrity or record.

Labels: Elections, EU, Spain

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Oscars : EU's Movie Stars Bardem (Spain), Cotillard (France), Among Winners

Marion Cotillard won the Best Actress Academy Award for her performance as the famed French chanteuse Edith Piaf in the film "La Vie en Rose." Other winners at the 80th Academy Awards, which are currently being presented on ABC-TV, include Javier Bardem and Tilda Swinton as well as Joel and Ethan Coen. Emmy Award winner Jon Stewart hosts the annual awards ceremony, which is being broadcast live from the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood and Highland Center. Best Foreign Film Award went to another EU country for "Counterfeiters" from Austria.

Labels: Austria, EU, France, Javier Bardem, Marion Cotillard, Oscars, Spain

Europe-wide terror plot thwarted

According to the testimony of a police informant, the 14-member terror cell affiliated with al-Qaeda planned to strike cities in Spain, Germany, France, Portugal, and Britain. The police source said the suspects focused their attention on public transportation targets, including subways, in various cities across Europe.Security officials in Barcelona estimated that the terror attack was scheduled to be carried out in the next two weeks. According to the report, other cell members were tasked with similar missions in other European cities based on the same modus operandi.

Labels: EU, Spain, Terrorism

Spain: Zapatero's bear fight

The surprise ingredient in the Spanish election of March 2004 was the Madrid train bombings, which killed 191 commuters just three days before the vote. Thanks to the clumsiness of the outgoing People's Party (PP) government, which tried to blame Basque terrorists, not Islamist radicals, the bombs provoked an unexpected change. What had looked like a PP shoo-in turned into a Socialist bounce-back, handing victory to José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, now Spain's prime minister. Four years on, Mr Zapatero is seeking re-election. This time, too, a surprise ingredient has arrived ahead of the March 9th poll. But, despite the recent arrest in Barcelona of 14 Muslim immigrants suspected of planning fresh attacks, it has nothing to do with Islam. After four years in which Spain's politicians have argued bitterly about almost everything else, the new ingredient is the economy.

Few would have predicted this even six months ago. An economy growing at a healthy lick of 3.8% seemed to be one of the strongest of Mr Zapatero's weapons. But since then Spain's housing bubble has burst and inflation has risen. Global financial turmoil now threatens to turn a hoped-for soft landing into something much harder.

Labels: Elections, EU, Spain, Zapatero

Spain - Alliance of Civilizations Kicks Off in Madrid

A controversial new UN forum opened in Madrid Tuesday designed to avert what has become known as the clash of civilizations, in the wake of Sept. 11 and the Madrid train bombings that killed 191 people. The Alliance of Civilizations is the brainchild of the Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who launched it four years ago together with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to tackle intolerance and promote understanding, dialogue and reconciliation between world cultures. In 2005, it was adopted by the UN and now has the backing of more than 80 nations. The first Alliance of Civilizations Forum taking place this week aims to "mobilize those great majorities of the population who want to, and know how to, live in peace," said the Spanish premier in his inaugural address. "It wants to contribute to isolating extremist and intolerant discourses on the part of those who try to utilize religion or culture for political purposes." The forum seeks to "avoid the predicted clash of civilizations, by promoting security, understanding, tolerance, and mutual respect in a globalized world," he said.

Also attending are Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, and former Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio, the UN high representative for the Alliance of Civilizations -- along with some 400 other representatives from governments, international organizations, civil society groups and philanthropic foundations.Other participants in the forum's two plenary sessions will include Turkey's Nobel literature laureate Orhan Pamuk, Iranian Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi, Brazilian author Paulo Coelho, Queen Noor of Jordan, Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa and the former president of Ireland, Mary Robinson.

Labels: Alliance of Civilizations, EU, Religious tolerance, Spain

Spains High Speed Train System takes off

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Spain - The future coastal railway opens the door for high-speed trains - by Cristina Gonzales

Now that the AVE trains run to and from Malaga, municipalities on the Costa del Sol are already looking ahead to 2013 when this high speed train service will be extended along the coast. The railway line for the future coastal train service will play a major part in bringing to fruition this long-awaited dream of local people and professionals in the tourism industry. The first steps are already being taken. The Ministry of Public Works will be responsible for creating the line for the coastal train between Malaga and Fuengirola, while the Junta de Andalucía will build the link between Fuengirola and Estepona. These two projects, which will cost more than one thousand million euros, will mean that one day in the future the AVE could have its own stop, for example, in the centre of Marbella, something the regional government's delegate for Public Works and Transport, Concepción Gutiérrez, has referred to on several occasions in the past. Sources at the Junta de Andalucía have told this newspaper that the first works to be carried out will be on the stretch between Fuengirola and San Pedro Alcántara, and will involve two separate projects. At the moment, they are in the phase of supervision before final approval, which is the step prior to the works being put to tender sometime in 2008. The Junta's budget for next year already includes the sum of 14.1 million euros to start off the coastal railway project, and during a visit to Marbella the president of the regional government, Manuel Chaves, announced that trains will be traveling as far as San Pedro within six years. The stretch of line between San Pedro and Estepona is currently the subject of an informative study.

Spain has ambitious plans for its high-speed network. In the future the target is for 7,200km (4,500 miles) of high-speed railway for 350km/h operation, and progress has being made on several fronts to extend the network. The Spanish government has also agreed to pursue a high-speed link between Madrid, Lisbon and Paris with the Portugese and French Governments.

Labels: AVE, EU, France, Portugal, Railways, Spain, TGV

Spain: due to bad weather potato exports from Mallorca decreased 20%

Potato exports from Mallorca decreased 20.27% (20,500 tons) in the first semester of this year due to the adverse climate conditions between March and April. In addition value of exports also decreased to 10.3 mln. euros, that is 36.09% less than the same period in 2006. UK and Denmark are the main destinations of potatoes and had different trends during the same period. UK decreased -24.33% in volume and -46.71% in value. Denmark represented an increase of 11.62 in volume and 25.03 in value.

Labels: Agriculture, EU, Majorca, Potatoes, Spain

Spain's Solbes sees 2008 GDP growth around 3 pct

Spain's Economy Minsiter, Pedro Solbes, said GDP growth is seen at about 3 pct in 2008, compared to the government's official forecast of 3.3 pct. Solbes had already tipped a rise of about 3 pct in GDP last month, even though the government traditionally does not modify its official forecasts until December. GDP growth was estimated at 3.3 pct in July, before the credit crisis broke out.

Labels: Economy, EU, Spain

King Juan Carlos of Spain

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SPAIN - 'Shut up'Chavez is hit ringtone in Spain - by Mar Roman

Many Spaniards were so amused when their king told Venezuela's president to "shut up" they want to hear the words every time their phone rings. About half a million people have downloaded a mobile phone ringtone featuring the phrase "Por que no te callas?" or "Why don't you shut up?" leading Madrid daily El Pais reported on its Web site Monday. That's what King Juan Carlos told Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez during a heated confrontation at a summit in Chile last week. The ringtone is thought to have generated around $2.2 million for the companies selling it, El Pais said.

Labels: Chavez, EU, Juan Carlos, Spain, Venezuela

Conference releases summary for action on climate change

Delegates from more than 140 countries agreed Friday on an environmental "instant guide" for policy makers, stating more forcefully than ever that climate change had begun and that it threatened to alter the planet irreversibly. The document summarizes the scientific consensus on human-induced climate change. It will be distributed to delegates at a crucial meeting in Indonesia next month that is intended to begin a political process on international cooperation to control global warming.

In a startling and much-debated conclusion, the document warns that human activity risks causing "abrupt or irreversible changes" on Earth, including the widespread extinction of species and a dramatic rise in sea levels before the end of this century.

Labels: Global warming, Spain

Spain's king tells Chávez, 'Why don't you shut up?'

The king of Spain told Hugo Chávez, the Venezuelan president, to "shut up" over the weekend in the Chilean capital after Chávez repeatedly called a former Spanish prime minister a "fascist," ending a regional leaders' summit meeting in high tension. Chávez, who called President George W. Bush the "devil" on the floor of the United Nations last year, provoked the exchange Saturday with harsh words for former Prime Minister José María Aznar, who has in the past criticized Chávez.

Spain's current prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, a Socialist, responded during his own allotted time by urging Chávez to be more diplomatic in his words and respect other leaders.

Labels: Chavez, EU, Spain, Venezuela

Spain low-cost airline traffic up 41 pct in Sept

Low-cost airlines flew 2.6 million passengers to Spain in September, up 41.4 percent from the same month last year, the Industry Ministry said on Tuesday. About 41 percent of passengers arrived in Spain on low-cost airlines during the month, the ministry said.

Labels: EU, Spain, Tourism

Spain versus the Radicals - by ENRIQUE ZALDUA/SAN SEBASTIAN

Since June, Spanish authorities (in concerted action with French counterparts across the border) have scaled up their anti-terrorist operations and moved aggressively against ETA and Batasuna. Earlier this week, Spanish authorities arrested two other Batasuna leaders. Arnaldo Otegi, the group's main spokesperson was jailed on June 8 to serve a 15-month sentence for participating in a tribute to an ETA activist killed in 1978 by a fascist paramilitary group.

The Socialist Government denies it is directing the reinvigorated police activity, insisting that it is a law-enforcement action, not a politically motivated one. ""The Judicial branch acts independently and the Government does not tell the judges what to do", José Antonio Pastor, the Basque Socialist Party speaker at the Basque Parliament, told TIME. "[This operation] is not an instrumental action by the Government".

Labels: Spain, Terrorism

Amsterdam Symposium: "Menopausal Women Need Good Food and Lots of Sex say Spanish Medical Experts"

"In a document presented at the recent Menopause Symposium in Amsterdam, the Spanish Association for the Study of the Menopause (AEEM) presented a document in which it was noted that an adequate diet and an active sex life contributes towards a better general health of the menopausal woman. The 22 million women who make up about half of the Spanish population are the female Europeans with the longest expected lifespan, at almost 83 years old, which will rise to 85.1 years old by the year 2020, if the upward curve continues at the same rate. The Spanish health experts also stressed the importance of the support of a partner, which is certainly the best way to face the menopause."

Labels: Menopause, Sex, Spain

Immigration will transform Europe-Spanish minister

A European Commission proposal for stricter controls on illegal workers and efforts to ensure migrants' children are well educated should help the continent digest the large influx of workers, Spanish Immigration Secretary Consuelo Rumi said. Spain, which had very few immigrants until the early 1990s, is now home to about four million foreigners, 10 percent of its population. Some of these are retirees from places like Germany and Britain, but most have come from Morocco, Latin America and Eastern Europe to seek work in a booming economy.

"If you enter illegally you leave the country in the shortest possible time," Rumi said of Spain's 'revolving door' repatriations. This year, the Spanish government expects to grant visas to about 200,000 people from outside the European Union who have been awarded working contracts, Rumi said.

Labels: EU, Immigratation, Spain

Rice criticises Spanish government over Cuba

United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reproached Spain in a visit yesterday for engaging Cuba, and said it needed to do more in Afghanistan. Rice is the highest-level U.S. official to come here since Spain withdrew troops from Iraq following its 2004 elections, which put a chill on relations between Washington and Madrid. Officials on both sides had viewed her visit as a potential opportunity for fence-mending, but Rice was quick to stir controversy over Cuba.

Labels: EU, Spain, US

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Spanish Army’s first three Eurocopter Tigers arrive at their operational base

The Spanish Army’s first three Tiger helicopters have arrived at their final destination, the Coronel Sánchez Bilbao military base in Almagro, where they are to serve the Spanish armed forces. The Spanish Army will have 24 HAD Tigers at its disposal in due course; 18 Tigers are to be delivered in HAD configuration, and the other six – which are in HAP version – are to be retrofitted to HAD. In comparison to the original HAP version, the HAD Tiger features a Spike or Hellfire air-to-ground missile, an uprated engine ensuring an increased useful load, IFF system, electronic warfare system, and enhanced ballistic protection.

Labels: EU, European Military, Spain

Spain and France urge fast progress on EU treaty

Spain and France on Thursday downplayed their differences on the European treaty, urging rapid progress on the issue.

An agreement was needed 'as soon as possible,' Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said at a joint press conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy during the latter's one-day visit to Madrid.

Labels: EU CONSTITUTION, France, Spain

Are you on time for a job in Spain?

The updated guide ‘Looking for work in Spain’ provides the answers; Spain is hot at the moment, with a thriving economy. Spanish players have swiftly entered the global market place and the restructuring of the Spanish economy is progressing ceaselessly. Ever since Spain entered the European Community in 1986, its economy has boosted, and has enabled the country to improve its infrastructure and to conform its economy to EU guidelines. Despite some of its challenges, Spain is most definitely taking over a top position in Europe’s economic hit parade as the fourth EU economy. The new, entirely updated ‘Looking for work in Spain’ guide provides the necessary information to be a part of Spain’s economic hit parade.

Expertise in Labour Mobility, a knowledge broker when it comes to international labour mobility, has published a series of guides called ‘Looking for work in ...’ , available for over 40 countries, which are not only interesting for people who are looking for work, but also for expatriates, expat spouses, internationally active entrepreneurs and students.

Labels: EU, jobs, Spain

Spain investigating if recovered treasure by Florida treasure hunters was taken from its territorial waters

Spain is investigating whether one of the world’s biggest-ever finds of sunken treasure was plundered by US treasure hunters from its waters or from a shipwrecked Spanish galleon, the Madrid government said yesterday.

Florida-based treasure hunters Odyssey Marine Exploration (OME) said on Friday they had recovered gold and silver coins worth an estimated $500 million at an undisclosed location in the Atlantic Ocean. It flew out of Gibraltar to Tampa, Florida on a Boeing 757 on Thursday. The Florida based company stated the recovery was conducted in conformity with Salvage Law and the Law of the Sea Convention, beyond the territorial waters or legal jurisdiction of any country.

Labels: Spain, Treasure, US

Cuba, the European Union and Spain - by W. T. Whitney Jr

As part of Washington’s decades-long project to isolate the Cuban revolution, Caleb McCarry recently undertook an eight-nation European tour. It came after a visit to Cuba in early April by Spain’s foreign minister to sign agreements with his Cuban counterpart — the first visit from a high-level European diplomat in four years. McCarry, coordinator of the Bush administration’s “Plan for Assistance to a Free Cuba,” attended a conference staged in Berlin, April 26-27, by the International Committee for Democracy in Cuba, founded in 2003 by former Czech President Václav Havel.

Present at the session were notables such as Havel and former presidents Lech Walesa of Poland and Luis Lacalle of Uruguay.

Labels: Cuba, EU, Spain

At last, German self-discipline is paying off - as the Spanish fiesta ends - by Hamish McRae

The tortoise is catching up with the hare. The continental European economy as a whole is growing strongly at last, with Germany in particular experiencing its fastest growth since 2000. Yet Spain, until recently the fastest-growing of the large European economies, is now falling back, and its property market is in serious trouble. What's up?

The message for Germany is that five years of cold turkey has worked. While it is not likely to become an especially vibrant economy for all sorts of reasons, including demography, it has offset the disadvantage of going into the eurozone at too high an exchange rate and having to experience too high interest rates. What about Spain? There, the reverse has happened. It went into the eurozone with an undervalued currency and, in contrast to the German experience, that has been compounded by a long period of negative real interest rates. When money cheap, people tend to borrow it. When they have borrowed it they tend to buy something with it. That, plus an influx of buyers from other European countries, including Britain, has led to an extraordinary property boom. Spain, with a population of 40 million, is building more homes than France, Germany and Italy put together, and their combined population is 201 million.But now the property boom there is coming to an end with rising eurozone interest rates.

Meanwhile there is a certain biblical morality about the way the single currency has affected the different economies. The wise and prudent Germans are being rewarded and the more profligate Spaniards punished. It is more fun, of course, to be in Spain, but the eurozone is not about fun, and the Spanish party is drawing to a close.

Labels: European Economy, Germany, Spain

Spain's Prado museum unveils spacious new extension

The Prado museum unveiled a modernist new annex of red brick, granite, oak and marble Saturday, giving a first look at sorely needed exhibition space for one of Spain's main tourist attractions. Designed by architect Rafael Moneo, the new space offers visitors plenty of natural light and blends in discreetly with the original gallery built in the early 19th century.

The sober addition completes the first phase of the planned expansion of the Prado, which is considered to have the world's richest store of pre-20th-century masters, including Velazquez, Rubens, El Greco and Goya.

Labels: Culture, EU, History, Spain