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With 99% of votes counted by 11:45 p.m. (2145 GMT), the opposition People's Party (PP) had 136 seats while Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's ruling Socialists (PSOE) had 122 seats. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsNegotiations by the two blocs to form governments will start after a new parliament convenes on Aug. 17. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called a surprise snap election after the left took a drubbing in local elections in May. In the present scenario, Sanchez' PSOE would rely heavily on Catalan separatist parties Junts and ERC or Basque separatists EH Bildu. In 2019, two more elections were held before the PSOE and far-left Podemos agreed to form Spain's first coalition government.

Persons: Pedro Sanchez's, Vox, King Felipe VI, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, Mariano Rajoy, Sanchez, Steve Smith, Pedro Sanchez, Ignacio Jurado, Carlos, Juan Medina, Madrid's Calle Genova, Galo Contreras, we're, Francisco Franco, Teruel Existe, El, Junts, Carles Puigdemont, Podemos, Jose Ignacio Torreblanca, Belen Carreno, Jesus Aguado, Emma Pinedo, Joan Faus, Corina Pons, Charlie Devereux, Nick Macfie, Frances Kerry, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: PSOE, People's Party, Socialists, Reuters Graphics Reuters, European Union Council, Voters, Feijoo's PP, Vox, Carlos III University, People's, REUTERS, Madrid's Calle, PP, Basque Nationalist Party, Teruel, Junts, ERC, Basque, European Council, Foreign Relations, Thomson Locations: MADRID, Spain, swimsuits, Madrid, Madrid's, Burgos, El Pais, Catalan

☆ Heatwave-linked pollution sees Spanish city urge less car use
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] SpainÕsÊMinister for Ecological Transition and Vice-president Teresa Ribera rides a bicycle to the meeting of European environment ministers, in Valladolid, Spain, July 10, 2023. Spain, like many parts of the world, is enduring a heatwave that has seen some towns and regions break maximum temperature records in recent days. Valladolid also plans to reroute bike and bus lanes to improve congested traffic, denying claims by cycling groups that it is a covert way to shorten them. It called on vulnerable groups such as people with asthma or other respiratory conditions to make sure they took their medication and to consider reducing open air activity. Reporting by Charlie Devereux and Belen Carreño; additional reporting by Emma Pinedo, Editing by Alexandra HudsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Teresa Ribera, Charlie Devereux, Belen Carreño, Emma Pinedo, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Spanish Environment Ministry, REUTERS, People's Party, Vox, Reuters, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Valladolid, Spain, MADRID, Spanish, Europe

July 18 (Reuters) - The European Union (EU) said on Tuesday that Europe's slave-trading past inflicted "untold suffering" on millions of people and hinted at the need for reparations for what it described as a "crime against humanity". The idea of paying reparations or making other amends for slavery has a long history but the movement is gaining momentum worldwide. EU and CELAC agreed on one paragraph that acknowledged and "profoundly" regretted the "untold suffering inflicted on millions of men, women and children as a result of the transatlantic slave trade". It said slavery and the transatlantic slave trade were "appalling tragedies ... not only because of their abhorrent barbarism but also in terms of their magnitude". The CARICOM reparations commission "sees the persistent racial victimisation of the descendants of slavery and genocide as the root cause of their suffering today", the plan said.

Persons: Ralph Gonsalves, Saint Vincent, CELAC's, CELAC, Dutch King Willem, Alexander, King Charles, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Catarina Demony, Belen Carreno, Andrew Gray, Grant McCool Organizations: European Union, EU, of, Caribbean, Caribbean Community, Thomson Locations: Portugal, Brazil, Caribbean States, Brussels, Grenadines, Dutch, Netherlands

With polls indicating a PP/Vox coalition government as the most likely outcome of next Sunday's national election, the reversal signals what could be a broader shift in Spain's climate change policy. "We are going to continue building bike lanes," he told Reuters. Vox has also pledged to repeal Spain's climate law, which establishes an obligation to create LEZs in cities. "Bike lanes have to be useful and not generate social alarm, so each municipality has to analyse the most appropriate location," a PP official told Reuters. Valladolid has been awarded 10.6 million euros to create an LEZ and about 4 million for bike lanes.

Persons: Teresa Ribera, Vox, Alberto Gutierrez, Miguel Diaz, Santiago Abascal, Pedro Sanchez, Sanchez, Cristina Monge, LEZs, Carmen Moriyon, Frans Timmermans, Belén Carreño, Pietro Lombardi, Andrei Khalip, Charlie Devereux, Angus MacSwan Organizations: People's Party, Elche, Vox, Reuters, United Nations, Socialist, University of Zaragoza, EU, Brussels, Cars, European Environment Agency, Thomson Locations: MADRID, VALLADOLID, Valladolid, Gijon, Castello, Europe, Spain

☆ Spain 2023 election: PM Sanchez and rival Feijoo in chaotic live TV debate
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Spanish People's Party candidate Alberto Nunez Feijoo and Spain's Prime Minister and Socialist candidate Pedro Sanchez talk before a televised debate ahead of snap election in Madrid, Spain, July 10, 2023. With just under two weeks to go until the vote, opinion polls predict Feijoo as the likely winner, although he would probably need the support of far-right party Vox. Sanchez highlighted that Spain is among only a few European countries that has tamed inflation to below the European Central Bank's 2% target by 2023. Feijoo himself was recently pilloried for saying a Vox electoral candidate convicted of gender violence had a "hard divorce". Feijoo told Sanchez: "Those men who raped in the street are in the street because of you - there are more than 1,000 of them."

Persons: Alberto Nunez Feijoo, Pedro Sanchez, Juan Medina MADRID, gesticulating, Maria Jose Canel, Sanchez, Feijoo, Vox, Feijoo's, EH, Jose Miguel Contreras, Madrid's King, Madrid's King Juan Carlos University, Belen Carreno, Corina Rodriguez, Aislinn Laing, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Spanish People's Party, Spain's, Socialist, REUTERS, People's Party, Madrid's Complutense University, Socialists, AS, Central, Vox, Madrid's, Madrid's King Juan, Atresmedia, Thomson Locations: Madrid, Spain, Ukraine, Basque

☆ Broadcom to invest in a $1 billion EU-funded chip programme in Spain
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MADRID, July 7 (Reuters) - U.S. chipmaker Broadcom (AVGO.O) will invest in a European Union-funded programme to develop a semiconductor industry in Spain, Chief Executive Charlie Kawwas said late on Thursday. "Excited to announce our decision to invest in Spain's semiconductor ecosystem under their semiconductor support program," Kawwas said on his Twitter account. The project in which Broadcom would be involved could be worth $1 billion, the Spanish economy ministry said in an emailed statement. Broadcom did not say how much it would invest. Prior to Broadcom, the Spanish government had said U.S. tech giant Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO.O) was planning to open a new chip design centre in the northeastern Spanish city of Barcelona.

Persons: Charlie Kawwas, Kawwas, Inti Landauro, Belen, Mark Potter Organizations: chipmaker Broadcom, Broadcom, Cisco Systems Inc, EU, Thomson Locations: MADRID, Union, Spain, Spanish, Europe, Barcelona

[1/4] Spanish Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz reacts during a campaign rally for her new left-wing umbrella party Sumar in the southern district of Orcasitas, Madrid, Spain, June 24, 2023. POPE'S BLESSINGOnce a Communist, Diaz now shies away from labelling herself as such or appealing solely to left-wing voters, although she rarely misses an opportunity to criticise capitalism. "We need better wages, especially in a country where the causes of inflation are tremendous corporate margins," she said. Two days later, Diaz registered Sumar, which first surfaced as a loose movement to unite the left in 2022, as a potential kingmaker bloc to run in the election. Reporting by Belén Carreño and Elena Rodríguez in Madrid; editing by Andrei Khalip and Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Yolanda Diaz, Isabel Infantes, Pedro Sanchez, Diaz, Sanchez, Vox, Sanchez's, Shostakovich, Billie Eilish, Pope Francis, Pope, Podemos, Belén Carreño, Elena Rodríguez, Andrei Khalip, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Spanish Labour, REUTERS, Socialists, Reuters, Socialist, People's Party, Spanish Socialist Workers ' Party, PSOE, Communist, Spanish Catholic Church, Thomson Locations: Orcasitas, Madrid, Spain, MADRID, Sanchez's, Ukraine

☆ Madrid joins race for high-spending tourists with bet on five-star hotels
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Corina Pons | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/5] A swimming pool is seen at the top of Hyatt's Thompson Madrid Hotel, overlooking central Madrid, Spain, June 13, 2023. RISING ROOM RATESThe arrival of luxury hotels has marked a new peak in room rates. "We're seeking to capture the highest-spending international tourists," said Madrid's tourism director, Luis Martin. Employment in Madrid's tourism sector has grown by 15% since 2019, compared with 5.4% nationally. "The Spanish tourism sector has always tried to compete with other destinations on low prices," he said.

Persons: Hyatt's, Violeta Santos Moura, Santo Mauro, Richard Brekelmans, ”, Carlos Erburu, Thompson, Antonio Catalan, Alejandro Pitashny, Luis Martin, Jose Maria Martinez, Corina Pons, Belen Carreño, Charlie Devereux, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Madrid Hotel, REUTERS, Violeta Santos Moura MADRID, Hotels, Puerta del Sol, Dior, Marriott, Santo, Santo Mauro Palace, Westin, Ritz, Universal Music, Southern, Madrid, Colliers, Hyatt Hotels Corp, Reuters, Robuchon, Michelin, Airlines, Air, Thomson Locations: Madrid, Spain, Europe, Paris, London, Milan, Puerta del, Southern Europe, Barcelona, United States, Rome, Argentine, Iberia, America, Air China, China, Spanish

☆ Spain set to impose new restrictions on ride-hailing drivers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Inti Landauro | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, June 27 (Reuters) - The Spanish government is set to impose new restrictions on drivers working with ride-hailing apps such as Uber (UBER.N) after the European Union's top court overturned a set of local curbs in Barcelona, a draft document seen by Reuters showed. The court said such restrictions could be legal if they did not discriminate between the different service providers. The decision was welcomed by ride-hailing drivers and the app platforms operating in Spain, such as Uber, Bolt and local rival Cabify, as a precedent that institutionalises them as legitimate public transport operators. The enforcement of the restrictions late last year had pushed many self-employed drivers and fleet owners in Barcelona out of business. Reporting by Inti Landauro, additional reporting by Belen Carreno; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Alison WilliamsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Bolt, Inti Landauro, Belen Carreno, Andrei Khalip, Alison Williams Organizations: Reuters, Justice, European Union, Thomson Locations: MADRID, Barcelona, Spain

☆ Tesla considering building 4.5 bln euro car factory in Spain - report
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MADRID, June 8 (Reuters) - U.S. electric car manufacturer Tesla (TSLA.O) is in talks with the leaders of the regional government of Valencia in Spain to build a car factory, newspaper Cinco Dias reported on Thursday, citing unidentified sources close to the discussions. The company's total investment in the factory could surpass 4.5 billion euros ($4.83 billion), the newspaper said. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while Spain's central government declined to comment. Valencia is also home to a car manufacturing facility for Ford, which plans to start producing electric vehicles there. Spain is Europe's second-largest car producer, and is using European Union COVID pandemic recovery funds to attract carmakers to invest in the manufacture of both batteries and electric vehicles.

Persons: Cinco Dias, Tesla, Volkswagen, Inti Landauro, Belen Carreno, Joan Faus, Aislinn Laing, Jan Harvey, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Reuters, Ford, Union, EU, Thomson Locations: MADRID, Valencia, Spain, Sagunto

MADRID/Brussels, June 5 (Reuters) - The European Commission said that concluding the Mercosur-EU agreement is a priority, adding that Latin America and Europe should work on reducing "excessive dependency" on third countries, according to a document seen by Reuters on Monday. Brussels is launching a political and economic offensive on Latin America to secure priority access to the region's resources - especially raw materials - identifying the region as a potential close ally in the face of "increasing geopolitical challenges", mainly the product of the Ukraine invasion by Russia. In a communication to be presented on June 7 and seen in advance by Reuters, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell sets out a roadmap for concluding a number of free trade and partnership agreements with Latin American countries as soon as possible, as well as for boosting bilateral relations with Mexico and Brazil. Reporting by Belen Carreno in Madrid, Philip Blenkinsop in Brussels; editing by Inti Landauro and Charlie DevereuxOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Josep Borrell, Belen Carreno, Philip Blenkinsop, Inti Landauro, Charlie Devereux Organizations: European Commission, Reuters, Thomson Locations: MADRID, Brussels, Mercosur, America, Europe, Ukraine, Russia, EU, Mexico, Brazil, Madrid

[1/4] Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez appears after he casts his vote at a polling station during Regional elections, in Madrid, Spain, May 28, 2023. he said in a televised speech that took even some of his political allies by surprise. "...I believe it is necessary to respond and submit our democratic mandate to the will of the people." But it is highly unusual for a Spanish government to call a snap ballot after a poor performance in a regional vote. The PP potentially took as many as eight regional governments from the Socialists, depending on how successful the opposition party is in negotiating alliances with Vox.

☆ Spain holds regional elections ahead of year-end national vote
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez appears after he casts his vote at a polling station during Regional elections, in Madrid, Spain, May 28, 2023. REUTERS/Juan MedinaMADRID, May 27 (Reuters) - Spanish voters head to the polls on Sunday in regional and municipal elections, the results of which will serve as a barometer for an end-of-year general election. Voting is taking place in 12 regions and 8,000 towns and cities, most currently run by the governing Socialist Party (PSOE). Polls are predicting gains for the conservative People's Party (PP), which if replicated later in the year could unseat the current left-wing coalition. Voting opened at 9 a.m. (0700 GMT) and will close at 8 p.m. Over 35 million people are eligible to vote.

Growth came mostly from exports, the result of a revival in global trade as China re-opened for business after the pandemic. But national data showed price growth remained stubbornly high, probably leaving the ECB with no choice but to keep raising interest rates. Friday's inflation data showed progress was slow. IMF CALLS FOR MORE RATE HIKESMoney markets currently price in another 70 basis points of ECB rate hikes by October, possibly followed by cuts as early as the start of next year. It also said European Union finance ministers should tighten fiscal policy in concerted action to bring down high inflation, which would probably depress consumption further.

They are among the discordant calls made by Spanish and EU bureaucrats as Spain's drive to hand out 77 billion euros ($84 billion) in grants from EU pandemic recovery funds becomes mired in complexity, according to interviews with business associations, government officials, companies and consultants. Spain is the EU pilot project for disbursing grants from the largest stimulus package in the bloc's history, an overall pot of 724 billion euros, including loans. A year into the disbursement process, about 23.5 billion euros had been awarded as of December last year, according to the latest figures published by the government last month. That's a sluggish pace, given the EU and Spain have set a deadline of the end of this year to award all 77 billion euros. Meanwhile, only about 9 billion euros have actually reached the businesses awarded funds, according to calculations by the Esade Centre for Economic Policy, a Madrid-based think-tank that tracks the pandemic recovery cash.

☆ Europe cannot turn its back on China, Spanish minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, April 11 (Reuters) - Europe cannot ignore China's role as a key trading partner and important geopolitical player that could help put an end to the war in Ukraine, or provide debt relief for low-income countries, Spanish Economy Minister Nadia Calvino said on Tuesday. "We need to use the time to reinforce our common safety net protecting most vulnerable countries ... and here again we cannot just ignore China. Top officials from China will make their first in-person attendance at the Washington meetings in three years. Calvino said she hoped to deliver good news on debt relief to these countries later this year. Reporting by David Latona and Belen Carreno; Editing by Andrei Khalip and David HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/4] Chinese President Xi Jinping and France's President Emmanuel Macron meet at the Guandong province governor's residence, in Guangzhou, China, Friday, April 7, 2023. Macron's comments came in an interview on a trip to China that was meant to showcase European unity on China policy, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also taking part, but highlighted differences within the European Union. A senior diplomat from Central and Eastern Europe, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: "President Macron is not speaking for Europe or the European Union. The French foreign ministry cancelled a planned debrief on the trip for foreign diplomats in Paris on Tuesday as officials scrambled to make sure they had a consistent message and to limit any fallout with Washington. But even some of those broadly supportive of Macron's agenda lamented the handling of the China trip, in which von der Leyen received a much more muted welcome than the French president.

☆ Spain calls for tougher enforcement of oil transfers at sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, March 31 (Reuters) - Spain has called for tighter scrutiny of oil transfers involving tankers at sea as the number of unregulated ships hit by sanctions grows and raises pollution risks, a U.N. agency session heard this week. Spain's Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines have become hubs for shipping activity including the transfer of oil known as ship-to-ship (STS) operations. Madrid, which has already tightened its rules for STS transfers around its coastline, has called for flag states to step up scrutiny and enforcement of such activity, the source added. A paper submitted to the IMO committee by Australia, the United States and Canada said illicit transfers "undermine the rules-based international order". The IMO committee said the shadow tankers "posed a real and high risk of incident" particularly when engaged in STS transfers.

MADRID/PARIS, March 13 (Reuters) - Doubts are growing over the future of Madrid's remaining orders for the Airbus (AIR.PA) A400M troop plane, European defence sources said on Monday, as corporate leaders and dignitaries marked the centenary of Spain's military planemaking activities. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Defence Minister Margarita Robles and King Felipe also attended Monday's event. Spain and Airbus are in discussions over how to soften any impact from a partial A400M order cancellation, sources said. Defence publication Janes reported last year that Airbus was waiting for Madrid to back the SIRTAP tactical drone project, co-developed by Airbus Spain and Colombia. Spain also last year ordered an extra 20 Eurofighter combat jets, a four-nation fighter programmre for which Airbus is the industrial partner in Spain and Germany.

☆ Analysis: Wage catch-up to prolong Europe's inflation battle
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Balazs Koranyi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

"Part of the wage increase is understandable," said Jens Ulbrich, chief economist at Germany's Bundesbank. Yet the rapid wage growth underway now will hamper the European Central Bank's efforts to get inflation back to its 2% target, and possibly force it to keep interest rates high for longer. "We are taking a first step, but much more is needed to reverse the years of lopsided wage growth," Kager added. "The inflation trend, food and especially energy prices are tearing deep holes in our workers' budgets," ver.di Chairman Frank Werneke said. "The high levels of wage growth projected for 2023 and 2024 can be expected to make wages an increasingly dominant driver of underlying inflation in the euro area," Lane says.

☆ In economics, women's voices still struggle to be heard
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Maria Martinez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

There seems to be a lot to celebrate on International Women's Day in the field of economics. Women head the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization, the U.S. Treasury and the European Central Bank. "The pervasive underrepresentation of women in economics is systemic and structural," Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the first woman to head the World Trade Organization, told Reuters. "There are no women in the textbooks and most big names in economics are men," said Sandra Kretschmer, economics researcher and member of the Women in Economics Initiative. Women and men tend to have different research interests, said Alisa Weinberger, economics researcher at Goethe.

MADRID/PARIS/STOCKHOLM, March 2 (Reuters) - France and Spain are poised to announce a breakthrough this week in a long-running impasse over hefty costs of what would be their first undersea electricity link, a minister and sources in both countries told Reuters. That was due to unforeseen seabed instability on the French side that required costly re-routing, and rising costs of raw materials. Spain is a growing producer of renewable energy that it exports to France and it wants its neighbour to pay most of the extra costs. That had led to disagreement amid wider tensions between them about pipeline connections and protectionism. Spanish sources said the go-ahead would likely mean that France, whose nuclear power industry has been beset by problems, finally agreed to pay more.

☆ Unexpected inflation jump adds to ECB headache
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Germany's 10-year bond yield, the benchmark for the euro zone, jumped to its highest level since 2011 at 2.66% as traders ramped up bets that ECB rates will peak around 4% at year-end. Expectations for the peak in ECB rates have risen by over 40 basis points this month on fears that inflation will be more persistent than expected, particularly for core goods that exclude volatile fuel and food prices. Some investors even think there is a risk of the ECB raising rates by more than 50 basis points in March, despite its explicit guidance for the move. "The February data shows that French inflation has not reached its peak yet," ING economist Charlotte de Montpellier said. In Spain, core inflation also accelerated, adding to the ECB's worries that price growth is becoming persistent.

☆ Spain aims to raise 6 bln euros from windfall tax on energy firms and banks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Repsol SA FollowMADRID, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The Spanish government is planning to raise around 6 billion euros ($6.39 billion) from its windfall tax on energy companies and banks, Budget Minister Maria Jesus Montero said on Tuesday. Spain approved a temporary levy on large energy firms and lenders that originally intended to raise 7 billion euros by 2024 to fund measures to ease cost of living pressures, but following amendments in parliament the amount was lowered. "The expected revenue is 1.7 billion from the energy tax and 1.3 billion from the bank tax (in 2023), 3 billion euros per year in total," Montero said. The Senate gave the final approval to a windfall tax on banks, although it largely left out smaller local lenders and foreign banks' units in Spain. Montero said that energy companies so far had paid 817 million euros in taxes, while banks had paid 637 million euros.

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