Author: Bob James

Political Co-operation
Acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and opposition leader Pablo Casado of the PP have agreed to open up a permanent communication channel on Catalonia.
Such an initiative would have been unthinkable just a few weeks ago,but the PP has performed a U- turn following its resounding defeat in the Elections.
Casado, who until recently had described Sánchez as a “traitor,” a “squatter” and “a stand-in,” has now adopted a completely different tone.
Yesterday both men made a commitment to keep discussing the Catalan crisis.… Read all the news

Catalan Separatists
Former Catalan premier Carles Puigdemont may run in European elections on May 26.
Three Madrid courts yesterday said that he and two other ex- regional officials who fled Spain Toni Comín and Clara Ponsatí – may participate as candidates in the European Parliament election with the Lliures per Europa coalition.
The decisions contradict the Central Electoral Commission, which had banned all three from running on the basis that, having fled Spain, they were technically living abroad yet not properly registered as Spaniards residing in another country.… Read all the news

Catalan Separatists
Spain’s Supreme Court ruled that exiled former Catalan leaders should be able to run in the European election, but left the final decision to a lower court.
The court said there are “no reasons for ineligibility,” but told Madrid judges to make a final decision because it is within their competency to do so.
Former Catalan regional President Carles Puigdemont and two others had appealed a decision by the Central Election Commission to exclude them from participating in this month’s European Parliament election because they do not reside in Spain.… Read all the news

European Elections
Spain’s Supreme Court will decide whether Carles Puigdemont and two other Catalan separatists who fled abroad to escape arrest will be able to run in next month’s European Parliament elections.
A court on Saturday ruled to send to the Supreme Court an appeal filed by Puigdemont’s party against the decision by Spain’s Electoral Board to prohibit the three from running in the May 26 race to fill Spain’s allotted seats at the parliament in Strasbourg.
All three fled to avoid arrest for their part in Catalonia’s failed secession attempt in 2017.… Read all the news

Brexit Protest
A huge march on Westminster to demand a People’s Vote on Brexit will take place in London tomorrow. And at the same time, people will also be gathering in central Madrid.
In London hundreds of thousands are expected to take to the streets to demand that the public is given a final say on any Brexit deal.
The “Put It To The People March” will begin at noon on Park Lane and then onto Parliament Square.
But for those who can’t make it a demonstration will be held in central Madrid to show the strength of feeling against Brexit among those that live here.… Read all the news

On Line TV Bust
Police raids across Europe have broken up a sophisticated operation that pirated and resold net- based TV channels.
Five people have been arrested and dozens of servers shut down as a result of raids in Spain, Denmark and the UK.
The IPTV services run by the gang offered customers more than 800 channels including sports and movies.
The raids come as three British men were jailed for pirating footage of top football matches.
Europol said the raids marked its “biggest hit” against pirated IPTV services.… Read all the news

Brexit Cost
A HARD Brexit would wipe €9 billion off the Spanish economy and slash more than 100,000 jobs, according to a report which highlights the full impact of the UK and the EU failing to reach a deal.
In a document from the Bank of Spain titled ‘Brexit: Balance and Perspective’, the Spanish central bank warned the country’s economy would suffer hardest in the first few years following a no-deal Brexit. The Spanish economy would shrink by 0.8 percent.
Spanish newspaper 20 Minutos said the report suggested the costs on the country’s economy from a no-deal Brexit “could be significant, depending on the final scenario.… Read all the news

Brexit
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has warned Theresa May that if she wants to extend the deadline for Brexit, she needs to have a clear plan.
“You can’t go forward by going around in circles Sánchez said.
He stressed that Mrs May’s deal is the ‘best possible’ and the ‘only viable option’ if the UK wants to leave the European Union but stressed that Spain will ‘always provide constructive solutions’ to promote ‘an orderly exit’.
If the deal, which has been voted down twice, does not get through Parliament within the next nine days, the UK wants an extension to Article 50 so as to avoid crashing out without a deal, which experts say would be disastrous for Britain and cause financial loss to its trading partners in the EU.… Read all the news

Illegal Immigration
Police interception of an inflatable dinghy off the coast of Almeria carrying Sub-Saharans has led to the arrest of two men for trying to illegally bring immigrants from Morocco to Spain.
There were 56 people in the boat, which was just nine metres long.
The passengers included 11 women and three children. While processing and interviewing the immigrants, police identified the individuals believed to be responsible for navigating the boat.
The two, named as a 21 and a 26-year old from Senegal, had threatened the boat passengers with death if they reported them to police ..… Read all the news

Election Preparations
Election officials have given Catalan premier Quim Torra another 24 hours to remove pro- independence symbols from all public buildings owned or run by the regional government.
A week ago, the Central Electoral Board reminded the Catalan government that public authorities have the legal obligation to preserve political neutrality ahead of the local, regional, general and European elections coming up in April and May.
The move mainly affects public buildings displaying yellow ribbons, used to show support for separatist leaders standing trial for rebellion, and esteladas, the unofficial flags used by supporters of Catalan independence.… Read all the news