Government Change
Spain’s far-right Vox party agreed yesterday to back the conservatives’ bid to rule the Andalusia region jointly with centre-right Ciudadanos.
The deal will see the ruling Socialists lose control of Andalusia after 36 years. It comes ahead of a busy electoral year in Spain.
Vox’s pledge to back the conservative PP and the centrist Ciudadanos’s draft coalition deal means the two Parties now have the numbers to pass it in Andalucia’s Parliament.
They have so far agreed to install the PP’s Juanma Moreno as president of the Junta de Andalucia and to share key ministries between them.
Vox is not set to be a part of the administration in the agreement that was signed yesterday but some of its proposed measures have been included.
The move is set to bring the right to power in Andalucia for the first time since the region gained autonomy around 38 years ago.
Moreno said on Twitter the reaching of the agreement marked a “historic day” for Andalucia.
Juan Marin, the head of Ciudadanos in Andalucia, said the agreement meant his party’s promise of a change in government had been achieved.
Vox said the agreement showed their party was now a force for change.
People Trafficking
Police yesterday reported they broke up a human and drug trafficking network by arresting eight of its members, including those running the gang.
The group recruited and housed immigrants, mostly of Maghrebian origin, to collect fees, as well as to obtain boats and pilots.
It also profited from the Migrant boats heading to Spain from from Morocco which would also carry Drugs such as hashish.
According to the investigation, the detainees received about 2000 euros per person .. or 25 Thousand per boat. The suspects are allegedly responsible for more than 500 migrant and refugee arrivals since August off the coast of Cadiz and Almeria.
Drug Arrest
TWO men carrying a James Bond-style pen gun and seven kilos of cocaine have been arrested in Malaga.
The Spaniards were held on charges of drug trafficking and the possession of illegal weapons.
National Police agents also seized a taser, an air pistol, another gun with ammunition, a bulletproof vest hashish and €11,000 in cash;
Unemployment
Unemployment across the 19-country eurozone fell in November to a decade-low official figures showed yesterday but worries over the economic outlook have stoked concerns it may not fall much lower, if at all.
Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics agency, said a 90,000 monthly fall in the number out of work to just over 13 million reduced the overall rate to 7.9 percent from the previous month’s 8 percent.
Unemployment across the eurozone has been falling steadily from a peak of 12.1 percent in 2013 as the region recovered from the global financial crisis. However, ongoing worries about the level of government debt in a number of countries kept unemployment high, such as Greece and Spain.