The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed creation of a joint venture by Orange and MásMóvil. The approval is conditional upon full compliance with a commitments package offered by Orange and MásMóvil. Today’s decision follows an in-depth investigation of the proposed transaction. Orange is a full mobile network operator while MásMóvil is a hybrid mobile network operator. MásMóvil relies on its own mobile […]
Commissioner Elisa Ferreira travels to Castilla y León and Asturias to visit the main beneficiary regions of the Just Transition Fund in Spain
From 14-16 February 2024, Cohesion and Reforms Commissioner Elisa Ferreira will visit the regions of Castilla y León and Asturias to see how cohesion policy is implemented in these regions, and in particular how the Just Transition Fund (FTJ) supports the transition to a climate neutral economy. Commissioner Ferreira met with the President of Castilla […]
Winter Economic forecast 2024 for Spain
The Spanish economy is estimated to have expanded by 2.5% in 2023, marginally above what was projected in autumn, with preliminary data for the fourth quarter pointing to an acceleration (0.6% q-o-q) compared to the third quarter. Private consumption and, to a lesser extent, investment were the key drivers of GDP growth throughout 2023. External […]
Spain, InvestEU: EIF and ICF join forces to mobilise €64 million to support social enterprises and cultural and creative businesses in Catalonia
With the support of the InvestEU programme, the European Investment Fund (EIF) will provide the Catalan Finance Institute (ICF) with a capped portfolio guarantee that will leverage €64 million in support of social enterprises and entities within the cultural and creative sector in Catalonia. This transaction is the first guarantee agreement between the two institutions […]
Waste: Commission decides to refer SPAIN to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failure to apply the waste management requirements
The European Commission decided to refer Spain to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failure to comply with the requirements of the Waste Framework Directive (Directive 2008/98/EC). The Waste Framework Directive requires Member States to take all necessary measures to ensure that waste management does not endanger human health or harm the environment. […]
President Von der Leyen will travel to Nouakchott with President Sánchez to strengthen the EU-Mauritania partnership
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will visit Nouakchott (Mauritania) tomorrow. She will travel with the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez. This will be an opportunity to strengthen this country’s partnership with Europe, particularly through the Global Gateway strategy, and to discuss security, migration, and stability issues in the […]
The Commission decides to refer SPAIN to the Court of Justice of the EU for failing to complete the revision of its hydrological plans.
The European Commission decided to refer Bulgaria , Ireland , Spain , Malta , Portugal and Slovakia to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failure to finalise the revision of their river basin management plans, as required under the Water Framework Directive (Directive 2000/60/EC) and/or of their flood risk management plans as required under the Floods Directive (Directive 2007/60/EC). The Water Framework Directive […]
European Commission disburses €1.4 billion in pre-financing to Spain for implementation of its REPowerEU plan
Last Thursday, the Commission disbursed €1.4 billion to Spain in pre-financing grants related to the REPowerEU funds under the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism (RRM). This second and final REPowerEU pre-financing tranche complements the €340 million of loans previously disbursed to Spain on 25 January 2024. This pre-financing will help accelerate the implementation of the key […]
European Commission proposes structured dialogue with Spain on the Spanish General Council of the Judiciary
In its 2022 and 2023 Rule of Law Report for Spain, the Commission had made the following recommendation: “Proceed with the renewal of the Council for the Judiciary as a matter of priority and initiate, immediately after the renewal, a process in view of adapting the appointment of its judges-members, taking into account European standards […]