On the rights and freedoms of all Spaniards, on whether or not they can leave their homes, until what time, with how many people… On all of this, let the Supreme Court decide. On the 12 prisoners of the ‘procés’ who, from prison, support the Government, on whether they enter or leave, how and when… The Supreme Court can say mass, and the Government, in other words Sánchez, will decide.
Alicia Arce | Enlightenment is the human being’s emergence from his self-incurred minority, said Kant and that produced an active subject who is responsible, who takes charge of their life, their acts, their share of the world; with their many achievements and their terrible atrocities.
J.P. Marín- Arrese | The Spanish government has tabled a proposal for a Google tax but will refrain from applying it till the year-end. They boasted not so long ago that nothing could deter it from taxing the tech companies. When confronted with the task of delivering its promise, courage seems to falter even if Washington has issued no explicit warning. Presumably, the French discomfiture conveyed a stern lesson of what happens to anyone defying the US.
At its cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the government gave the green light to the implementation of new taxes on digital business and stock market transactions, following similar steps by other European countries. The agreement reached between Spain’s PSOE and Podemos coalition government included the approval of the two taxes, with which the Administration expects to collect about 2.050 billion euros (€1.200 Bn with the digital tax and €850 M with the financial transactions tax).
In May, the Spanish government will hold an auction for the 700 megahertz (Mhz) frequency band scheduled for this year, 2020, in order to complete the release of the spectrum needed for the mass deployment of the new 5G mobile technology before June 30.
The coalition between the Socialist Party and the extreme left Podemos raised serious doubts on its ability to run the economy. Its agreed platform trumpeted a massive increase in social expenditure, coupled with tax rises plus extensive public regulation in many key markets, ranging from power supply to housing rentals. No wonder it aims now to pedal back to check the foreseeable loss of confidence.
J.P. Marín-Arrese | “At least, no single Yemeni would face death singled out by these ingenious devices shipped from Spain to Saudi Arabia.” Such a startling statement did not come from the arms industry, but the Spanish government spokeswoman.
Fernando G. Urbaneja | The Spanish parliament has suddenly and unexpectedly used a constitutional motion of censure against the government of Rajoy to elect a new government. The new government returns Spain to the ancient ghosts of the first third of the 20th century: multi-party and fractured coalitions.
The two parties that are about to form the next Italian government are driven by a profoundly anti-democratic culture. Their claim to so-called direct democracy exercised via the web on a platform owned by a private company is not just a staple of populism, but an attempt to fuel general discourse against any party in the name of the people.
Today Mariano Rajoy has been sworn in as Prime Minister after Saturday’s investiture session. He obtained a simple parliamentary majority with 170 votes in favour, 69 abstentions, 111 votes against and 1 absentee. So at last the period of uncertainty which had lasted since December 2015 is over.