U.S. treasury demands Spain increases defence spending, record number of foreigners paying into Spain’s social security system, and more news from Spain on Thursday.
U.S. treasury secretary asks Spain to increase defence spending and scrap Google tax
The U.S. Treasury Department has issued a statement calling for Spain to increase its defence spending and scrap the so-called ‘Google Tax’. This followed a meeting of “frank discussions” between the U.S. secretary, Scott Bessent, and Spain’s Economy Minister, Carlos Cuerpo, in Washington this week.
The meeting came after comments from Bessent that aligning with China would be like “cutting your own throat” in light of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s recent visit to China.
“During their talks, Secretary Bessent emphasised the need for greater defence spending by Spain in the NATO context,” the statement reads, adding that Bessent also “underlined the United States’ continued opposition to the digital services tax levied by Spain and other countries, as well as other non-tariff barriers.”
For his part, Cuerpo stated that the U.S. wants to reach a negotiated agreement with the EU on tariff policy. “A clear message that Secretary Bessent has conveyed is that they want to reach an agreement with the main trading partners, including, of course, the European Union,” Cuerpo said.
READ ALSO: What is Spain’s ‘Google tax’ and why does Trump want it scrapped?
Spain’s social security system registers record number of foreigners
Spain’s social security system gained 46,807 foreign contributors in March, 1.6 percent more than in February. This puts the total of 2,921,205 foreign workers at a new all-time high, according to data from the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration.
Of the total number of foreigners registered as employed at the end of March, 913,871 were from EU countries (31.3 percent) and 2,007,334 from outside the block (68.7 percent). The largest groups of foreign workers are those from Morocco (355,296) and Romania (339,527), followed by Colombia (224,501), Italy (197,113) and Venezuela (181,917).
There are now also 74,665 contributors from Ukraine, 27,087 more than in February 2022, before Russia’s invasion, representing an increase of 60 percent.
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99% of Spanish town councils are in breach of cybersecurity rules
A staggering 99 percent of Spanish town councils fail to fully comply with cybersecurity regulations designed to protect their data.
In Spain, all town councils and public institutions are obliged to comply with a series of data protection requirements set out in the country’s national security scheme.
Yet, reports from Cadena Ser suggest that only 41 municipalities in the whole country have their data protection scheme in force. The others, over 8,000, have not submitted the relevant certificates needed.
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Serial rapist arrested in Valencia
A serial rapist who spread panic across the city of Valencia for over a year has been arrested. The suspect, a 30-year-old of unmanned nationality, is accused of at least thirteen sexual assaults, four of them involving intercourse and five attempted assaults.
He attacked his victims in the early hours of the morning when they entered their buildings and recorded some of the assaults on his phone, Spanish media reports.
The suspect was eventually caught due to the distinctive bike he used to stalk his victims, setting off from his home in Meliana, north of Valencia, equipped with a rucksack, spare shoes and a bottle of water.
