New migration law comes into force today, Spanish fishing industry likely affected by new EU-UK deal, US adds Spain to ‘terror watch list’ and more news on Tuesday May 20th.
Spanish fishing industry likely affected by new EU-UK deal
The resumption of relations between the United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) after Brexit, following the framework agreement reached on Monday, still has to deal with the fine print.
Fishing will be a particularly sensitive area, as 61.66 percent of the Spanish fleet ‘s catches occur in international and third-country waters. Specifically, with a market value of €1.7 billion in 2023.
Almost 50 percent of this came from fishing activities in the North Atlantic, primarily in British waters, where cod, mackerel, megrim, and sole are caught there.
Europêche, the European fishing association to which the Spanish fishing industry association Cepesca belongs, hopes a the new EU-UK deal will include the extension of reciprocal access to British fishing grounds until 2038 and speaks of “a constructive step toward stabilising fishing relations.”
READ MORE: What was agreed in new post Brexit EU-UK deal?
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US Department of State adds Spain to ‘terror watch list’
“Extreme caution is recommended in Spain due to terrorism and civil unrest.” This is the warning posted on the U.S. State Department’s website following an update recently issued in response to information gathered by its Office of Consular Affairs.
The White House has considered various factors or threats, such as crime, terrorism, civil unrest, health, and the likelihood of a natural disaster, to update these warnings for American travellers.
To highlight how far-fetched Spain’s addition to this list seems, the Trump administration has only included eight countries at this risk level: the UK, Germany, the Philippines, Peru, Tajikistan, Uruguay, and Cuba.
Huge billboard next to Spanish Congress labelling Sánchez as “corrupt” removed
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, firefighters in Madrid removed a giant banned in front of the Congress showing an image of Pedro Sánchez next to the word “corrupt” and several mentions of recent alleged corruption cases the Spanish Prime Minister has been involved in.
The billboard on the side of a building was placed there by Hazte Oir, a far-right group which is behind many of these accusations.
READ MORE: What is the leaked WhatsApp messages scandal embroiling Spain’s PM?
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New migration law comes into force today
A new immigration bill comes into effect today in Spain. It promises longer job-seeking visas, an easier shift from a study visa to a residence and work permit, simplified paperwork for undocumented migrants, but critics have said it could also put a lot of undocumented migrants at greater risk.
With hundreds of thousands of new migration files due to be processed, there is a high risk that an already overstretched extranjería (immigration) department will not be able to cope with the extra workload, increasing the chances of longer waiting times for residency processes.
The Spanish government plans to deploy an extra 750 staff members across the country to address this.
