Spain’s king denounces ‘unspeakable suffering’ of Gazans, Spanish government pleads with regions to help them close illegal tourist lets and more news on Wednesday September 17th.
Spain slightly raises 2025 growth forecast to 2.7 percent
Spain’s leftist government on Tuesday slightly raised its 2025 economic growth forecast despite global uncertainty fuelled by trade tensions.
Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said the government now expects gross domestic product (GDP) to expand by 2.7 percent this year, up from the 2.6 percent previously forecast.
“The Spanish economy continues to show clear signs of strength in both the short and medium term, and we keep accumulating positive economic news day by day,” he told a news conference, describing it as a “prudent forecast”.
Cuerpo said growth in the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy is being driven by business investment and household spending, as well as a booming tourism sector.
He emphasised that the impact of US-EU trade tensions is relatively limited in Spain, unlike in many other European countries.
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Spanish government asks regions to help them close illegal tourist lets
After identifying an additional 53,000 illegal tourist rentals throughout Spain through the recently launched State Rental Registry, Spain’s Ministry of Housing has written to the regional government of all 17 Autonomous Communities to ask them take action against these illicit lets.
Regional authorities and city councils are responsible for inspecting, fining and closing these tourist apartments, hence why Madrid is pleading with them to collaborate.
In the letters, Housing Minister Isabel Rodríguez calls on the autonomous regions to “be brave” and “not look the other way” when it comes regulating a tourism activity that “collides with the social function of housing.”
Spain’s king denounces ‘unspeakable suffering’ of Gazans
Spain’s King Felipe VI on Tuesday denounced the “unspeakable suffering” of hundreds of thousands of Gazans under Israeli bombardment in the Palestinian territory, in a rare political intervention.
“The latest episode in this conflict… has degenerated into an unbearable humanitarian crisis, the unspeakable suffering of hundreds of thousands of innocent people and the total devastation of Gaza,” the monarch said during a visit to Egypt.
Felipe, who rarely speaks out on international issues, noted his trip “is taking place at a turbulent and tragic time for the region”.
The Spanish government, which recognised the State of Palestine in May 2024, has become one of Israel’s fiercest critics in Europe.
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Spanish government mulls forcing companies to offer customer service in Catalan
The Socialist-led government and Catalan separatist party Junts on Tuesday agreed on a new legal reform that could force large companies with customer service to provide services in Catalan, regardless of whether they are located in Catalonia.
The regulation will affect customer service workers at companies with more than 250 employees, with an annual turnover of more than €50 million, or that provide basic services of general interest.
It could affect utility companies such as electricity , gas and water, phone service providers, transport postal services , insurance businesses and more.
Given the PSOE’s weak majority in Congress, Pedro Sánchez has often been forced to bow to pressure from Junts and introduce measures which favour them, as in the case of the controversial amnesty for politicians who took part in the failed Catalan independence push in 2017.
With additional reporting by AFP.
