Author: EU News

Aragón continues to lose self-employed workers. In 2023, the number of self-employed professionals fell below 100,000 and, in 2024, far from recovering that threshold, there has once again been a decrease of 243 self-employed workers. With this decrease, of 0.2%, Aragón closes the year 2024 with a total of 98,823 self-employed workers compared to the 99,066 with which it ended the year 2023. A trend with which it stands out from the general line in Spain, where the The number of self-employed workers has grown by 1.3% from December 2023 to December 2024, according to data provided by ATA. Within…

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The municipality of Madrid requests not to give privileged treatment to Catalonia. For those who watch la Liga, this is not about Real Madrid and Barcelona. The Minister of Economy, Finance and Employment of the Community of Madrid, Rocío Albert, has once again asked the Government of Spain for a multilateral negotiation for regional financing and “not to give privileged treatment to Catalonia.” Spanish Tourism sector grows by 17% to 184 million in 2023 Madrid requests not to give privileged treatment to Catalonia “We have been asking all the autonomous communities for a multilateral negotiation in the Fiscal and Financial…

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A computer failure paralyzes trains in Spain EU

A computer failure paralyzes trains in Spain A computer failure paralyzes trains in Spain that connect Madrid with Galicia A chaotic start to 2025. The Talgo Avril trains, which operate on the lines that connect Madrid with Galicia and Asturias. They remain stopped at the stations due to a computer incident, according to post on X by Renfe. Arranging alternative arrangements for all travelers The railway company has specified that it is arranging alternative arrangements for all travelers to other services “to guarantee their mobility” and has added that they are being informed of all changes that affect their trip…

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There is already a figure for the revaluation of pensions in 2025. The cost will be 7,296.8 million euros according to the 2.8% that marks the average Consumer Price Index (CPI) of 2024, a measure of which They will benefit more than 12 million people in Spain. It is one of the most relevant data left by the budget impact report of the latest anti-crisis decree, approved on December 23. The document, which is already in Congress, recalls that the contributory and non-contributory pensions of the Social Security system (12,318,117 in total) will be revalued by 2.8%, the average value…

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The president of ATA Extremadura, Candelaria Carrera, presented this Monday, December 30, the main results of the study “Training Needs of Self-Employed Workers in Extremadura”, a report that is part of the actions that ATA Extremadura is carrying out in the framework for the development of the project III Plan for the Improvement of Self-Employment Training. This study, which has carried out a detailed x-ray of the group in the region, has confirmed the urgent need to advance in digital skills to ensure the competitiveness of the Extremaduran self-employed. Self-employment represents more than 19% of total employment in the region.…

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The twelve-month Euribor, the indicator most used in Spain to calculate variable mortgages, is close to closing December at around 2.434%, its ninth consecutive drop, and which will mean new savings in the installments of these loans of more than 1,200 euros per year. Although there are still two sessions left until the end of December, the Euribor provisionally reaches that average rate of 2.432%, lower than the 2.506% in November, and above all, the 3.679% a year earlier. This will mean that those who have to review their mortgage annually will see new savings in their payments. In the…

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Valencia will give aid of 300 euros for each newborn or adopted child in 2025 starting January 2 New aid to promote birth rates. The Valencia City Council has announced that it will give 300 euros for each newborn, adopted or fostered child during 2025 and who is registered in the city. In a statement, the Maria José Català council explains that it has allocated an initial amount of 1.5 million euros to cover the amount of aid, with the clear objective of “alleviating the initial economic impact of the arrival of a baby and promote birth, adoption and foster…

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Despite the lack of renewed budgets for 2025, the large public organizations and companies of the Generalitat of Catalonia have made public their hiring forecasts for next year. The Center for Telecommunications and Information Technologies (CTTI), which acts as the technological brain of the regional administration, plans to put out to tender 122 million in digital solutions for different areas of the public sector. The health actions stand out, such as the CatSalut digital health strategy office, the new electronic prescription system for pharmacies and the flow protection solutions in primary care. In justice, the procedural management system for minors,…

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The Spanish Tourism sector grows by 17% and increase the percentage that tourism has on Spain’s GDP. The activity of the sector rose to 184,000 million euros in 2023, a much higher figure than that shown in the year before the pandemic, when 157,355 million euros were reached, according to the National Statistics Institute (INE). Spanish Tourism sector grows by 17% The same did not happen with occupation in the tourism sector. In 2019 continues to be the record year for tourism employment, when 2.67 million affiliates were registered, slightly more than the 2.5 million reached last year, 11.6% of…

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The new temporary tax on the main energy operators for 2025 will have a maximum bonus of 60% on the amount of the tax for those companies that make strategic investments. Investments that are “essential” for the ecological transition and decarbonization and that, due to their magnitude, contribute to economic growth and employment, whether made in fixed or technological assets committed to industrial projects, will be considered as such. These investments can range from the production of renewable hydrogen to transforming waste into products that have a second life or into renewable gases, such as biogas. This is stated in…

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Spanish politics in 2025 is going to need some radical improvements, especially after the outcry of Valencia flooding; its showed how distant Madrid was to the rest of country. As such The Spanish Government must provide the right signals. And it will start with policies which make an impact to the lives of everyday people. By approving the extension – for six months – of the main transport discounts, as it promised to Podemos last Thursday in exchange for its support for the Justice Efficiency Law. The catalog of regulations approved today in the last Council of Ministers of the…

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Slovakia’s PM Fico visits Moscow amid Ukraine gas dispute. Prime Minister Robert Fico made an unannounced visit to Moscow on Sunday for what he and the Kremlin called a “working meeting” with President Vladimir Putin.  Fico made the trip days after reaching a deadlock in a dispute with the government in Kyiv over the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine to Slovakia, with Volodymyr Zelensky saying he does not intend to extend existing contracts past the end of the year. The Slovak leader had tried to secure a change in this stance, without success, at the EU summit in Brussels earlier…

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The Spanish Government holds the last Council of Ministers of the year, on Monday, in which it is expected to approve a battery of economic measures, from the extension of the tax on large energy companies for 2025 to the extension of transport bonuses or the increase in pensions. This Monday a royal decree law will be approved with the extension of the tax on large energy companies to 2025, a commitment of the Government with its partners -ERC, Bildu and BNG- that everything indicates that it will not achieve the endorsement of Congress given the opposition of PNV and…

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Why the DRC sued Apple over conflict minerals. United Nations officials have reported out that some mines are operated by armed groups that are reported to be involved in massacres of the civilian population, widespread sexual assault, rampant looting and other crimes. In a criminal complaint filed on Tuesday, the Democratic Republic of Congo accuses Apple of making use of minerals that originate from illegal mining in the DRC. Primarily, these are the so-called 3T minerals — tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold. “The goal is to show consumers that the product they have in their hands is contaminated by international…

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The EU wants to adopt a new package of sanctions against Russia on the third anniversary of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine on February 24, 2025. WELT AM SONNTAG reports this, citing unanimous information from diplomatic circles in Brussels. The new measure would be the 16th sanctions package. Informed EU diplomats said the package was intended as a “clear signal” to Moscow and would include “measures against specific sectors of the Russian economy that have not yet been covered or have been inadequately covered.” In addition, the 16th sanctions package should include further services from people and organizations that…

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Sixteen security personnel were killed in an attack by Islamist militants in northwestern Pakistan early on Saturday, officials said. The attack on a security forces post took place at 2 a.m. (2100 GMT on Friday) and the attackers had used light and heavy weapons, police deputy superintendent Hidayat Ullah told Reuters. “A search operation is underway in the area,” he added. The siege began after midnight and lasted about two hours as about 30 militants attacked the mountainous outpost from three sides, a senior intelligence official told AFP on condition of anonymity. “Sixteen soldiers were martyred and five were critically injured in the…

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Championing Faith’s Influence in EU Education EU

COMECE advocates for the unique contribution of Religious Education at the European Schools in latest position paper. The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) publishes a position paper titled ‘Religious Education in the European Schools – A Unique and Essential Contribution to the Next Generation of Europeans’ on Wednesday, 18 December 2024. The document underscores the importance of preserving the religious and testimonial dimension of faith within the educational mission of European Schools. Read Position Paper Building on the vision and mission of the European Schools regarding Religious Education, the document reflects on the importance of Religious Education in Europe today.…

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Trump-walks-by-Elon-Musk-during-the-America-First-Policy.jpg” />On Friday evening, the tech billionaire called for Olaf Scholz’s immediate resignation. The day after the attack in Magdeburg, Elon Musk published further messages: Germany should have extradited the Saudi assassin.The billionaire and advisor to the next US President Donald Trump, Elon Musk, sharply criticized the German authorities and the federal government after the attack on the Magdeburg Christmas market. On Sunday night, Trump’s designated Vice President JD Vance also got in and indirectly recommended – like Musk before him – the election of the AfD.“It’s so dangerous when people control their borders. So, so dangerous. The level of…

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The now 27-member European Union has been repeating the mantra since the 2003 EU summit in Thessaloniki, Greece: The countries of the Western Balkans that emerged from the disintegration of Yugoslavia, as well as Albania, belong to Europe, and should be welcomed into the European Union.  So far, the only one that has made the leap into the EU is Croatia in 2013. The other six — Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Albania — have been working for years towards a concrete date for their inclusion. They are all at different stages in the lengthy accession process.  “We…

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Magdeburg Terrorist Psychiatrist Case: Security Concerns EU

MAGDEBURG, Germany – December 21, 2024 – A festive evening at a bustling Christmas market in Magdeburg turned into a scene of devastation on Friday night by a terrorist psychiatrist, as a vehicle plowed through crowds of holiday shoppers, leaving five people dead and over 200 injured. Authorities have identified the suspect as Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, a 50-year-old Saudi-born psychiatrist who has lived in Germany since 2006. The incident occurred around 7:00 p.m. local time when a black BMW tore through the heart of the market, packed with families and revelers enjoying the holiday season. Eyewitnesses described scenes of panic and…

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