All posts by Carmen Gomaro

Carmen Gomaro - leading international news and investigative reporter. Worked at various media outlets in Spain, Argentina and Colombia, including Diario de Cádiz, CNN+, Telemadrid and EFE.

The change in Toledo is worth four: it shakes Page, Sánchez, Abascal and Feijóo

Toledo is probably the only city in Spain where in any store in the center one can still buy film.. The cobbled alleys of this capital of national and international tourism live in a constant festive season in which there is neither low season nor the political hubbub of recent weeks that manages to permeate the mixture between the Mudejar and the Moorish.. But here, in the city of three cultures and a thousand legends, history continues to be written, with the right wing and its brand new coalition as new protagonists: the mayoralty will go to Carlos Velázquez after an agreement between the PP and Vox.

Toledo is the living example of the reality of pacts to which our country is opening up after the territorial 28-M and on the eve of the national 23-J. It is one of the main cities where the PP and Vox have worked against the clock to articulate a municipal government that will unseat the left before tomorrow. But the capital of Castilla-La Mancha hides more peculiarities: the right not only returns to control the city three decades later, but also puts an end to the legacy of Emiliano García-Page, mayor from 2007 to 2015, at a strategic point for the PSOE region of.

To do this, the PP has had to swim against the current and go in the opposite direction to the fundamental principle of Alberto Núñez Feijóo's electoral plan, which he promoted since he arrived in Genoa that the most voted list should always govern. In Castilla-La Mancha, the PP has found itself against the ropes in various city halls precisely because of this matter: in Toledo, Guadalajara and Talavera de la Reina, despite the PSOE having won, the sum of the PP and Vox allowed the right to reach to the power. The last request of the socialists to the popular to guarantee that the list would govern with more support – which allowed, on the contrary, to govern the right in Albacete, Ciudad Real and Puertollano in exchange for the other three cities – was rejected by the PP of Paco Núñez, who asked to continue as in other important cities to reach an agreement between the PP and Vox.

The most outstanding case is, perhaps, Elche, where both parties reached an agreement a few hours before Carlos Mazón and Carlos Flores agreed on the Government of the Generalitat to give birth to the second regional Executive of the PP-Vox clamp, after the one reached in February of 2022 in Castilla y León and that is the benchmark for those of Santiago Abascal.

There, precisely, the right has also coordinated to reach the Mayor's Office of Burgos and take over from the PSOE, which also won on 28-M, as in Valladolid by the minimum, another important capital that will now be territory of the right thanks to a pact to stop any option for the socialist Óscar Puente.

symbolic victory

But Toledo has something that the rest of the enclaves do not. The symbolic victory for both parties is striking. The PP enters firmly into one of the most entrenched points for Castilian-La Mancha socialism and nips at the root the progression of the PSOE in the city where García-Page was mayor for a decade and in which he became the man of reference in the territory for the party. In addition, it sends the opposition to the mayoress to date, Milagros Tolón, protagonist of the controversy in the last days of the lists in the region. It was added by Ferraz as number two to the Toledo Congress, which caused deep discomfort in the Castilian-La Mancha socialist ranks. Toledo is also the springboard that the territorial leaders, of both signs, have used to jump to the regional level.

For Vox Toledo it was a strategic place in management calculations for months. The province was an electoral fishing ground in the past generals and the apparatus's bet was absolute with the city. He sent there one of his main faces in Congress, Inés Cañizares, who sounded like a candidate to unseat Page in the Board, but he will end up doing it symbolically from the City Hall.

The 'Rahm clan', to conquer the US Open

There are youth academies from other sports that don't get as much talent, and even less, foreign. But Arizona State University has set its sights on one country, Spain, to help golf grow both inside and outside its walls.

Obviously, Jon Rahm is the great representative of national golf as well as the sports training program at Arizona State University.. However, the educational center of the American Southwest has managed to bring out many other talents. Two of them, David Puig and Alejandro del Rey share the tee at the US Open, the third major tournament after the Augusta Masters, which Rahm won, and the PGA Championship.

“They transmit to us that faith they have in the Spanish,” Del Rey explains to EL MUNDO about the benefits of the university center and highlights, on the other hand, the facilities and the coaching teams, strong points that are also reviewed by David Puig. Apart from Rahm, Puig and Del Rey, Alejandro Cañizares, Carlota Ciganda, Azahara Muñoz, Noemí Jiménez and José Luis Ballester have also passed through Arizona State, among other outstanding golfers.

The first three along with Sergio García and Pablo Larrazábal will be the quintet that represents Spain in the tournament held at The Los Angeles Country Club. The five equal the largest Spanish representation at the US Open. Rahm, the number 2 in the world, is the one with the most chances (he already won it in 2021), but Del Rey and Puig, debutants in a big team, are confident that they will play a good role.

“If I am capable of performing at my level and hitting and hitting the shots that I know I am capable of, I think I have options,” says David Puig, the last of the Spaniards to qualify for the American tournament.. “Many of the young players who are standing out on the PGA Tour have been competitors in college, I don't feel that I have anything to envy them in terms of play,” says Alex del Rey.

Del Rey, by the way, made history a couple of years ago when he did one of the best laps in history at the Swiss Challenge. The man from Madrid completed the 18 holes in 58 shots, which is equivalent to 14 shots below par. A movie feat like the one played by golf teacher Michael Block in the last major, the PGA Championship, in which he finished in the top 15 and which earned him an invitation to the tournament the following year.. “A top-15 in a Grande makes one be able to believe more in oneself, so let's see if we can do something similar or even better,” Puig points out to EL MUNDO.

Favorite Majors

The 21-year-old Catalan golfer entered on the horn after finishing second in the last qualifying round for the tournament. “This was the third time I tried so I'm happy that it was the US Open,” he reveals, although Puig, among all the greats, would perhaps highlight the Augusta Masters as the tournament that would make him most excited to play.

For Del Rey, also debuting in a major, if he had to choose a great one he would choose The Open, or the British Open, and to be more specific, “the Old Course the Saint Andrews, without a doubt, the pure golf that is breathes in that town cannot be compared to anything in the world”, he reveals.

Early in the game of stick and ball, Puig started at 6 years old and Del Rey at 5, both have high expectations for the sport they practice. “I don't want to settle, I want to win everything,” Puig longs for. Even those of doing something similar to what Jon Rahm is already doing. “If I get to Jon's level it will be great news and, honestly, we are all working to try to be number 1 in the world,” says Del Rey.

The man from Madrid shared a match with Luke List and Wilco Nienaber while the Catalan did with Olie BrownJr and Karl Vilips. Neither, for the moment, has fulfilled his dream of playing with Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm, respectively. Barrika's is a mirror to look at. The two rookies believe that “it could be the best in history”. Undoubtedly, Arizona State can be very happy with the talent of its golfers and, especially, the Spanish ones.

Barcelona faces the 'playoff' against Madrid between uncertainties and goodbye to Mirotic

Barcelona faces the start of the final 'playoff' of the ACB with the burden of the option of closing a year in white. Precisely, against a Real Madrid team that once again cut him off in the Euroleague Final Four and who, in the end, lifted the title. Added to this anxiety is the apparent certainty of a bitter farewell. According to TV3, the club has already informed Nikola Mirotic that it does not have him for next season.. The Spanish-Montenegrin came to the Barcelona entity as the great argument to achieve the highest European scepter, but in that competition he has ended up chaining three notorious consecutive failures, no matter how much he managed to stand in final paths to four. The first one that could have been played, meanwhile, was suspended due to the outbreak of the latest pandemic.

The year has not been exactly kind for the team led by Sarunas Jasikevicius, no matter how much they strengthened last summer with players like Vesely or Satoransky. The coach's name, in fact, has also been put on the wing in the face of the new cuts that hang over Barca basketball. The Lithuanian, however, does seem more willing to accept a reduction in his income. Something in which Mirotic, the highest paid player in Europe, with some five million euros net per season, was not willing to give up.

The four seasons that the Spanish-Montenegrin has spent in the Barcelona ranks are adorned for now with a League title, to which could be added the one that is now played with Real Madrid, and two Copas del Rey. A trophy that, in the present course, embodied the first great disappointment for the Barcelona fans. Unicaja, who would become champion after eliminating the madridistas in the semifinals and beating Tenerife in the final, removed them from the fight for the title in the quarterfinal duel.

POSSIBLE DESTINATIONS

The Andalusian team, precisely, has been the last major obstacle that the Catalans have had to overcome to get into the final playoff of the ACB. And they did it by winning the two duels that were played at the Martín Carpena, after being beaten at the Palau by a more than combative Unicaja in the second match of the series. Last Tuesday, in fact, the sensations that Mirotic transmitted from the park were somewhat strange. Although he put a lot of effort into defensive tasks and ended up signing a notable performance, his offensive statistics were very far from those devastating numbers that he usually adds as the one who does not want the thing. The possibility of leaving Barça this summer was already very seriously on the table and, now, it has become an absolutely palpable reality. For now, although there is still nothing official, Ettore Messina's Olimpia in Milan is emerging as the most plausible option to become his new destination, despite the fact that Monaco has also made a name for itself.

The Spanish-Montenegrin player now has before him the possibility of closing his stage as a Barça player with one last dance against a Real Madrid whose fans do not forgive him at all for the betrayal of signing for his eternal rival on his return to Europe. A bet that will have a much more abrupt end than Mirotic would have expected, who confessed to having experienced the hardest day of his career the night that the white team deprived him of getting into the Euroleague final for the second consecutive year.

The team coached by Chus Mateo, to whom the Euroleague title gave a new role, after getting rid of Joventut and with the obligation to start at least one victory at the Palau, will try, from now on, to add a double that would be Without a doubt, a whole finishing touch for this wounded Barcelona and that needs to reinvent itself again, lightening its pockets.

Barcelona faces the 'playoff' against Madrid between uncertainties and goodbye to Mirotic

Barcelona faces the start of the final 'playoff' of the ACB with the burden of the option of closing a year in white. Precisely, against a Real Madrid team that once again cut him off in the Euroleague Final Four and who, in the end, lifted the title. Added to this anxiety is the apparent certainty of a bitter farewell. According to TV3, the club has already informed Nikola Mirotic that it does not have him for next season. The Spanish-Montenegrin came to the Barcelona entity as the great argument to achieve the highest European scepter, but in that competition he has ended up chaining three notorious consecutive failures, no matter how much he managed to stand in final paths to four. The first one that could have been played, meanwhile, was suspended due to the outbreak of the latest pandemic.

The year has not been exactly kind for the team led by Sarunas Jasikevicius, no matter how much they strengthened last summer with players like Vesely or Satoransky. The coach's name, in fact, has also been put on the wing in the face of the new cuts that hang over Barca basketball. The Lithuanian, however, does seem more willing to accept a reduction in his income. Something in which Mirotic, the highest paid player in Europe, with some five million euros net per season, was not willing to give up.

The four seasons that the Spanish-Montenegrin has spent in the Barcelona ranks are adorned for now with a League title, to which could be added the one that is now played with Real Madrid, and two Copas del Rey. A trophy that, in the present course, embodied the first great disappointment for the Barcelona fans. Unicaja, who would become champion after eliminating the madridistas in the semifinals and beating Tenerife in the final, removed them from the fight for the title in the quarterfinal duel.

POSSIBLE DESTINATIONS

The Andalusian team, precisely, has been the last major obstacle that the Catalans have had to overcome to get into the final playoff of the ACB. And they did it by winning the two duels that were played at the Martín Carpena, after being beaten at the Palau by a more than combative Unicaja in the second match of the series. Last Tuesday, in fact, the sensations that Mirotic transmitted from the park were somewhat strange. Although he put a lot of effort into defensive tasks and ended up signing a notable performance, his offensive statistics were very far from those devastating numbers that he usually adds as the one who does not want the thing. The possibility of leaving Barça this summer was already very seriously on the table and, now, it has become an absolutely palpable reality. For now, although there is still nothing official, Ettore Messina's Olimpia in Milan is emerging as the most plausible option to become his new destination, despite the fact that Monaco has also made a name for itself.

The Spanish-Montenegrin player now has before him the possibility of closing his stage as a Barça player with one last dance against a Real Madrid whose fans do not forgive him at all for the betrayal of signing for his eternal rival on his return to Europe. A bet that will have a much more abrupt end than Mirotic would have expected, who confessed to having experienced the hardest day of his career the night that the white team deprived him of getting into the Euroleague final for the second consecutive year.

The team coached by Chus Mateo, to whom the Euroleague title gave a new role, after getting rid of Joventut and with the obligation to start at least one victory at the Palau, will try, from now on, to add a double that would be Without a doubt, a whole finishing touch for this wounded Barcelona and that needs to reinvent itself again, lightening its pockets.

Ingebrigtsen breaks the European record of 1,500 ahead of Mo Katir

This was Oslo. Nothing less. Full stadium and warm temperature. Some spoke, exaggeratedly, of the possibility of a world record in the 1,500. Jakob Ingebrigtsen, national idol, world idol, impetuous, ambitious, determined, neither affirmed nor denied it. Be that as it may, he bowed before the impassive statue of Hicham El Guerrouj, world record holder since July 14, 1998 with 3:26.00.

But it didn't exactly fail. Imposing, impressive, he broke the European record. He carved it with a golden chisel in 3:27.95, well below his previous personal best of 3:28.32, achieved at the Tokyo Olympics. Behind him and no man's land, huddled together, and with Mo Katir leading, eight men under 3:30.00. Katir, it is said, the first with 3:28.89, very close to his Spanish record of 3:28.76. Mario García Romo, splendid fifth, finished in 3:29.18. Personal brand, naturally.

Until then, until that midfielder monument, in a shower of best brands of the year, the other local idol, Karsten Warlhom, in his first appearance of the season!, burst the ranking of the 400 hurdles with 46.52. The second best mark of his life and the fourth of all time. And the festival continued. Yomif Kejelcha and Jacob Kiplimo finished as conjoined twins (12:41.73 both) in a superb 5,000 and resolved in thousandths, with our Thierry Ndikumwenayo, sixth, magnificent with his 12:58.60. On the other hand, Adel Mechaal, twelfth with 13:22.31, did not shine at all.

Femke Bol finished the 400m hurdles in 52.30. Beatrice Chebet the 3,000 in 8:25.01. And Marie-José TaLou the 100 in 10.75. In the men's 400, Wayde van Niekerk (44.38) was back on the winning path. In the 200, Erriyon Knighton continued in it with 19.78. And 17-year-old Ethiopian Birke Haylom won the mile in 4:17.13, the under-20 world record. Applause for Yulimar Rojas, winner in the triple jump with 14.91, with a slightly illegal wind of 2.01 meters per second.

Armand Duplantis could not with the best mark of the year, belonging to him, of course, of 6.11 in the pole vault. He could not with the 6.12. Even so, it rose to 6.01. For him, going over six meters is pure routine.

Latvia embitters Spain's debut in the women's Eurobasket

Latvia, with a brilliant third quarter and outstanding performances by Anete Steinberga (22 points, PIR 18) and Kitija Laksa (17 points, PIR 20), embittered Spain's debut in the current edition of the women's Eurobasket and ended up winning 67-63 against a team that had its maximum stiletto in Laura Gil (20 points, PIR of 27), but which lacked accuracy at key moments to try to change its destiny. The Latvians also took advantage of the referee's permissiveness to impose over and over again a contact game that made the Spanish women desperate, but which ended up being tremendously fruitful for them.. With this result, this Friday's duel against a Montenegro that managed to beat Greece 74-69, is now a matter of life and death for the continuity of the Spanish in the tournament.

Spain signed a relatively promising start. With very good manners in the defensive field and the success in attack shown, above all, by Alba Torrens, he managed to leave by nine points on the scoreboard (6-15) against a Latvia apparently very uncomfortable on the track. The blow, however, far from knocking out their rivals, ended up spurring them on. With an eminently choral attack, the Latvians ended up endorsing a 0-11 run to the team led by Miguel Martínez Méndez that allowed them to stand at the end of the first quarter with a timid advantage (17-15).

The inertia at the end of that first period, in fact, was in large part what catapulted Latvia into the second. Making use of the physical when they considered it necessary and making the Spanish defense desperate, with Steinberga as the most outstanding, Latvia ended up standing at the break with a favorable partial of 20-13 that in turn was reflected in a clear 37-28 in marker. Spain, too hasty in attack, was unable to take advantage of the fact that their rival was charged terribly soon with three personnel or overcome the game with a lot of contact that, over and over again, their rivals proposed and went to the locker room with dark clouds hanging over them. their spirits.

Latvia delved into the wound very soon, leaving by a maximum difference of 14 points that Laura Gil, with a triple, two field goals and two free throws, would manage to reduce almost immediately afterwards to seven (44-37).. The refereeing trio, however, would point out almost immediately an unsportsmanlike action that would allow the Latvians to mark the distances again in a third quarter in which, however, Spain would prevail by the minimum (18-19) to stand in the last fourth, eight points away from their rivals (55-47). Some rivals who, once again, and with the permissiveness of the referees involved, did not hesitate to seek contact when they found themselves outmatched in some way, to the despair of a Méndez who did not hide his disgust at all.

Spain felt much more comfortable in a last quarter in which, as in the beginning, they managed to control Latvia's attacks, but they lacked a bit more accuracy to turn things around. Laura Gil also excelled once again in offensive tasks and even managed to put her team three points behind the Latvians (64-61) to open a slight door to hope. Gate that Laksa, with a triple, practically erased with a stroke of the pen to end up causing the duel to end with a 67-63 victory for Latvia.

The Don Benito-Villanueva merger, on the verge of being blown up: the PP proposes a new referendum and govern with the 'denierists'

The merger between Don Benito and Villanueva de la Serena, in the province of Badajoz, is further away than ever and on the brink of being blown up. With the name of Vegas Altas, the union was scheduled for the first quarter of 2027, a date approved in the last legislature when the Socialists ruled in both towns with an absolute majority. But the results in Don Benito (where the referendum was full of controversy and a yes vote was won by 0.27%) in the last municipal elections seem to definitively move away from this process if, as it seems, the City Council changes hands.

The PSOE of José Luis Quintana -a very close friend of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez- lost the absolute majority on 28-M and five councilors when the denialist party broke out with the Siempre Don Benito merger, which has become the second political force with seven councilors, which has dynamited the process. The final decision has been in the hands of the PP, which obtained five councillors.

The meetings of the last days for the configuration of the City Council have led to a rapprochement between the popular and Siempre Don Benito, who are already very close to reaching a definitive agreement. In fact, this very afternoon, the PP has offered an agreement for the formation of a government “that contemplates the holding of a new referendum on the merger between Don Benito and Villanueva de la Serena and the alternation in the mayoralty of the city for two years. “This proposal has been transferred to the Siempre Don Benito formation, from which the PP expects an affirmative response,” this party said in a statement.

Alternation in the Mayor's Office

The PP understands that the majority of Dombenitenses “want a change of government” after the electoral results. By virtue of the above, they say, “any change in the City Council goes through the Popular Party and, therefore, we demand the formation of a joint government with the 2+2 formula, and with a PP mayor for the last two years of the legislature”.

In addition, the statement continues, “and taking into account that the forms in the merger process between Don Benito and Villanueva de la Serena have generated concern and discomfort, the PP offers to restart the work” to achieve “a new public consultation, facilitating the timely information to citizens so that they can decide freely”.

In this sense, the PP of Don Benito has stressed “that the name of the future city is an essential element to guarantee said freedom of choice”. And it is that with the choice of the name, after ruling out by popular outcry a first process in which those who first proposed the “Mestas del Guadiana” or Concordia del Guadiana”, also emerged that of Vegas Altas, which has also originated rejection, because it also responds to a term that already has a close district.

Given that the agreement between PP and Siempre Don Benito was already very close, this morning, less than 48 hours after the formation of the Municipal Corporation, the current acting mayor, José Luis Quintana, offered the PP to alternate two years in the Mayor's Office during the next legislature, an “unpublished” proposal for the Socialists, which is justified by the “singularity” of the situation in the town, in order to give continuity to the process initiated for the merger with Villanueva de la Serena.

Quintana explained that the proposal transferred to the PP contemplates that the PSOE govern the first two years, while the vice mayor's office corresponds to the popular ones, and the last two years of the legislature be the other way around.. It also offers a distribution of the municipal delegations agreed between both groups, while the composition of the Governing Board would be proportional, so that the PSOE would have four representatives and the PP three.

With this proposal, PP and PSOE would have 14 of the 21 councilors in the Don Benito City Council. They would thus have a sufficient majority to culminate the merger process in the next legislature, since for Quintana it is essential to finish it in the next four years: “either it is done in this legislature, or it will never be done,” the still acting mayor has asserted. .

Quintana has argued that no one will “assume the cost” that the process has had for the Socialists, and neither can they “defraud the 66 percent” of the population that supported the merger in the referendum, nor future generations.

“Revise and reformulate”

Taking into account that without both formations the process could not continue, the Socialists propose that “all those issues that have been the cause of discrepancy will be reviewed and reformulated to make possible a total unity of action in the process”, according to Europa Press reports.

In such a way that it proposes during this legislature to restart the work of the commissions, “returning its activity to February 21, 2022 and including the participation of, at least, the PP and the PSOE of Don Benito.”

In the same way, the draft of the merger agreement will be drawn up with the participation and agreement of both parties, which commit to concluding the merger process throughout this legislature.

It even states that the name of the municipality resulting from the merger will be submitted to the corresponding analyzes so that there is a “single and agreed proposal between the PSOE and PP of Don Benito.”

The Don Benito-Villanueva merger, on the verge of being blown up: the PP proposes a new referendum and govern with the 'denierists'

The merger between Don Benito and Villanueva de la Serena, in the province of Badajoz, is further away than ever and on the brink of being blown up. With the name of Vegas Altas, the union was scheduled for the first quarter of 2027, a date approved in the last legislature when the Socialists ruled in both towns with an absolute majority. But the results in Don Benito (where the referendum was full of controversy and a yes vote was won by 0.27%) in the last municipal elections seem to definitively move away from this process if, as it seems, the City Council changes hands.

The PSOE of José Luis Quintana -a very close friend of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez- lost the absolute majority on 28-M and five councilors when the denialist party broke out with the Siempre Don Benito merger, which has become the second political force with seven councilors, which has dynamited the process. The final decision has been in the hands of the PP, which obtained five councillors.

The meetings of the last days for the configuration of the City Council have led to a rapprochement between the popular and Siempre Don Benito, who are already very close to reaching a definitive agreement. In fact, this very afternoon, the PP has offered an agreement for the formation of a government “that contemplates the holding of a new referendum on the merger between Don Benito and Villanueva de la Serena and the alternation in the mayoralty of the city for two years. “This proposal has been transferred to the Siempre Don Benito formation, from which the PP expects an affirmative response,” this party said in a statement.

Alternation in the Mayor's Office

The PP understands that the majority of Dombenitenses “want a change of government” after the electoral results. By virtue of the above, they say, “any change in the City Council goes through the Popular Party and, therefore, we demand the formation of a joint government with the 2+2 formula, and with a PP mayor for the last two years of the legislature”.

In addition, the statement continues, “and taking into account that the forms in the merger process between Don Benito and Villanueva de la Serena have generated concern and discomfort, the PP offers to restart the work” to achieve “a new public consultation, facilitating the timely information to citizens so that they can decide freely”.

In this sense, the PP of Don Benito has stressed “that the name of the future city is an essential element to guarantee said freedom of choice”. And it is that with the choice of the name, after ruling out by popular outcry a first process in which those who first proposed the “Mestas del Guadiana” or Concordia del Guadiana”, also emerged that of Vegas Altas, which has also originated rejection, because it also responds to a term that already has a close district.

Given that the agreement between PP and Siempre Don Benito was already very close, this morning, less than 48 hours after the formation of the Municipal Corporation, the current acting mayor, José Luis Quintana, offered the PP to alternate two years in the Mayor's Office during the next legislature, an “unpublished” proposal for the Socialists, which is justified by the “singularity” of the situation in the town, in order to give continuity to the process initiated for the merger with Villanueva de la Serena.

Quintana explained that the proposal transferred to the PP contemplates that the PSOE govern the first two years, while the vice mayor's office corresponds to the popular ones, and the last two years of the legislature be the other way around.. It also offers a distribution of the municipal delegations agreed between both groups, while the composition of the Governing Board would be proportional, so that the PSOE would have four representatives and the PP three.

With this proposal, PP and PSOE would have 14 of the 21 councilors in the Don Benito City Council. They would thus have a sufficient majority to culminate the merger process in the next legislature, since for Quintana it is essential to finish it in the next four years: “either it is done in this legislature, or it will never be done,” the still acting mayor has asserted. .

Quintana has argued that no one will “assume the cost” that the process has had for the Socialists, and neither can they “defraud the 66 percent” of the population that supported the merger in the referendum, nor future generations.

“Revise and reformulate”

Taking into account that without both formations the process could not continue, the Socialists propose that “all those issues that have been the cause of discrepancy will be reviewed and reformulated to make possible a total unity of action in the process”, according to Europa Press reports.

In such a way that it proposes during this legislature to restart the work of the commissions, “returning its activity to February 21, 2022 and including the participation of, at least, the PP and the PSOE of Don Benito.”

In the same way, the draft of the merger agreement will be drawn up with the participation and agreement of both parties, which commit to concluding the merger process throughout this legislature.

It even states that the name of the municipality resulting from the merger will be submitted to the corresponding analyzes so that there is a “single and agreed proposal between the PSOE and PP of Don Benito.”

The European Parliament demands that Spain investigate the alleged espionage of Morocco to the Government with Pegasus

The European Parliament has demanded this Thursday that Spain carry out a complete investigation of the espionage with the Pegasus program against members of the Government, including President Pedro Sánchez, and of which it assures that there are “clear indications” that it has been Morocco. In addition, it demands that an investigation be carried out on the espionage of pro-independence leaders during the process in Catalonia.

This has been approved by the European Parliament in the recommendations attached to the report on the use of this spyware in Europe that was already adopted in commission in May, which goes ahead with the favorable vote of PP and PSOE, while Ciudadanos has abstained and Vox has voted against.

Specifically, it calls for a “complete, fair and effective investigation”, in which all cases of alleged espionage with Pegasus are clarified, including the 47 cases related to the Catalan independence movement and whether the CNI played a role under court order.

Regarding the 18 people that the CNI followed with judicial authorization, the European Parliament asks Spain to guarantee “adequate access” to the details of the case and to cooperate with the courts to guarantee that the victims of spyware have access to real judicial remedies. and significant. It also calls for the conclusion of ongoing judicial investigations “without delay”, suggesting that Europol be invited to participate in the investigations.

Regarding the espionage suffered by Pedro Sánchez on his mobile device, the European Parliament considers it necessary to shed light on the espionage against the president and other members of the Government and demands that the authorities present conclusions on these cases, on which it indicates that there are “clear indications” of the authorship of Morocco.

Despite the fact that the European Parliament points out that the regulatory framework in Spain is in line with the requirements established by the EU treaties, it asks to initiate the reform of the legal framework of the CNI following the announcement of the Government in this regard last year, in full controversy over spying on Catalan political leaders.

In this way, the European Parliament ends its special commission on cyber espionage with the program of the Israeli company NSO, after studying the situation in Member States such as Spain, Greece, Cyprus, Poland and Hungary for 14 months.

Lack of transparency

The MEP of the PP Juan Ignacio Zoido has assured that the Sánchez Executive must give explanations about the espionage of Morocco and that the European Parliament charges against its “lack of transparency”.

“European citizens still don't know what was stolen from the Prime Minister's mobile phone, who did it and for what reasons. And today, the European Parliament officially demands that you clarify what happened and answer our questions,” he added.

On the side of Ciudadanos, Jordi Cañas, has indicated that “the propaganda of separatism” has finally been removed from the text, assuring that the text of recommendations is an “absolute failure” of the independence movement and a “victory” for those who defend that the programs spies can be used against “suspected criminals as was the case in Spain”.

While ERC has celebrated that the European Parliament supports its request to fully investigate the case of cyber espionage against Catalan independence leaders and asks to investigate the case from rooms such as Europol. “It shows the lack of confidence of the European institutions in the Spanish ones”, indicated the MEP, Diana Riba.