According to the Ministry of Interior there are currently 171 ‘open’ corruption cases in Spain, the majority initiated in the past eighteen months. Corruption – bribery, influence peddling, embezzlement, breach of trust etc – is not a criminal offence under the Penal Code.
EU Commission wants further tax increases
From their ivory tower in the corridors of plenty, the European Commission has today called on Spain to further increase IVA (VAT), raise environmental taxes such as on fuel, continue reforms on labour and pensions, including raising the retirement age, and reduce the deficit of the social security system.
Price of butane gas bottle set to go up again
The Ministry of Industry is introducing a new mechanism for calculating the price to be charged for gas and this, as one might expect, means that the cost of a bottle of butane gas will be going up. It is anticipated that the price of a bottle will rise from the current €16.10 to €17:50 by May 2013.
Seventh, or even eighth, could be good enough for Europe
A cup final between Atlético and Real Madrid, with both teams already virtually assured of a top three finish, means that seventh place in La Liga could be enough for qualification for European competition this year. Or even eighth if Málaga, who were sanctioned for tax debts, finish in the top few and fail in their appeal to get a …
Car sales down in February
Overall sales of new cars fell 9.8% in February 2013 when compared to the same month last year. Sales during the first two months of 2013 were 108,048 units, down by 9.7%, according to the manufacturers’ association ANFAC, the association of dealers FACONAUTO and the association of sellers GANVAM.
Atlético through to the final of the Copa del Rey
The final of the Copa del Rey this year will be an all-Madrid affair after Atlético completed a 4-3 aggregate win over Sevilla on Wednesday evening, Sevilla finishing the match with only nine men.
Corruption seen as the major factor damaging the image of Spain
A survey carried out during the first half of February by the Real Instituto Elcano shows that Spaniards believe corruption, and not the crisis or unemployment, has done the most damage to Spain’s. Fifty-two percent of those polled believed corruption to be the major factor.
Nestlé withdraws tainted products
Nestle, the world’s biggest food company, has removed beef pasta meals Buitoni Beef Ravioli and Beef Tortellini from shelves in Italy and Spain after tests revealed traces of horse DNA. A spokesman for the company said levels of horse DNA were very low but above 1%.
Record number of foreclosures in 2012
According to a report by the General Council of the Judiciary, there have been over 400,000 foreclosures in Spain since 2007 and the dubious honour of top region for evictions goes to Andalucia (81,160), followed by Cataluña (79,.043) and the Comunidad Valenciana (77,435).
Atlético Madrid 2-1 Sevilla in the Copa del Rey
Now that doesn’t happen very often, a 2-1 scoreline with all goals coming in the second half and all the result of penalty kicks. But it is exactly what happened in the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg match between Atlético Madrid and Sevilla.