News

Great News for Drivers, 2021 Will See the End to Spanish Toll Road Charges

This year saw the AP-1 be the first toll road in Spain to have its barriers permanently lifted for road users and will be followed by the AP-7 and AP-4 by the end of the year. 2021 will also see many more toll roads expire and will also be free. As contracts are fulfilled we will see more free motorways arrive. Toll roads in Spain have been a sore subject for many drivers and the lifting of...

To the Moon and Back from Madrid: Spain's Role in the 1969 Mission

EXACTLY half a century ago – minus a couple of months – the world didn't know where to look first: at the TV, where a fellow human was shown on screen walking on the moon, or up at the moon itself, trying to imagine him there. In Spain on that day, just as everywhere else on Planet Earth, there was only one topic of conversation – and here in the western Mediterranean, on July 20, 1969, one...

Podemos' Conditions for PSOE Government: Shorter Working Hours and Guaranteed Minimum Income

ACTING president Pedro Sánchez has rejected the idea of a PSOE-Podemos coalition, but has opened the door to the latter's holding ministerial roles on an 'independent' basis. Podemos' leader Pablo Iglesias has set out a battery of requests which he will set as a condition of his support for Sánchez, including abolishing the 2012 Labour Reform in order to 'create a job market based upon...

Seven Months of Continuous Growth in Retail Industry

SPAIN'S retail industry has seen seven months of consecutive growth with profits having increased year on year by 2% - an apparently negligible figure, but one that translates into millions of euros nationwide. The Easter campaign last year was split over March and April whilst this year, it fell entirely at the end of April and tourism figures were disappointing due to poor weather leading...

Ibuprofen 600 and 1g Paracetamol Now on Prescription Only as Government Enforces 2015 Law

IBUPROFEN in 600mg capsules and paracetamol in one-gram pills are now only available on prescription, and pharmacies can be fined for selling them over the counter. In practice, they have not been authorised for over-the-counter sales since 2015, when the Law of Guarantees and Reasonable Use of Medications was passed, but it has rarely been enforced. This leniency started to change in...