Spain stages first general strike in 14 years
Welcome, Europeans. 🇪🇺
Spain’s housing crisis is at the centre of a nationwide strike. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s president wants Europe to choose a peace negotiator, and an EU watchdog finds gaps in Russia sanctions enforcement.
Today in Europe:
- 🏠 Spain’s general strike puts housing and living costs in focus.
- 🛃 Customs gaps let sanctioned goods through, a watchdog finds.
- 🇺🇦 Zelensky wants a European negotiator chosen this month.
- 📱 The Commission prepares digital fairness rules for online consumers.
- 🌊 Greece plans to raise the Turkey-Libya maritime deal at an EU summit.
🏠 Spain strikes over housing and living costs
Millions of workers are striking across Spain on Wednesday over housing and the cost of living, in the country’s first general strike in 14 years, France 24 reports. Public transport disruption and widespread business closures are expected.
The strike comes less than three weeks before a snap election. Politico Europe reports that hundreds of thousands protested nationwide after an elderly woman was evicted from her Madrid home in September. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez submitted a long-delayed housing bill to parliament; he called the election after lawmakers rejected it.
Why it matters: Housing that working people cannot afford is an economic failure, not just an election talking point. When a home becomes a distant prospect, young people pay for it in delayed plans and diminished opportunity.
Spain needs more homes people can actually afford, not another campaign built on the promise of them.
🛃 Watchdog finds gaps in Russia sanctions
Weak customs monitoring and legal ambiguities are allowing sanctioned goods to slip through EU trade controls, a watchdog has found, EUobserver reports. The goods include advanced technology and dual-use items found in Russian weapons, as well as industrial products used by Russia.
Of 202 identified parts in Russian missiles and drones, eight came directly from the EU, according to the report. Russian and Belarusian birch plywood has also reached the EU after being relabelled abroad. EU trade with Russia fell from €253 billion in 2021 to €58 billion last year.
Why it matters: Sanctions with holes at the border are a gift to Russia’s war economy. A falling trade total is no substitute for checking whether sensitive components are still reaching the weapons used against Ukraine.
Governments should close the loopholes and give customs officers the tools to enforce them.
🇺🇦 Zelensky sets deadline for European negotiator
Ukraine’s president wants European countries to choose a representative for peace talks with Russia by the end of November, Politico Europe reports. Volodymyr Zelensky said one person should ideally have a mandate from the EU and other countries backing Ukraine, including the UK and Norway.
Ukraine, Russia and the United States began a second day of US-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, France 24 reports. Washington called for a “new” security framework on the first day, and Zelensky said he was happy with changes in the US mediators’ approach.
Why it matters: Europe cannot defend its security at a negotiating table through a crowd of competing representatives. A single negotiator with a clear mandate from Ukraine’s European partners would give their military and financial commitments a political voice.
Agree the mandate now; the war will not wait for a seating plan.
📱 EU prepares rules on online consumer traps
The European Commission is due to present rules targeting manipulative online design and influencer advertising on Wednesday, EUobserver reports. A leaked draft of the Digital Fairness Act would require influencers to label sponsorships prominently using terms such as “advertisement” or “commercial”.
A 2022 Commission study found that 97% of popular websites and apps used by consumers employed “dark patterns”: design choices intended to steer users towards decisions more profitable for companies. Politico Europe reports that the draft also addresses practices including difficult subscription cancellations and dynamic ticket pricing.
Why it matters: A subscription that takes seconds to start and a maze to cancel is not consumer choice; it is a business model built on exhaustion. Clear advertising labels and workable cancellation rules would put customers back in charge.
Make the exit button as easy to find as the payment button.
🌊 Greece to raise maritime dispute at summit
Greece’s prime minister plans to raise a Turkey-Libya maritime agreement at Friday’s informal EU leaders’ summit in Dublin, Politico Europe reports, citing a senior official in Athens. The meeting is scheduled to focus on artificial intelligence and Ukraine.
The agreement claims a corridor in the eastern Mediterranean between Greece and Cyprus, in waters Athens says are within its exclusive economic zone. The EU has backed energy and connectivity projects in the area. Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis said last week that Greece would request EU sanctions and support if the dispute escalated.
Why it matters: Disputes over eastern Mediterranean waters are a European security and energy issue, not a problem Greece should have to manage alone. Projects backed by the EU need diplomacy that matches the stakes.
EU leaders should agree a common response before escalation sets the agenda for them.
📰 In Other News
- 🇵🇱 Poland says the Pentagon has given a “green light” for a permanent US base; formal US approval has not been granted.
- ⚡ Britain is willing to discuss payments towards EU infrastructure in return for electricity market access, a minister says.
- 🕵️ UK police arrested a US soldier near Gloucester on suspicion of assisting Russian intelligence.
- 🚗 At least 12 people died and about 50 were injured in motorway pile-ups in fog in Bulgaria, officials say.
- 🇮🇷 Iran denied involvement in the supermarket refrigeration hacks after France summoned its ambassador.
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Written with the help of AI from the reporting linked above.