SPAIN THIS WEEK

02/10/2015 President of the Government Rajoy inaugurates stretch of A-32 highway between Linares and Ibros The President of the Government, Mariano Rajoy, presided over the start-up in Jaen of the Linares-Ibros stretch of the A-32 highway. In his speech, he pointed out that each new infrastructure opened not only improves the lives of people, but also positively impacts economic growth and job creation.

01/10/2015 Rajoy confirms that the general election will be on 20 December In an interview on Antena 3 with the journalist Gloria Lomana, the President of the Government, Mariano Rajoy, discussed a number of subjects in the news. He also announced that the Council of Ministers would approve a Royal Decree on Friday to abolish the charge of a double fee to customers who take money out of cash machines.

01/10/2015 Mariano Rajoy announces that Framework of Action for Elderly will be put to Council of Ministers the following week On the occasion of the International Day of Older Persons, the President of the Government, Mariano Rajoy, underlined that the 8.5 million Spaniards over the age of 65 are the generation that consolidated democracy and guaranteed social cohesion. He added that "Spain is a supportive country" between its different regions, generations and "as a nation".

30/09/2015 ​Rajoy believes that the situation in Catalonia will have to be resolved "with dialogue, with courtesy and without anxiety" The President of the Government recalled during question time in the Lower House that the person who proposed that the Catalan elections last Sunday should be a referendum had not achieved his aim, given that most of the citizens had taken a position against independence. On another front, Rajoy stressed that there had been "a very significant strengthening of collective agreements" and a reduction in redundancy plans.

29/09/2015 Mariano Rajoy inaugurates high-speed Valladolid-Palencia-Leon line At the inauguration of the new railway line, the President of the Government claimed that high-speed trains are always "synonymous with growth, prosperity, employment and the future". Mariano Rajoy also announced the creation of a working group to economically reactivate the mining districts and undertook to support them with additional funds in the coming years.

28/09/2015 "Catalonia has once again displayed its political plurality", says Mariano Rajoy The President of the Government, in his appearance at Moncloa Palace to assess the results of the elections in Catalonia, underlined that "those in favour of segregation were never backed by the law and, as of Sunday, we know that they do not have the support of the majority of Catalan society either".

02/10/2015 Government eliminates double commission for withdrawal of cash from ATMs belonging to another financial institution The Council of Ministers also granted Spanish nationality to 4,302 Sephardic Jews and approved the Digital Transformation Plan of the General State Administration, a commitment to a public administration without borders, which is interconnected and user-friendly for citizens.

02/10/2015	Number of National Insurance contributors up 8,916 in September
02/10/2015	Largest year-on-year fall in unemployment in a month of September since records began, with 353,608 fewer unemployed
01/10/2015	Spanish Armed Forces deployed in largest number of operations ever
01/10/2015	Margallo takes part in a High-Level Meeting on the restriction on the use of veto in cases of mass atrocities
30/09/2015	Minister García-Margallo takes part in debate on conflicts in Middle East and North Africa
30/09/2015	National Security Act comes into force on 30 September
30/09/2015	Spain and Italy step up collaboration on judicial issues
30/09/2015	Meeting in New York of Spain-Romania initiative to set up International Counter-Terrorism Court
29/09/2015	The State reduced its deficit by 22% in the period January-August
29/09/2015	Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría visits headquarters of European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)
29/09/2015	Minister García-Margallo takes part in Summit of Leaders on "Fight against DAESH and violent extremism"
29/09/2015	Volkswagen accepts repayment to State of PIVE subsidies for vehicles with Euro-5 Diesel engines
28/09/2015	August international tourism in Spain generates record 305 million euros per day, 4.1% higher than in 2014