SPAIN THIS WEEK

Monday, 20 November 2017

18/11/2017 ​Mariano Rajoy receives Metropolitan Mayor of Caracas, Antonio Ledezma The President of the Government, Mariano Rajoy, received the opposition leader, head of the party Alianza Bravo Pueblo [People's Brave Alliance] and Metropolitan Mayor of Caracas, Antonio Ledezma, at Moncloa Palace. Antonio Ledezma, who has just managed to secretly flee Venezuela after almost three years in prison and subsequent house arrest, is one of the main leaders of the fight by our sister nation of Venezuela to recover liberty and democratic normality.

17/11/2017 Mariano Rajoy proposes EU should foster mobility of workers The President of the Government, Mariano Rajoy, took part in the Social Summit of the European Union in Gothenburg (Sweden), where he proposed to improve the recognition of educational qualifications and to strengthen the Erasmus programme. He also committed to continuous training to boost access to the labour market of the long-term unemployed and young people.

16/11/2017 Mariano Rajoy receives President of Region of Murcia The President of the Government, Mariano Rajoy, received the President of the Region of Murcia, Fernando López Miras, at Moncloa Palace. He thanked him for his institutional loyalty and together they addressed the problems in this autonomous region in an endeavour to make progress in finding solutions.

15/11/2017 Mariano Rajoy claims that fight against tax fraud led to collection of 65.23 billion euros between 2012 and 2016 During the regular government control session in the Lower House of Parliament, the President of the Government, Mariano Rajoy, stressed that the law in Spain "has sufficient instruments" for "people to freely vote" in the upcoming elections on 21 December in Catalonia

14/11/2017 ​Mariano Rajoy insists that the economy can grow by up to 3% in 2018 if the situation in Catalonia returns to normal In an interview on Cadena COPE radio, the President of the Government, Mariano Rajoy, made a call for a "mass" turnout in the elections on 21 December in Catalonia. He also recalled that "whoever wins the elections" will be obliged to comply with the law and said that application of Article 155 of the Constitution has led to the situation returning to normal.

17/11/2017 Government steps up anti-smoking health measures The Council of Ministers also agreed to step up security for hydrocarbon operations at sea and allocate more than 71 million euros to train and recruit university teaching staff. The government also approved measures related to the application of Article 155 of the Constitution in Catalonia.

17/11/2017	Number of tourism sector workers rises by 3.6% in October
16/11/2017	The Council of Europe stresses that Spanish penitentiary centres meet the material conditions required
16/11/2017	Spain takes in 214 Syrian refugees from Lebanon, including 122 children
16/11/2017	Isabel García Tejerina takes part in the high-level round table of the "4 per 1,000 Initiative" which Spain signed up to at COP21 in Paris
16/11/2017	Sergio Ramírez, awarded Cervantes Prize 2017
15/11/2017	Spain to be Guest of Honour at the 2021 Frankfurt Book Fair
15/11/2017	Official opening of the exhibitions "Una exposición a dos voces" and "A fronteira de papel"
15/11/2017	Ibero-American ministers present declaration of support for Paris Agreement and to urgently seek implementation
14/11/2017	​Spain elected as new member of UNESCO World Heritage Committee
14/11/2017	Inflation shrank to 1.6% in October due to energy prices
13/11/2017	Fátima Báñez stresses Spain is OECD country with steepest reduction in unemployment rate in last 12 months
13/11/2017	Rafael Catalá praises the Spanish model of cooperation with religious faiths, which is an international benchmark in this field
13/11/2017	"This year has been fruitful in Europe on such as important issue for society as security", says María Dolores de Cospedal