Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap!
Norwegian prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre declared his country’s support for the 5% defence spending target proposed by Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte (10:22). Asked to respond to Spanish prime minister’s criticism from yesterday that the target was “not only unreasonable, but also counterproductive”, he suggested that “work is being done” to find a consensus within the alliance (10:44).
Støre’s comments come as a new Bundeswehr strategy paper, reported by Der Spiegel, says that the German military deems Russia an “existential risk” to the country and Europe (14:35).
French president Emmanuel Macron stressed the importance of the French investment in the satellite provider Eutelsat, saying it was part of a broader push for Europe to achieve strategic sovereignty, so it doesn’t have to rely on US and Chinese technology (12:12).
Meanwhile, anti-corruption officers from Spain’s Guardia Civil police force have visited the Madrid HQ of Spain’s ruling socialist party as they continue their investigations into graft allegations that have shaken the party and the government of the prime minister, Pedro Sánchez (16:41).
Romania’s new centrist president Nicușor Dan nominated Liberal Party leader Ilie Bolojan as Romania’s prime minister after weeks of negotiations on forming a coalition government to tackle the largest budget deficit in the European Union (16:29).
And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at [email protected].
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
Updated
Anti-corruption police visits Spain's ruling socialist party's office
Anti-corruption officers from Spain’s Guardia Civil police force have visited the Madrid HQ of Spain’s ruling socialist party as they continue their investigations into graft allegations that have shaken the party and the government of the prime minister, Pedro Sánchez.
The prime minister apologised to voters last week but ruled out a snap election after a senior member of his Spanish Socialist Workers’ party (PSOE) resigned hours after a supreme court judge found “firm evidence” of his possible involvement in taking kickbacks on public construction contracts.
Sánchez, who became prime minister in 2018 after using a motion of no confidence to turf the corruption-mired conservative People’s party (PP) out of government, is already contending with a series of graft investigations relating to his wife, his brother, his former transport minister, and one of that minister’s aides. All deny any wrongdoing.
A former PSOE member was recently implicated in an alleged smear campaign against the Guardia Civil police unit investigating the corruption allegations.
The pressure on his administration increased further on Thursday last week when the judge announced he had “firm evidence” that suggested Santos Cerdán, the PSOE’s organisational secretary, had discussed taking kickbacks on public contracts with the former transport minister, José Luis Ábalos, and one of the minister’s aides, Koldo García. Cerdán stepped down from his party role and resigned his parliamentary seat shortly after the news broke.
As part of its ongoing investigation, the Guardia Civil unit visited both the PSOE office and the transport ministry on Friday, where it copied the email accounts of Cerdán and Ábalos.
Sánchez has insisted that he is committed to tackling corruption in his party but continues to resist the PP’s calls for an early general election.
Speaking on Friday as the police conducted the visits, the PP’s leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, said Spain “doesn’t deserve a permanent and televised raid” and urged Sánchez to resign and call an election “so that Spaniards can decide the future of Spain”.
