Pedro Sánchez

Rule Changes

Convened the Interministerial Immigration Commission for the following Tuesday

El Hierro's island council declared a social emergency on 7 November 2026, asking Spain's national government and the Canary Islands regional government for staff, money and a way to move new arrivals off the island faster. More than 3,300 people reached the island in about 30 boats in the first week of November alone, on an island of roughly 11,400 residents.

Updated 2 hours ago

Built World

Declared three days of national mourning after the Urda collision; Transport Minister Óscar Puente resigned on November 3.

A state-owned Renfe train from Madrid to Seville hit a stationary private Iryo train near Urda on October 28, killing 69 people. Transport Minister Óscar Puente blamed an 'inexplicable' control-centre order issued after the Renfe train's automatic safety system failed, then resigned and withdrew from the November 29 election.

Updated Yesterday

Built World

Said trust in high-speed rail has been broken and victims may be of 27 nationalities

At least 69 people were killed and 179 injured when a Renfe AVE train hit a stationary Iryo train near Urda, in Toledo province, on October 28. Transport Minister Óscar Puente said on October 31 that the AVE was cleared to resume normal speed at 8:36 a.m., eight minutes after the LZB signaling system failed, while the Iryo train reported it could not move at 8:48 a.m. and the control center took no action. The AVE traveled about 25 kilometers and exceeded 160 km/h before the 8:53 a.m. collision.

Updated Oct 31

Rule Changes

Campaigning suspended for mourning after the Urda rail crash; facing a sixth electoral-board sanction file

Spain votes on November 29 in a snap election that Pedro Sánchez called after parliament rejected his housing decrees. Campaigning stopped in late October after a train collision near Toledo killed at least 69 people, and the country observed mourning until November 1.

Updated Oct 30

Rule Changes

Met Giorgia Meloni on the sidelines of an EU summit, and the countries' interior ministers then agreed on Oct 22 to lift the reciprocal border checks

Italy and Spain agreed on October 22 to end the border checks they had imposed on each other. The decision followed a phone call between the interior ministers, Fernando Grande-Marlaska and Matteo Piantedosi.

Updated Oct 27

Rule Changes

Called snap election for November 29; the cabinet re-approved both decrees October 6

Congress rejected both housing decrees on October 2, and the cabinet re-approved them four days later. The first, which suspends evictions of vulnerable tenants until 2030 and limits bulk home purchases by investment funds, took effect October 8. The second, on automatic lease renewal, is due to take effect November 15 if it is validated.

Updated Oct 22

Rule Changes

Pushing the under-16 bill through Congress and calling for an EU-wide minimum age

Spain's under-16 social media ban is still a bill, not law. The committee writing the final text in Congress kept meeting through the autumn, working through amendments on the ban itself, parental authorisation for younger teenagers, and criminal liability for executives and for algorithms that amplify harmful content. Platforms would have to prove to the CNMC, Spain's competition and markets regulator, that their designs are not addictive and that they protect children's privacy.

Updated Oct 19

Rule Changes

As of June 2026: In office since 2018; calls the case a politically motivated smear

A Madrid judge ordered Begoña Gómez to stand trial for influence peddling, business corruption, and embezzlement of public funds; he also took her passport and barred her from leaving Spain. Juan Carlos Barrabés Cónsul and María Cristina Álvarez Rodríguez were also sent to trial in the same ruling.

Updated Jun 22

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Leading EU's most aggressive diplomatic confrontation with Israel

Spain has maintained an ambassador in Israel for over four decades. On March 11, 2026, it formally downgraded the Tel Aviv embassy to a chargé d'affaires—a lower-ranking diplomat signaling deep structural disagreement. The decree, signed by King Felipe VI and Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, made Spain the first major EU member to permanently withdraw its ambassador.

Updated May 30

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Governs in minority, weakened by Andalusia result

Andalusia voted Sunday to return Juanma Moreno's center-right People's Party (PP) to power with an absolute majority. The PP took roughly 56 to 59 of 109 seats in Spain's most populous region, enough to govern alone for another four-year term.

Updated May 17