At least 544,722 people have so far been granted citizenship under the law passed in 2022, with 306,000 registering on the electoral roll, according to government data. Around 650,000 applications remain unprocessed.
Right-wing politicians this week accused the Socialists, without evidence, of interfering in applications from countries whose citizens were less likely to support them, and of registering new voters in battleground areas to secure a handful of extra seats.
Far-right party Vox on Tuesday called for all mail-in votes from abroad to be suspended.
The rhetoric, echoing claims by Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro and U.S. President Donald Trump’s allegations of rigged election systems ahead of major votes, comes as Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez faces pressure to call early elections before August 2027 amid a parliamentary gridlock and corruption scandalsin his inner circle.
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Spain’s government rejected the accusation as “profoundly irresponsible”, saying it has no say over where new citizens register to vote.
It also accused opposition figures of conflating the law with Spain’s three-month amnesty drive, which grants legal residency – but not citizenship or voting rights – to undocumented migrants, after Vox alleged that scheme was another covert bid to shift the electoral balance.
Spain attributes over 1,000 excess deaths to heat in second-hottest June ever
Spain recorded 1,029 excess deaths last month attributable to heat, official data showed on Wednesday, as a five-day heatwave with temperatures surpassing 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) made it the second-hottest month of June on record.
Data on the Health Ministry’s daily mortality monitoring system MoMo showed this June had the most deaths attributed to heat since the same month in 2015. Average temperatures last month were 3.2 degrees higher than normal, weather agency AEMET said, making it the second-hottest June on record after June 2025. At the heatwave’s peak on June 23, 35.7 million people — roughly 73% of the country’s population — were exposed to health risks due to the heat; 38% of them faced high risk.
This is evidence that heatwaves appear at the beginning of summer with a higher frequency than before, said AEMET spokesperson Ruben del Campo.
The first heatwave of the summer was exceptional in the country’s north “not only because of its intensity, but also because of its duration and persistence,” the agency added.
In five years, Barcelona is set to gain a major new green space – poised to reshape the city’s urban landscape. The area around La Sagrera will be home to a 36-hectare park stretching four kilometres – making it the largest in the Catalan capital
Often compared to New York’s Central Park for its scale and transformative potential, it will form the centrepiece of the wider redevelopment linked to the future La Sagrera station
The transformation goes beyond green space. The City Council plans to invest €260 million by 2031 to develop a new neighbourhood with more than 11,000 homes – nearly half designated as subsidised or social housing – alongside public facilities, schools, sports centres and healthcare services.
A participatory process is scheduled to begin this autumn, allowing residents and local organisations to help define elements of the park. Completion is targeted for 2031, in line with the development of the new urban hub around the station.
…and that’s your Spanish News – from Giles Brown