Troops complete withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Catalan parliament defies Constitutional Court order to halt secession process.
Brussels warns on budget deficit targets.
Unemployment drops below 5 million for first time in four years.
Ibex 35 companies lift profits 22% in first nine months.
http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/wcm/connect/c549ad804a9cfe35845f8e207baccc4c/122_InsideSpain_ElcanoNewsletter.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=c549ad804a9cfe35845f8e207baccc4c
Category: Elcano Royal Institute
Spain 40 years after General Franco: change of a nation
Spain has changed beyond recognition since General Franco died 40 years ago. The country telescoped its political, economic and social modernisation into a much shorter period than any other European country.
http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/portal/web/rielcano_en/contenido?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/elcano/elcano_in/zonas_in/ari66-2015-chislett-spain-40-years-after-franco-change-nation
Erdoğan’s snap Turkey election gamble pays off: ruling AK regains absolute majority
The ruling neo-Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recovered the absolute majority in Turkey’s snap parliamentary election that it lost in June, but with not enough seats to push through constitutional reforms to enable him to become an executive president.
http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/portal/web/rielcano_en/contenido?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/elcano/elcano_in/zonas_in/commentary-chislett-erdogan-snap-turkey-election-gamble-akp-absolute-majority
Inside Spain (21 September-19 October)
Rajoy presides over UN Security Council session, adopts resolution on women and peace.
Catalan Prime Minister Mas in court for organising independence vote.
Brussels deals blow to Madrid and orders re-write of 2016 budget.
Acciona and Germany’s Nordex to create global wind-energy player.
VW ‘guarantees’ €4.2 billion investment in Spanish plants.
Turkey’s 10 years of EU accession negotiations: no end in sight
Turkey’s accession process to the EU is in limbo: only 14 of the 33 chapters of the acquis that require negotiations have been opened in 10 years (the last one in November 2013) and just one provisionally closed.
http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/portal/web/rielcano_en/contenido?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/elcano/elcano_in/zonas_in/wp14-2015-chislett-turkeys-10-years-of-eu-accession-negotiations-no-end-in-sight#.VhNQwLSqqko
Pro-independence parties win the Catalan regional election
Pro-independence parties won an absolute majority of seats in the elections for the regional parliament of Catalonia, but just under half the votes. The poll was cast by Artur Mas, the Catalan Prime Minister, as a plebiscite on setting up an independent republic, which he said he now felt legitimated to roll out over the next 18 months, setting him on a collision course with Madrid that has denied a Scotland-style referendum as there is no provision for it in the constitution. Secession is illegal under Spanish law.
Inside Spain (21 July-21 September)
Spain to take 17,000 refugees.
Pro-independence camp set to win Catalan election, Madrid moves against tax plan.
Population fast greying and forecast to shrink.
IMF warns of risks to economic recovery.
Ibex companies generate larger share of revenues abroad.
http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/wcm/connect/7cf2c48049f1a9dc97149f207baccc4c/120_InsideSpain_ElcanoNewsletter.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=7cf2c48049f1a9dc97149f207baccc4c
Inside Spain (15 June-20 July)
Mas agrees joint ticket for early election, support for Catalan independence wanes.
King Felipe improves the monarchy’s standing in his first year.
Government upgrades growth yet again, brings forward income tax cuts.
Qatari sheikh acquires 10% of El Corte Inglés for €1bn.
The international position of Spanish companies: on the rise
Spanish companies stepped up their direct investment abroad in 2014, but it was still far from the pre-crisis annual average between 2005 and 2007.
http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/portal/web/rielcano_en/contenido?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/elcano/elcano_in/zonas_in/ari36-2015-chislett-international-position-spanish-companies-on-the-rise#.VZpl9O2qqko
Inside Spain (19 May-15 June)
US force for Africa at Morón air base to become permanent.
Brussels proposes mandatory quota of 4,300 asylum seekers.
Anti-establishment parties make big gains in municipal and regional elections.
IMF and OECD confirm accelerating upturn.
William Chislett 