EU calls on Spain to fix its child poverty problem, second fatal shooting in Barcelona neighbourhood in less than a month, Valencia to start fining some Uber drivers and more news on Monday June 8th.
Pope to meet abuse victims in Spain
Pope Leo XIV will give an unprecedented address on Monday to the Spanish parliament and is set to meet with victims of sexual abuse by clergy.
The closed-door meeting, reported by Spanish media, is already clouded in controversy, as some of the main victims’ associations said they were not invited.
Around 200,000 minors are estimated to have suffered abuse by clergy in Spain since 1940, according to a 2023 report from Spain’s national ombudsman.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s government and the Catholic Church in Spain signed an agreement in March to compensate victims, after years of reticence and opacity from the Church hierarchy.
Man shot dead in Barcelona
A man has died from gunshot wounds sustained in a shooting in the Zona Franca industrial area of Barcelona, a murder that took place this Sunday at around 9pm.
According to Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalan police), only the shooter and the victim were involved in the incident.
Neighbours and witnesses attempted to perform resuscitation the victim without success.
Police are now trying to locate the assailant, who fled the scene.
On May 16th another man died on the same street after being gunned down by a person who also fled.
Valencia to start fining some Uber drivers
Valencia City Council has rolled out new traffic regulations which include fines of up to €6,000 and vehicle impoundment for ride-hailing vehicles (VTCs) that drive on the streets soliciting customers.
It also establishes fines of up to €3,000 for VTCs that park on public roads to solicit customers, specifically mentioning high-demand locations such as airports, train stations, and hotels.
Ride-hailing services such as Uber and Cabify are only supposed to be contacted by customers via their apps, and not solicit customers in person like taxi drivers can.
Congress to vote on Spain’s withdrawal from Nato
The Spanish Congress will vote this week on a motion suggested by the BNG (Galician Nationalist Bloc) that proposes Spain’s withdrawal from Nato and an end to the US’s presence in the military bases of Morón and Rota.
In April, the Lower House already rejected, with the votes of PP, PSOE, Vox, PNV, Junts and UPN, a similar initiative registered by hard-left party Podemos, which called for a referendum on the possible withdrawal of Spain from Nato.
In the statement, the BNG argues that the ruling Socialist Party considered itself “the most progressive in history” but that it has been immersed for years in an “arms race dictated” by the United States and Nato, which would imply the diversion of “enormous amounts of money” towards military spending.
EU calls on Spain to fix its child poverty problem
The European Commission has advised Spain address its child poverty problems by rebalancing social spending across generations.
Brussels has asked Spain to “address child poverty, among other things by rebalancing social spending between generations and improving the coverage and adequacy of social transfers and social assistance,” all in order to “reduce income inequalities.”
Spain again registered the highest child poverty rate in the European Union in 2025 at 28.4 percent, 8.8 points above the average , according to Eurostat data published by the European Anti-Poverty Network in Spain (EAPN-ES).