Autobus a la linea

In the latest episode of Insiders, we visited La Linea de la Concepcion in southern Spain. The far-right Vox have gained representation in Andalusia’s last regional elections. The town faces the Strait of Gibraltar and the Moroccan coast, the area is a gateway for illegal drugs coming into Europe. But in recent months, the Spanish police have ramped up their response to narcotics trafficking. But what's spurring the illegal drug trade? With unemployment at high levels, young people are able to make thousands of euros a day by drug smuggling. Euronews spoke to a local policeman about the problem "Unemployment is very serious here, there is very little work, so it is easier – especially for young people – to engage in this type of activity." Border protection, crime, and unemployment Border protection, crime, and unemployment are issues that the far right has capitalized on. Problems like this have gotten parties like the far-right Vox into office in Andalusia’s … [Read more...] about Spain’s far-right temptation

It's early morning and the sun shines down on a line of cars in southern Spain waiting to cross into Britain... or rather its overseas territory Gibraltar where a potential Brexit has set alarm bells clanging. Miles away from the debate gripping Britain over whether to leave or stay in the European Union, this rocky outcrop of 33,000 residents where fish and chips and double-decker buses are a fixture is nevertheless eyeing June's upcoming referendum with increasing alarm. At stakes are a thriving services-based economy that relies in large parton access to the EU's single market, and a sovereignty spat with Spain it believes threatens its only land access to the continent. "I'm very concerned that it would mean that our current economic model would not be sustainable," says Gibraltar's Chief Minister Fabian Picardo, sitting in a white government building in the city centre. The territory -- half the size of London's smallest borough of … [Read more...] about Don’t rock the boat, Gibraltar pleads as Brexit breeds fear

By Diego Oré and Sofia Menchu GUATEMALACITY (Reuters) – Guatemala’s next leader, Alejandro Giammattei, could not have asked for clearer endorsement of his scepticism towards President Donald Trump’s proposed immigration deal than when a visiting U.S. lawmaker last week said the plan was unfeasible. But when California Democratic Representative Norma Torres spoke during her visit to Guatemala on Thursday about how to tackle the corruption that has long bedeviled the country, the two were no longer reading from the same script. Her voice cracking with emotion, the Guatemalan-born Torres extolled the work of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), a U.N. anti-corruption body that has become the bane of many public officials in Guatemala. With the aid of prosecutors, the CICIG brought down the last president and then almost toppled his successor – who reacted by ordering the commission to leave the country. Yet neither Giammattei, … [Read more...] about Anti-graft group’s exit to test mettle of new Guatemala leader

Spain on Friday proposed sharing sovereignty over Gibraltar after Britain voted to leave the European Union, saying it would allow the overseas territory to maintain access to the EU's single market. "Our formula... is British-Spanish co-sovereignty for a determined period of time, which after that time has elapsed, will head towards the restitution of Gibraltar to Spanish sovereignty," Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo told Spanish radio. The tiny rocky outcrop nestled on Spain's southern tip has long been a source of friction between London and Madrid, which wants it back under its control centuries after it was ceded to Britain in 1713. Spain's conservative government, which has been in place since 2011, has been particularly vocal about its desire to see Gibraltar come back into its fold, and the Rock is worried that Brexit will leave it at the mercy of Madrid. Margallo said the issue of Gibraltar was no longer within the … [Read more...] about Brexit: Spain calls for shared sovereignty over Gibraltar