Live News From Spain As It Happens

Debate over banning short-distance flights takes off, but the cons outweigh the pros

SPANISH fuel giant CEPSA has developed 'green power' for national airlines – getting its homework done early in time for huge changes set for the year 2050.

The European Union has announced that, within 27 years, at least 70% of airline fuel must be from sustainable and renewable sources.

It is part of a bid to cut down on the huge emissions generated by aeroplane travel – which some key environmental activists, notably Sweden's Greta Thunberg, have publicly boycotted.

CEPSA is now producing non-polluting aviation fuel at its La Rábida Energy Park in Palos de la Frontera (Huelva province), using organic household waste.

This includes the contents of the 'food bin', which could be leftover meals, spoiled edibles, and residue such as fruit peel – all of which go in the 'brown bank' among Spain's recycling bin facilities. 

Not all towns have recycling bins for organic waste, despite EU requirements to have these in place by the end of the year 2021 – but where they do exist, their contents are normally used to make compost, or bio-fuel pellets for domestic heating stoves.

CEPSA is also making use of recycled cooking oil, which can be disposed of in most towns in Spain in a special 'orange bank' after pouring it back into its plastic bottle.

Enough fuel for 2,000 round-the-world flights in seven years

The La Rábida Energy Park, built in cooperation with Bio-Oils, is the largest 'green' fuel plant in southern Europe, fruit of a total joint investment of €1 billion.

Bio-combustible fuel created by CEPSA is now beginning to be sold in Spain's key airports – Madrid, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca and Sevilla, which account for over half the country's air traffic.

It was launched in Sevilla, where enough fuel for 200 flights was supplied earlier this year, making it the first airport in southern Europe to use 'green' energy for its planes.

CEPSA will, in fact, be the first company on the continent to become a continuous and consistent supplier of aircraft fuel from renewable sources.

TENNIS prodigy Carlos Alcaraz told King Felipe VI to 'keep coming to Wimbledon' after the monarch once again proved to be his lucky charm.

Murcia-born Carlos, 20, had millions of spectators and TV viewers holding their breath during his epic final at the All England Club against Serbian legend Novak Djoković.

The former world number one, 36 – who is currently world number two, with 94 ATP titles including 23 Grand Slams plus an Olympic bronze medal under his belt – has won Wimbledon seven times in the past, but was no match for the Spanish rising star.

Alcaraz was just 15 when he turned professional, and has already leapfrogged Djoković to the ATP world number one slot, as well as winning the US Open last year – a feat which Switzerland's Roger Federer managed five times on the trot between 2004 and 2008.

The Balkan superstar is finding his habitual turf under threat in general now Alcaraz has burst onto the scene, although he still holds the record for the highest number of Australian Open titles, at 10.

A gruelling five-set final ended in 1-6 7-6 6-1 3-6 6-4 to Alcaraz, and with Djoković smashing his racquet in fury and frustration following a four-and-a-half-hour battle.

This was made worse for him by the fact Alcaraz was considered a complete outsider, having never reached a Wimbledon final before, and his most recent success was getting through to the semi-finals at Roland Garros just over a month ago.

Hailing the new reign of Gen Z as Kings and Queens of the courts, Alcaraz had his own encounter with royalty after clinching the much-coveted title.

HRH Felipe VI's first words to the youngster from El Palmar were: “Do you realise what you've done?”

Alcaraz replied that 'both times' the King had come to a match he was playing, he had won it, to which he added, “I hope you keep coming.”

The international media has already temporarily dethroned Felipe VI and given Alcaraz his job – Italy's Corriere dello Sport called him 'AlcaRey', a word-play on Rey, for King, whilst Spain's sports newspaper Marca titled its front page Dios salve al nuevo rey, or 'God save the new king'.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

BATTERIES from mobile phones, laptops and even cars are among those that must be recyclable within the next four years in accordance with a new European Union regulation, as explained by Spain's minister for ecological transition.

Teresa Ribera says reusing the materials in batteries, particularly lithium, will mean Spain and the rest of the EU will be able to produce new ones on home soil.

“At the end of their useful life, batteries contain many valuable resources, and we should be able to use these critical primary materials again instead of depending upon third countries to supply them,” Sra Ribera explains.

The requirement, voted on in the Council of Europe – currently presided by Spain – will be enforced in all member States from the year 2027.

“These new rules will help make European industry more competitive, and will guarantee that new batteries are sustainable and contribute towards the 'green' transition,” says Teresa Ribera.

All batteries, and remains of incomplete batteries, will be subject to the regulation – from machinery of all sizes from industrial to small electronics, from those sold in packs in supermarkets for household implements such as clocks and torches, and from vehicles.

This includes batteries used in conventional-fuel cars to make them start, as well as those used instead of fuel in electrically-powered vehicles.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

I don't know about you, but I am really picky with my Calamares, and I mean really picky. I won't eat them if they are battered, greasy, soggy or tough. In fact, unless they are spot on, I won't eat them. My wife gets all anxious every time I order Calamares (deep fried squid rings) in a bar because she knows the score. As soon as they are placed on the table she can see in my face if I'm going to eat them or not. Basically, if they are battered or reflect the light, I'm not eating them. 

I´m a huge fan of Spanish tapas and Calamares are one of my favourites. But I must admit it took several years to get round to eating them as my first few experiences with Calamares was absolutely terrible; tough, greasy and tasteless. So I pretty much scrapped them from my menu. But it was in a restaurant in Valencia where I developed almost an addiction for Calamares. I tried them again and I was hooked once and for all. They were perfect and became my benchmark Calamares. The restaurant was Marisqueria Cervera and everything about them was ideal. They were not battered but fried in flour. They were dry and incredibly crispy but not at all heavy. The coating was perfect and of course, they were about as tender as they can be. The perfect tapas. If you ever happen to be in Valencia you must pay them a visit.  http://www.marisqueriascivera.com 

Once you have tried Calamares this good it makes it difficult to enjoy Calamares in other establishments, but I never give up. They are my tapas of choice with a cold beer before lunch. If you have read any of my other posts you will know I like cooking, so naturally, I went on a quest to learn how to make the perfect Calamares and that is exactly what I am going to share with you.

To be quite honest it is really simple but as always the fresher the calamari/squid the better. However, it is not always possible to get really fresh squid so a lot of the time you will not be impressed by the result as they turn out tough and chewy. That said there is a trick of the trade that is used by many restaurants to ensure their calamares are tender to the bite. And lone behold it is milk.

Milk has long been used as a tenderiser for meats but it also works wonders with squid, only, it is essential to add salt to the milk so that the squid absorbs the milk and thus softens the texture and collagen.  The amount of salt is approximately half a teaspoon for every 400ml of whole fat milk. The amount of milk necessary will be half the weight of the calamari. So if you have 800 grams of calamari - 400 ml of whole fat milk and 1/2 teaspoon of salt - once mixed place them in the fridge for 12 hours or overnight. If you can get them fresh from the fish market, great you can jump this step, but in the supermarket, they are almost all defrosted squid. When you have your squid, clean them, discard the head and the innards and remove the spinal bone, which just slides out.  Then cut up the squid into rings about 1cm in width.  The add them to the milk.

Once tenderised, drain the milk and let them sit in a sieve for about 30 minutes until they have completely drained and come up to room temperature. Dry them with kitchen paper towels to remove excess liquid and then cover them with wheat flour - 'harina de trigo' which is special for frying - it is not as fine as other flours.  The one I use is HARIN. Make sure they are covered in abundant flour, so don't put too many in the flour at once. 

Make sure you have a deep fat fryer or a deep frying pan with abundant extra virgin olive oil. When it is at 170ºC or on the point of smoking you are ready to go - you can use bread to test the temperature - drop in a little bit and observe the colour it turns - it should go golden very quickly.

Just before you put them in, squeeze the squid and the flour firmly with your hands and then place in the hot oil. Don't put too many in at once, make sure they have room to move around and aren't on top of each other. Let them go golden crisp and take them out, let then drain properly and then place them on kitchen paper to dry.  Ideally, a frying basket is the best tool for this job.  Once dry they are ready to eat. Either as they are or with lemon or mayonnaise. Perhaps even in a crusty roll if you want to make more of a meal out of it. Absolutely delicious too.

Enjoy!

PRIMARY care doctors have been given the option to claim 75% of their State pension along with 100% of their salary to continue working beyond retirement age in a bid to address the shortage in Spain's health centres.

With more general practitioners (GPs) or family doctors at local surgeries retiring than newly-qualified medics entering the profession, Spain's government has become concerned about a growing impact on State healthcare.

Meanwhile, GPs themselves, and paediatricians, have been calling for incentives to make it worth their while prolonging their working life.

A pilot scheme launched by the ministry for inclusion, Social Security and migrations – led by José Luis Escrivá – allows GPs and paediatricians to effectively work for 175% of their wages if they continue to do so beyond age 65.

So far, seven in 10 family doctors aged 65 or over have taken up the offer, or a total of 313, reveals Escrivá's department.

Explaining how the scheme proves to be a 'win-win situation' for all concerned, Escrivá says medics who would otherwise stop work are continuing to pay their Social Security (national insurance) contributions, helping to fund State pensions, whilst also saving the State 25% of what they would be earning if they had decided not to continue – and getting nearly double their money for doing the same job as when they were 64.

'Ageing' profession

According to a recent ministry report covering supply and demand for public healthcare facilities over the period from 2021 to 2035, GPs, or primary care doctors, are one of the most 'threatened species' in the profession.

They are the second-oldest specialists in the medical industry, with a third of them aged over 60 and more than six in 10 being aged between 50 and 65.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com

A NEW and limited-edition €2 coin will be in circulation in Spain until the end of this year to mark the country's Council of Europe presidency 'shift', the Royal mint has revealed.

Prime ministers or presidents, as applicable, of each European Union member State take turns at chairing the Council of Europe, which is the committee leading the decisions and policy of the EU and whose members are the 27 national leaders voted in by the general public in their country.

Normally, each country takes a presidential turn for six months, to ensure fair representation and every nation having a say in how the EU operates.

Spain has now taken over this rôle for the fifth time, starting on July 1 (Saturday), until December 31, 2023 inclusive.

It is not clear how the forthcoming snap general election in Spain on July 23 will affect the country's Council of Europe presidency, but current national leader Pedro Sánchez has assured disruptions will be kept to a minimum.

To celebrate Spain's European leadership, a €2 coin has been minted by the National Coin and Stamp Factory-Royal Coin House (FNMT-RCM).

Released on June 1, a total of 1.5 million coins will be produced before the end of 2023, bearing the Spanish Council of Europe presidency logo as its main image, in place of the usual design.

Around this logo, the words España 2023 – Presidencia Española ('Spain 2023 – Spanish Presidency') are printed along the upper part of the coin, and Consejo de la Unión Europea ('Council of Europe') on the bottom part.

On the same face of the coin, the logo of the Royal mint – a crowned capital 'M' – can be seen near the 'Council of Europe' wording, and the entire 'heads' side will be bordered with the stars of the European Union flag.

Read more at thinkSPAIN.com