The intentions of the Spanish government to ban social media for under-16s have been very well received in Catalonia. 87% of Catalans - almost 9 out of 10 - endorse this as the minimum age for social media users in all EU countries, according to a survey by the Centre d'Estudis d'Opinió (CEO) and the European Parliament. The poll, published this Monday to mark 40 years since Spain's accession to the community club, indicates that only 10% of respondents are against the measure, while only 3% do not know or do not answer. Setting a minimum age limit for these platforms convinces even the youngest in the sample, as 84% of those interviewed between 18 and 24 years old are in favor.

Ten days ago we wrote here a very striking headline: “Collboni, put the grass”, which was the unanimous cry of the Sant Andreu fans, who had just been promoted. Well, may today's article serve as a “Reply!”: Barcelona City Council will put natural grass on the Narcís Sala and the Nou Sardenya, which is the stadium where Europa plays.

The fans of Sant Andreu and Europa have celebrated as if it were a goal in the last minute of a derby, the sweetest goals to sing about, the City Council's decision to put natural grass on their fields. The mobilization of the Sant Andreu fans, just after a well-deserved promotion, has joined the struggle of the Gràcia residents in recent months. If you add that elections are approaching, the result has been that both clubs left the first meeting with the council with the most desired news. The City Council had it well prepared. It had listened to what people were saying. It had reacted.

Europe is the continent that is warming fastest in the world. This is causing a continued loss of snow and ice and increasingly extreme weather phenomena. In the year 2025 alone, several records derived from the climate crisis were registered across the continent, which caused serious consequences for the societies and ecosystems of all of Europe.

The ideas that end up transforming a society rarely present themselves as ruptures. They don't arrive with a bang or with an explicit will to break. They arrive disguised as normality, with the deceptive calm of common sense. "National priority" is one of those ideas. It seems harmless – taking care of "our own people" first – but it contains a profound mutation: turning rights into a matter of order, of blood, not of equality.

After demanding the tightening of criteria for the extraordinary regularization of migrants in Spain, Junts goes a step further against the measure approved by the government of Pedro Sánchez and from which half a million people will benefit. Carles Puigdemont's party has announced that it will take the regularization to Europe because it "ignores the requirement of knowing Catalan". The party has commissioned its legal department to prepare "the presentation of a complaint before the European institutions for the violation of various directives and the marginalization of a co-official language as an integration criterion", as detailed this Friday in a statement.

Unfortunately, the upheaval that the world is suffering, with regional conflicts of strong global implications, economic but above all of democratic culture, diminishes the Catalan cause. Now, as almost a hundred years ago, the emergence of totalitarian, not to say fascist, positions and discourses demands a strong democratic reaction that, as a hundred years ago, is not happening nor is it foreseen. Despite everything, it is essential that it occurs, for the good of all and, above all, of the young generations. And the leadership can only fall to consolidated democracies, with Europe at the forefront, following the stance made explicit by Mark Carney, the Canadian Prime Minister, at the last meeting of the Davos Forum.We must promote policies for greater European integration, supporting political parties that are firmly committed to it, not just discursively. As European integration progresses, the sovereignty of states will diminish. The most relevant decisions – economic, regulatory, or geopolitical – will no longer be made solely at the state level, but increasingly at the European level. In such a context, some issues that today seem almost irresolvable – such as the Spanish state allowing a referendum on self-determination – may be different. When the political weight of states is diluted, the relationships between peoples, territories, and governments can be reorganized with greater flexibility and less drama than we perceive today.Perhaps, then, the most realistic path lies not so much in local decisions as in contributing to the construction of a federal Europe, a Europe in which its peoples share the great responsibilities and challenges of our time.

Where is the new Hungary of the conservative democrat Péter Magyar heading? Towards a return to Europeanism (against Putin, against Trump, and against the far-right), towards the reconstruction of the rule of law (against authoritarian and illiberal policies), and towards respect for plurality and minorities (against hate speech targeting groups like the LGTBI+ or against the rejection of identity diversity represented by immigration).

Southeastern Spain, one of the driest areas in Europe, has established itself as one of the continent's main agricultural hubs. Despite having a climate marked by minimal rainfall and long periods of drought, this region has become the heart of the so-called “european vegetable garden.” Thanks to state policies, desalination plants, artificial reservoirs, and complex water transfer systems between river basins have been built, allowing vast previously unproductive areas to be irrigated.

The more Donald Trump sinks into the Iranian mire, the more we Europeans must regain the pride of being part of such an imperfect and self-conscious club. 

It seems hard to believe, but these past few weeks in Brussels, there's almost more talk about civil service exams than the chaos caused by the war in Iran. This is the first general call for graduates who want to work in European institutions since 2019. As expected, more than 170,000 people have applied. It's literally impossible to live in Brussels, be under 40, and not know someone who has applied.

If we accept that the Catalan people have the right to decide, the next question is practical: why do they want independence? A people's independence is for itself, not against any other. Ultimately, nothing is more natural than wanting to decide for oneself.

On clear days, the mountains of Lebanon are visible on the horizon from the coast of Cyprus. This island, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, is geographically closer to the coasts of Syria, Gaza, and Turkey than to mainland Greece. Its strategic location, which makes it a key stronghold for the European Union (it is the easternmost point of the Union), also makes it more vulnerable to attack due to its military importance.

Von der Leyen's statement sends shivers down your spine, like the clang of a tombstone being laid: "Europe can no longer be the guardian of the old world order, of a world that is gone and will not return." Bam!

Junts has chosen a political family in Europe. After being left without one in 2018Carles Puigdemont's party is on the verge of joining the European Democratic Party (EDP), which is part of the Renew Europe group in the European Parliament. Several sources consulted by ARA explain that the pro-independence party is finalizing its entry, although the maneuver has stalled at the last minute due to internal reservations within the centrist and social-liberal European party.

That we are starting with artificial intelligence using biased algorithms is no secret. The dangers of using AI without regulation have been demonstrated and emphasized, whether for personal purposes, in a company or institution, or, even more alarmingly, for disseminating content on social media. Achieving ethical algorithms, aligned with democratic values ​​and incorporating a gender perspective, is an objective that is being pursued, especially in Europe. Women experts in this field are shedding light on a rapidly advancing technology that seems difficult to control and in which, as in the world of... big tech, There's a lack of women.

"Since Saturday, I've had the feeling that we're in a déjà vuThe reflection was made by the Director-General for Energy of the European Commission, Mechthild Wörsdörfer, during a speech at the Biomethane Connect Europe congress held this week in Madrid. Iran and its ramifications in the Persian Gulf – also causing the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz – have once again raised alarms regarding gas and oil supplies, directly affecting families and businesses. "We return to the situation in Iran, where the price of gas has climbed by 50% – the Dutch TTF is approaching 50 euros/MWh – while the price of Brent crude, the benchmark for Europe, has risen by more than 30%, reaching around 90 dollars (On Friday it already exceeded $90 at timesFour years ago, the cost skyrocketed even further: gas reached its all-time high – €345/MWh – while crude oil surpassed $120 a barrel. The difference is clear – although what might happen in the Middle East is still uncertain – and that's why some voices in the energy sector point out that the current scenario is not the same. They also recall that dependence on Russia was much greater. In fact, in the case of Spain, the ships that supplied gas to the country in 2025 and that had passed through the Strait of Hormuz because they came from the now conflict zone (specifically, from Qatar) accounted for only 1.7% of imported gas. But the situation is also different because Europe and its member states are in a "better position than when the war broke out in Ukraine," stated the European Director of Energy. The reason is the lessons learned then, which led to new energy policies. Therefore, despite constant monitoring by the European Commission, supply is currently "guaranteed," Wörsdörfer stated. Specifically, the European plan known as [name of plan] emerged from the crisis four years ago. Repower UE and whose central aim was to gradually phase out fossil fuels of Russian origin (oil and gas) and diversify sourcesFor example, in 2022, Russian natural gas imported into Europe via pipeline accounted for 40% of total fuel consumption, but by 2025 this figure had fallen to 6%, according to European Commission estimates. During this period, imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States have tripled, making it the second-largest supplier after Norway. Spain has also risen to second place in the LNG market. Across the continent, Algeria, the United Kingdom, and Azerbaijan have also joined the list of major LNG importers.

Gorton and Denton is an electoral district in Greater Manchester. Where there were once mines and textile industries, there is now poverty. Elections were held in Gorton and Denton on Thursday, and the seat went to the Greens, followed by the far-right Reform Party, and in third place, Labour. The Conservatives didn't even show up. The result demonstrates how the political map of the United Kingdom is changing. But there's something even more interesting: the Greens won thanks to the Muslim vote.

The list of recent grievances in the European Union is long and burdensome: inaction in the face of genocide, multiple Trumpian blackmails and a historical dehumanization of migrants. To all this is added one final symptom: the "castle policy".

Vladimir Putin's Russian expansionism and Donald Trump's threat to abandon Europe in the face of new geopolitical challenges have triggered a surge in defense spending by European states. US demands on NATO have forced allies to allocate more resources to security, and, simultaneously, the European Union has launched an unprecedented plan to rapidly rearm the continent.