For the first time in history, the Pope has delivered a speech to Congress. In a hemicycle dressed in gala for the occasion and on a visit that he wanted to serve as a "gesture of closeness" towards Spain, Leo XIV has once again fully entered the Spanish political debate to fundamentally amend the postulates of the far-right regarding immigration. He has once again referred to the "tragic migratory drama" and has reproached the national priority that the PP and Vox have recently agreed upon in the autonomous communities. "Where a person is discriminated against because of their national, ethnic, religious or linguistic origin, the universal principle of the equal dignity of all human beings is seriously violated," he proclaimed. "The situation of migrants and refugees demands a response that looks at people," he added. Likewise, he has put forward a "double demand for social justice" with immigrants: they must be offered "safe and legal pathways," a "respectful welcome," and "real opportunities for integration," and, in parallel, the "right to stay in their own land" must be promoted by working to ensure that "no one has to leave their home." Precisely on Thursday, the Pope will travel to the Canary Islands, which is the final destination of the most dangerous migratory route in Europe.

"I have neither lied nor withheld information." This is how the Speaker of Congress, Francina Armengol, responded when asked by the Senate's Koldo case investigation committee why, in her last appearance, she claimed not to know businessman Víctor de Aldama, even though she now admits she met with him there in November 2020. After Aldama said he had been at the headquarters of the Presidency of the Balearic Islands Government, the former island president explained that she reviewed the agenda with her team and that it "only" makes sense to her that Aldama accompanied Air Europa executive Pepe Hidalgo at the Consolat de Mar as an advisor on one occasion.

Republican Left of Catalonia ERC has exactly one week to decide if it presents an amendment to the the State budget and positions with the PSOE continue for now to be very distant, the republicans insist. Some of the conditions they set – at least publicly – to give the budget the green light are various and rather vague, such as progress in the dialogue table or guarantees that investments foreseen in Catalonia will be carried out. There are others, however, that are clearer. The president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, insisted this Friday on one of them: including the "protection" of Catalan in the new Spanish audiovisual media law, a demand that is not guaranteed in the draft that Moncloa is working on. Despite making it clear that these are not "directly linked" issues, the president has demanded a "favourable agreement" in this sense to be able to "face" the debate on the budget. "It is important that this issue is unlocked before the processing of budgets," he said.