Prime Minister’s wife has passport returned, Spanish stock market slips following Trump’s NATO comments, and more news from Spain on Thursday 9th July.
Begoña Gómez, Spanish PM’s wife, has passport returned
According to information obtained by Spain’s state broadcaster RTVE, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s wife, Begoña Gómez, has now had her passport returned so that she can travel to London to attend her daughter’s graduation.
This comes after Juan Carlos Peinado, the judge who has sent Gómez to trial by jury on four alleged offences including influencing peddling, decided on 20th June to withdraw her passport and ban her from leaving Spain as a precautionary measure until the trial takes place, having assessed that there was a risk of her fleeing the country.
Gómez denies all wrongdoing and supporters say the investigation is a clear case of lawfare. Critics point to the various other alleged corruption cases surrounding PM Pedro Sánchez.
Eight out of ten drinks in Spain now consumed during the day
Spaniards are increasingly choosing to bring forward their leisure time and set aside the evenings for other activities, preferring instead to have drinks during the day – known as tardeo in Spanish.
This is reflected in new data from the 2025 Socio-Economic Report by The Spanish Spirits Federation, which shows that 8 out of 10 drinks are now consumed during the day.
“Meals – particularly after-dinner chats and afternoon drinks – are taking centre stage,” said Bosco Torremocha, executive director.
READ ALSO: Spanish Word of the Day: Tardeo
Countries join Spanish initiative to create coalition on AI and child protection
Around twenty countries and organisations have joined Spain in launching a new International Coalition for Children’s Rights and Protection with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI).
The group was formalised during the first UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance in Geneva, Switzerland.
In the era of ‘deepfakes’ and the use of children’s images to generate sexual content, this coalition, formed with part of the United Nations, aims to ensure that AI respects the safety, healthy development and rights of children online.
“Let us not repeat with artificial intelligence the mistakes we made with social media. Children’s rights cannot be lost in the digital world,” said Óscar López, Spain’s Minister for Digital Transformation, speaking from Geneva.
Spanish stock market slips following Trump NATO comments
US President Donald Trump’s tough remarks at the NATO summit in Turkey, confirming that a ceasefire with Iran has ended and that the US will strike the country “harder”, have sent shockwaves through global stock markets, including in Spain.
The Spanish stock market, the IBEX 35, fell by 2.73 percent on Wednesday afternoon and closed at 19,104.3 points after recording its worst session since 3rd March 2026, when it plummeted by 4.55 percent following the outbreak of war in Iran.
The IBEX 35 fall was also influenced by Trump’s threat to sever all trade relations with Spain for failing to allocate 5 percent of GDP to defence, comments the US President has seemingly already backtracked on.
Trump’s NATO speech also had an impact on oil prices, which rose by up to 8 percent in the immediate aftermath.
