Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez – Artifex.News

Spanish PM’s wife must stand trial on corruption charges, judge rules

admin — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 14:20:00 +0000

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. File
| Photo Credit: AP

The wife of Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez must stand trial on ‌corruption charges and has been banned from leaving the country, a judge ⁠ruled on Saturday (June 20, 2026).

Also Read:Spain’s PM Sánchez announces anti-graft measures as corruption inquiries ensnare his party

Begoña Gomez is under investigation over allegations that she used her position as the Prime Minister’s ‌wife to secure work contracts. She denies any wrongdoing. The case was ‌brought by far-right groups.

Investigating judge Juan Carlos ‌Peinado ⁠ordered Ms. Gomez to surrender her passport, barred ⁠her from leaving Spain and required her to report to court twice a month.

The case is one of several corruption ‌probes nearing or already at trial that are weighing on Mr. Sanchez, one of Europe’s few remaining leftist leaders. He has not been ‌named in any of the cases and has said they are part of a campaign to remove him from ⁠office.

The Socialist party quickly reacted to the judge’s ruling, posting on social media X: “[Begoña] has ‌been subjected to judicial and political persecution for two years. Today’s development is another step in that process.”

Several close allies, including the Socialist party’s number three and Mr. Sanchez’s former Transport Minister, are under investigation in cases ‌involving alleged kickbacks linked to public works, oil and gas contracts, and the procurement of masks during the pandemic. They deny wrongdoing.

Separately, ⁠Spain’s High Court said it was investigating former ⁠Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero over allegations he led a network that ‌profited from lobbying public authorities on behalf of third parties, including airline Plus Ultra. He denies the claims.

Published – June 20, 2026 07:50 pm IST

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Spanish Prime Minister visits China to shore up trade & cultural ties amid EV tariff spat

admin — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 08:11:21 +0000

Spain’s Prime Minister visited China last in March 2023 when Spain held the rotating European Union presidency. File photo
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and other top officials on Monday (September 9, 2024) during his second trip to China in a year-and-a-half that comes amid a spat over electric cars.

The centre-left Socialist leader will also attend a business forum in Beijing for Spanish and Chinese companies before travelling to Shanghai later Monday (September 9, 2024). The next day he will attend more business events and the inauguration of a Cervantes Institute, a centre that promotes Spanish language and culture.

Prior to holding talks and dining with Chinese President Xi, Spanish PM Sánchez will meet with his Chinese counterpart, Li Qiang, and the head of the ceremonial legislature, Zhao Leji. Sánchez arrived late Sunday (September 8, 2024) and departs Wednesday (September 11, 2024).

Mr. Sánchez visited China in March 2023 when Spain held the rotating European Union presidency.

Spain was among the EU members that expressed support earlier this year for a 36.7% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles. The Chinese government responded by launching an investigation into EU pork imports.

EU exports of pork products to China hit a peak at 7.4 billion euros (USD 7.9 billion) in 2020 when Beijing had to turn abroad to satisfy domestic demand after its pig farms were decimated by a swine disease. EU pork exports to China have dropped since then, hitting 2.5 billion euros (USD 2.6 billion) last year. Almost half of that total came from Spain.

The tension over pork has not stopped Spain from welcoming the plans of Chinese carmaker Chery to open a plant for electric vehicles in Barcelona.

Published – September 09, 2024 01:41 pm IST

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