Domestic Politics
On Tuesday, Pedro Sanchez was confirmed as the Spanish prime minister. His government has said that its program of ‘social patriotism’ will “tax the rich, protect public services, and improve relations with the Catalan government". The opposition, Political Party (PP), says his plan will increase Spain's deficit, debt, and unemployment. [POLITICO]
International Relations
Donald Trump called on European allies to back out of the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) after announcing new sanctions on Iran following an Iranian missile attack on a US military base in Iraq. [Euronews]
The European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, called for a de-escalation of hostilities between Iran and the US. She took no sides, and simply said, ""The use of weapons must stop now to give space for dialogue.” The EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has echoed her sentiments. [POLITICO]
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde have both warned that the 11-month transition period for the EU-UK deal post-Brexit is insufficient. [New Europe]
Society
A people's petition in Denmark proposes that anybody who has lived in the country for ten years should guarantee them citizenship. If 50,000 people with the right to vote in parliamentary elections support this bill, it can be submitted to the Parliament. Currently, the petition has 6,728 signatures. [Copenhagen Post]
Environment
Various pesticide-free zones have been implemented across France upon the turn of the new year, angering winegrowers who are losing much of their farmable land. [Euractiv]
Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) data shows that 2019 was the hottest ever recorded year in Europe. The last five years have been the hottest on record, and the previous decade was the hottest since recordkeeping began. [Euractiv]
Science & Technology
Germany has proposed placing modular isolation chambers on freight planes for German aid workers returning from West Africa to contain the potential spread of Ebola. [Spiegel]
Image Source: France 24