NATO SUMMIT TO DOMINATE HEADLINES THIS WEEK

On Monday, the EU Energy Ministers will be meeting in Valladolid, Spain, where they will advance the reform of the wholesale electricity market.

That´s pretty much the highlight of the start of the week as far as Spain is concerned, as things do tend to go quieter as we head through the summer, as a result, there´s not a lot of activity in the markets to start the week.

Although we do have the IEE “Business freedom in Spain - Economic Freedom Index 2023” to look forward to.

In the Eurozone, the Sentix Index for June is published on Monday, along with the US Wholesale Inventories for May and the Chinese CPI and PPI for June, which will be the main focus for investors.

Spain and Europe come together for the first major meeting of the General Affairs Council of the EU since Spain took over the Presidency. Spain will present the priorities of its mandate. Euro banknotes will be under the microscope, possibly quite literally, as the European Central Bank details the next steps for the redesign of euro banknotes.

On Tuesday, His Majesty King Filipe will be in San Javier, specifically at the General Air Academy where he will attend a commissioning ceremony for cadets.

In the UK, Joe Biden will be in London on Monday meeting with Rishi Sunak, the fourth time in as many months, although the first with Sunak facing a possible leadership confidence vote (yes, another one! Oh, and Suella Braverman is one of the contenders).

Biden is also scheduled to meet with King Charles for the first time since he was crowned (Charles, not Biden), with climate change expected to be one of the topics to be discussed, as both King Charles, and President Biden are known for their environmentally conscious attitudes (ignore the part about flying), unlike Sunak, who is facing increasing criticism for his lack of green commitment.

Both Sunak and Biden will be in Vilnius on Tuesday for the NATO Summit, where Ukraine is top of the agenda, which might prove fortuitous once again for Sunak, along with more talk about “small boats” from the UK Government this week, despite the failing of their policy and the massive surge since Brexit removed many of the tools the UK had to deal with the problem, as the state of the UK will be highlighted once again this week, and the boats and Ukraine always serve as a distraction.

On Tuesday, the Office of National Statistics will report on wages and employment, and the Bank of England will publish their biannual report on the stability of the UK’s financial sector on Wednesday.

The monthly GDP estimate and the OBR’s fiscal risks and sustainability report will see the light of day on Thursday, and the ONS will report on the impact of the rising cost of living to round the week off on Friday.

Residents Ask The City Council To Analyse Daily Spills Onto Beach

Users of Cala La Mosca, next to Cala de las Estacas, in Orihuela Costa, have criticised the " deplorable state" of the sand, where spillage of unknown origin can be seen on a daily basis.

According to reports, the beach cleaning services take away the sand to cover these spills that reappear and even run into the sea. Many residents say that it is sewage – with a strong smell of urine –and even point out that the beach should not be open to the public in it’s current state.

Some say that there has been a problem since broken pipes appeared during the 2019 and they ask the City

Council to analyse these discharges. This was one of the points made by members of the Cabo Roig and Lomas Association, on Monday afternoon, with the councillor of the Coast, Manuel Mestre, who toured around the area looking at many of the main problems following the meeting that he held on Thursday with the association.

They have asked him to introduce an urgent shock plan before the summer season, in efforts to redress the abandonment suffered by the coast due to the lack of services and the increase in population.

In Playa Flamenca, they also examined the poor state of the promenade railings, which, according to residents, puts the safety of pedestrians at risk.