These are the trending news headlines in Spain on Wednesday April 5, 2023

Spain's prime minister, Petro Sanchez, has called for Europe to "re-industrialize" in order to become more self-sufficient and less dependent on third countries for energy and raw materials. This comes as Europe seeks to be more "strategically autonomous" following Russia's war in Ukraine. However, Sanchez emphasized that this push doesn't mean reverting to economic protectionism. He also highlighted the need for the EU to reach out to key regions, such as the Caribbean, Latin America, and nations on its southern periphery. Additionally, the reduction of coal use in energy generation and balancing out the cost of energy between producers and consumers are also a priority. Sanchez's comments came after talks with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, who agreed that the EU should seek out alternative energy routes and pivot towards green energy. Both leaders also called for an overall agreement on dealing with migration, which is a key issue for front-line states such as Spain and Cyprus.

Good news for Spain's job market as unemployment fell to its lowest level in March since 2008. The number of people claiming unemployment benefits decreased by 1.6%, or 48,755 people, to 2,862,260. This marks the largest percentage fall for March since 2002. Even with international financial market instability, unemployment fell by 7.93% compared to March 2022, or 246,503 people. The services sector saw the largest decrease in unemployment with 42,789 people (-2.05%) dropping out of the job market, followed by construction, industry, and agriculture. For the first time in nine years, unemployment among young people under 25 also decreased, standing at 215,099. The number of job seekers decreased in all of Spain's Autonomous Communities, except Madrid. In addition, the number of permanent contracts increased by 46.82%, and the average Social Security enrollment gained 206,410 new members, its highest rise in March ever, with the hotel and catering industry seeing the largest influx of new members due to Easter Week hiring.

Spain has officially launched its own national space agency, the Agencia Espacial Española (AEE), with an initial budget of more than €700m. The agency will be based in Seville and will focus on guaranteeing Spain's strategic action in the field of space. This includes technological development and the use of space for areas such as security, Earth observation, geolocation, and telecommunications. Minister for Science and Innovation, Diana Morant, has also made €45m available to fund the development of a domestic microlauncher, which is seen as the commercial future of the space sector. The launch of the Spanish Space Agency is a major boost to the country's spacetech industry and startups such as PLD Space, Zero 2 Infinity, ienai GO, and SATLANTIS.

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