Mark Nayler

Journalist at Freelance

Featured in: Favicon

elpais.com Favicon

theculturetrip.com Favicon

foreignpolicy.com Favicon

spectator.co.uk Favicon

newstatesman.com Favicon

spiked-online.com Favicon

worldpoliticsreview.com Favicon

realclearworld.com Favicon

thespectator.com Favicon

spectator.us + 7 more

Articles

The nuclear option | Sur in English

5 days ago | surinenglish.com | Mark Nayler

On the day of writing (Thursday), Spain's congress is voting on whether to extend its phaseout of nuclear power beyond the provisional deadline of 2035. The result will be non-binding - but if it's in favour of extension, the pressure will increase on Pedro Sánchez, who has already been urged by industry leaders to reconsider the phaseout.
European Leaders Talk of EU Army

1 week ago | theepochtimes.com | Mark Nayler

CommentaryEurope is once again talking about forming its own defense alliance. The idea of a European army—discussed on and off since the early days of the Cold War—was revived in February by Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian president claims that Donald Trump’s retraction of military support for Ukraine and ambivalence towards the EU shows that the bloc urgently needs its own military unit.
Generation Gap: Iberia Unplugged

1 week ago | fee.org | Mark Nayler

A five-second grid failure turned into a 12-hour blackout. On Monday, April 28, just after 12:30 PM local time, Spain and Portugal switched off. A massive power outage left the entire Iberian Peninsula and a small part of southern France without phone lines, electricity, and Internet for more than twelve hours. ATMs and traffic lights shut down, over 300 flights were canceled, hospitals resorted to generators, and 35,000 people had to be rescued from stranded trains.
Mark Nayler: Power struggles | Sur in English

1 week ago | surinenglish.com | Mark Nayler

Pedro Sánchez deserves criticism for many reasons, but he is not to blame for Monday's blackout. Predictably, though, the Spanish right is claiming that the massive power outage, which cost the Spanish economy an estimated 1.6 billion euros, was the government's fault. PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo has criticised Sánchez for not declaring a national state of emergency; and according to Vox president Santiago Abascal, the blackout was a result of the left's "climate fanaticism".
The mystery of Spain’s blackout

2 weeks ago | spectator.com.au | Mark Nayler

Early yesterday afternoon, I walked home from my local supermarket empty-handed. In the Andalucian town of Antequera, the power and internet had just disappeared, card machines weren’t working and I had no cash. As I tried to remember what I had in the cupboards, I passed a woman on the street shouting up to someone on a balcony, ‘It’s all over Spain, France, Germany and Portugal’.
The mystery of Spain’s blackout

2 weeks ago | spectator.co.uk | Mark Nayler

Early yesterday afternoon, I walked home from my local supermarket empty-handed. In the Andalucian town of Antequera, the power and internet had just disappeared, card machines weren’t working and I had no cash. As I tried to remember what I had in the cupboards, I passed a woman on the street shouting up to someone on a balcony, ‘It’s all over Spain, France, Germany and Portugal’. Whatever she was talking about, I thought, it obviously had nothing to do with the power outage.
On the defensive | Sur in English

2 weeks ago | surinenglish.com | Mark Nayler

It is not often that you hear a prime minister announce a 670% increase to a portion of the national budget, effective immediately. But that's what happened this week, when Pedro Sánchez promised to meet Nato's defence spending goal of 2% of GDP by the end of this year, rather than 2029, as previously agreed. To make that happen, the Socialist leader unveiled a new €10.5 billion investment plan - almost €9 billion more than his government allocated to defence in 2024.
Connect three | Sur in English

3 weeks ago | surinenglish.com | Mark Nayler

A week after Pedro Sánchez visited China, Spain's economy minister Carlos Cuerpo was dispatched to Washington D.C. to meet with his American counterpart Scott Bessent. The purpose of both visits was the same: to assure the Chinese and American governments, respectively, that the EU is a reliable trading partner. The EU's trade commissioner, Maros Sefcovic, also visited D.C. this week to convey the same message.
European Leaders Talk of EU Army

1 month ago | fee.org | Mark Nayler

Could a 27-nation force even work? Europe is once again talking about forming its own defense alliance. The idea of a European army—discussed on and off since the early days of the Cold War—was revived in February by Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian president claims that Donald Trump’s retraction of military support for Ukraine and ambivalence towards the EU shows that the bloc urgently needs its own military unit.
Piggy bank | Sur in English

1 month ago | surinenglish.com | Mark Nayler

Pedro Sánchez travelled to Beijing this week, hoping to forge closer economic ties with China to counter Donald Trump's tariff onslaught. But there was a huge pig in the room during his latest talks with Chinese president Xi Jinping, which both leaders want to pretend isn't there. This was Sánchez's third visit to Jinping.