Southern Europe in January 2026: the most important developments in economy
Southern Europe in January 2026 was dominated by rail accidents in Spain. On 18 January a high-speed train collision and derailment in the south of the country, near Córdoba, involved two trains and halted service between Madrid and Andalusia. Reported deaths ranged from 21 to 39 in the first days and rose to 43 by 21 January, with more than 150 people injured. It ranked among the deadliest rail accidents in Spain in recent decades. The government ordered a speed limit on the Madrid-Barcelona line, and speed restrictions were placed on the Madrid-Valencia line. Investigators found marks of a broken track on the derailed train. On 21 January a passenger train derailed in Barcelona, killing one person, and a fourth incident in a week followed on 22 January, when a train hit a crane. By 28 January Spain aimed to rebuild the Madrid-Seville high-speed line within ten days.
The second theme was the US tariff threats linked to Greenland. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called the threats a mistake and said she urged President Donald Trump to avoid escalating the trade dispute. Leaders of a party in her governing coalition presented the threats as a positive development. The Milan stock exchange closed down 1.32 percent on 19 January, a loss of 14.4 billion euros in market value, and fell again the next day as the European Parliament moved to suspend the EU-US trade deal.
Other items came from individual countries. Italy sought a freeze on the EU carbon border tax while indicating readiness to sign the EU trade agreement with the Mercosur bloc. Stellantis's Italian vehicle production fell 20 percent in 2025 to below 380,000 units. Greece offered farmers cheaper fuel and compensation for crop damage in an effort to end nationwide road blockades. Spain approved the Madrid Nuevo Norte development, and Venture Global won an arbitration case brought by Repsol. EasyJet reported a 52 percent rise in losses.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
Click a day in the chart above for that day's brief.