Economy · July 2026

On July 24, 2026, Ford and Geely announced a joint venture in Spain to focus on the European market, marking Geely's first EU production base. The deal, reported by three sources, builds on a factory agreement disclosed the previous day. Italy is considering fuel price cuts and flexible fuel taxes as Prime Minister Meloni meets with the economy minister to address high petrol prices. Cyprus's development spending reached €412 million by mid-year, and the country is putting humans in charge of its AI future. The IMF commended Italy's fiscal consolidation progress and said it is time to accelerate, while Commerzbank's chairman called for talks with Unicredit. Spain's Galicia is betting on satellite AI to prevent summer 'megafires', and the government called a NASA site in Spain critical.