Southern Europe in January 2026: the most important developments in society
Southern Europe in January 2026 was dominated by the high-speed train collision in southern Spain on 18 January. Two trains collided after a derailment, killing between 39 and 43 people and injuring dozens more. Spain began three days of national mourning, and rescue teams searched the wreckage while authorities investigated the cause. A second derailment, near Barcelona, killed one person and injured 37, and a new speed limit was introduced, with train drivers being called to strike. By 27 January Spain had announced 20 million euros in compensation for the victims of the collision.
On 27 January Spain approved a plan to grant legal residency to about 500,000 undocumented migrants, describing it as a model based on human rights. Elsewhere, Germany led an EU push for migrant return hubs during talks in Cyprus, and Greece prepared a migration law to tighten action against illegal entry.
Severe weather struck the region. Cyclone Harry caused widespread damage and evacuations in Sicily, especially near Catania and Messina, and the regional governor asked for a state of emergency. The damage toll passed one billion euros by 22 January. Effects were also reported in Calabria, Sardinia, Malta, Corsica and Catalonia, and extreme rain fell in Athens. Severe weather in Greece killed two people. Later in the month a landslide left the Sicilian town of Niscemi on a cliff edge, Italy declared a state of emergency in several southern regions, and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited the town and announced initial recovery funding. Storm Kristin killed at least five people in Portugal, leaving hundreds of thousands without power, before moving into Spain.
In Italy, the publisher Gedi entered exclusive negotiations to sell La Stampa to the SAE Group, and a politician warned that a foreign takeover would threaten democracy. President Sergio Mattarella condemned the killing of protesters in Iran, while Spain summoned Iran's ambassador over the crackdown. On Holocaust Remembrance Day Meloni condemned the complicity of Fascism.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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