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Southern Europe is dominated by a dual crisis of infrastructure disaster in Spain and political realignment, as Italy's Meloni actively courts Trump while Portugal faces a presidential runoff between socialist and far-right candidates.
January 2026
Week of Jan 26, compared to 12-week average
No deviations this week.All weeks this month are quiet.
Top sources covering Southern Europe
The regional economy is overshadowed by severe transport disruption and market anxiety. A series of deadly high-speed train crashes in Spain has crippled a key rail corridor, while the Milan stock market fell sharply on new US tariff threats. Italy's Prime Minister publicly criticized Trump's Greenland tariff threats as a mistake.
Italian foreign policy is defined by Prime Minister Meloni's direct engagement with Trump, including a request to alter his Gaza peace board and a potential Nobel nomination, which has caused internal coalition splits over Ukraine. Concurrently, Portugal's political landscape is fracturing as its presidential election heads to a runoff between a socialist and a far-right candidate.
Security incidents are diffuse but include a terrorism-related arrest in Barcelona and a heightened maritime threat environment. Barcelona police arrested a businessman for financing Hamas, while Greece warned its shipping fleet of heightened risks after Black Sea drone attacks. Spain also backed the EU's listing of Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group.
Society is gripped by national mourning and trauma following catastrophic transport accidents and severe weather. Spain declared three days of mourning after a high-speed train collision killed dozens, a tragedy compounded by a cyclone causing widespread damage in Sicily and a deadly storm in Portugal.
