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Shane Pearlman was a digital nomad for 23 years until he settled in the Canary Islands with his family. After months of tedious paperwork, he managed to start a new business in Spain, Repeople, the largest community of remote workers in the country.
The business partner now helps other professionals follow his path: "I saw an idea. I saw this digital nomad community and I said look, we need to really make things easy for families to be flexible, and I couldn't because I had the wrong visa type."
To avoid this difficulty in visa status, a new visa will allow digital nomads to stay in Spain for up to three years, as part of a new start-up law, aimed at attracting high-value professionals to incorporate them into Spain's creative community.
Pearlman thinks the word "nomad is just a weird form of tourism" and that the visa allows people to "break that outsider cycle".
He added that when you are in a community long enough to get to know your neighbours, that is when "chemistry" and "innovation" happens, which will lead to the creation of jobs.
At a recent Spanish National Innovation Company (Enisa) event in Madrid, Shane Pearlman shared his experience of nomad working with other attendees.
It provided digital nomads and Spanish companies the opportunity to establish relationships and alliances, creating a pool of talent for the Spanish start-up ecosystem.
The new start-up law also includes tax advantages for investors, workers, and start-ups in their first five years, which Jose Bayón, the CEO of Enisa, said will help companies "retain more talent in order to be able to grow".
The law will benefit 23,000 start-ups like Komborebi at La Nave, Madrid's municipal innovation incubator, which after three years is ready to launch its first product.
Alberto Torres, Chief Technology Officer, at Komborebi, a start-up specialising in AI solutions, told Euronews: "All the time you are developing a product until you launch it on the market or you don't have initial customers, all that is an outlay that you have to make yourself."
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Valentine’s Day is a day to celebrate romance and love in many different cultures.
Each 14 February, many media outlets run articles about the best plans for the day, top gift ideas for your loved one, or, alternatively, how to celebrate this occasion if someone is single.
However, on a day when love could include sexual and affective moments, little can be found on ways to have healthy, safe, consensual, and pleasurable sex.
In this regard, contraception plays a key role, and access to it is about choice and pleasure.
Europeans should have better access to contraception
Increased use of effective contraception contributes to safe and responsible sexual behaviour, which reduces the risk of endometrial and ovarian cancer as well as the number of unintended pregnancies, and potentially leads to fewer sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Perhaps people might have heard of contraceptive pills, sterilisation, or the male condom, but what about intrauterine devices (IUDs), implants, or female condoms?
People dressed up as coloured condoms collect donations for the Frankfurt AIDSaid during a rally in July 2016Frank Rumpenhorst/AP
Unfortunately, many people in Europe lack access to the full range of information and contraceptive supplies that would allow them an informed choice.
Everyone should be empowered to make informed decisions about family planning.
Some might think that this is something European citizens benefit from already since Europe has the highest contraceptive prevalence rates and the lowest abortion rates in the world.
If we look in detail, nevertheless, this cannot be taken for granted.
A map of contraception policies is here to help
A recent publication called Contraception Policy Atlas Europe 2023 was launched by the European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights (EPF).
It is a map that scores 46 countries across geographical Europe on access to modern contraception focusing on supplies, counselling, and online information.
According to this publication, for instance, in countries such as Lithuania, Estonia, Hungary, Romania or Luxembourg, governments are putting considerable efforts into developing websites providing information on contraception.
A man passes a giant condom that promotes safer sex on a pedestrian street in Cologne, November 2016AP Photo/Martin Meissner
With the Internet being young people’s first source of information, these informative websites are becoming more interactive and include decision aid, videos with explanations of the methods, or hotlines, among others.
Having said that, only 19 countries — representing 41% of the countries analysed — provide good or exceptional governmental websites.
The research shows that 89% of countries analysed cover counselling within the national system, and 43% cover contraceptives in their national health system, including long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs), such as IUDs and implants.
Our continent has to fight for sexual and reproductive rights
Notwithstanding, there is an increasing polarisation between Western and Eastern Europe.
While Western European countries are progressively expanding free access to contraception for young people and even providing emergency contraception for free (like France or Belgium), several countries in Eastern Europe stopped supporting vulnerable groups with contraception (such as North Macedonia or Armenia).
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A banner reads "My body, my choice" as demonstrators take part in a pro-choice rally in Paris, July 2022CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT/AFP or licensors
Likewise, while evidence suggests an increase in the use of modern contraception — including methods such as the pill, male or female sterilisation, implants, and IUDs — in Eastern Europe, governments in this region do not provide a political response to this need.
In an era riven by misinformation and marked by the fragmentation of the welfare state, it is time to act and fight for sexual and reproductive rights.
Public health institutions must ensure reliable information on a broad range of modern, effective contraception and grant access to free contraceptive methods. No one should be left behind.
Sophie in ‘t Veld (Renew) and Predrag Fred Mati？ (S&D) are Members of the European Parliament (MEPs).
At Euronews, we believe all views matter. Contact us at view@euronews.com to send pitches or submissions and be part of the conversation.
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Europe has always been a leader in the fight against climate change. The United States' recent commitment to catching up is cause for celebration, not concern.
Yes, greening our industries and attracting innovators will entail competition with trade partners as we jostle to create growth and jobs under new economic conditions.
But the race to Net Zero can only be held — and won — if it generates momentum.
Ultimately, slashing emissions is our best bet for long-term prosperity, and the EU is facing the challenge with its eyes wide open.
Brussels should nudge its partners along the way
While working on the Paris Agreement, it was clear that the path to Net Zero could not solely depend on states or public money alone.
It required everyone based on a desirable future embraced by citizens, industry, and commerce alike.
Since Paris, many corporate and industrial actors have shown good faith along the path. It is now the EU’s job to nudge them along the way as we enter the next phase of the climate fight.
It’s clear that investing in a clean economy is the best way to secure a prosperous future and tackle inflation concurrently.
US President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act proves that this is finally being understood.
The bill itself underlines the growing potential of clean manufacturing through a raft of financial subsidies to support clean industry. It is also a long-awaited competitive boost for clean production globally.
Investments in clean energy have grown everywhere, but we’re still far off the mark, and the trend must rapidly increase over the coming decade if we are to keep global temperature rises below 1.5oC.
The IRA is above all a “call to action” that Europe’s clean technology leadership must embrace.
A new and welcome phase in climate fight
While key pieces of European climate regulation under the "Fit for 55" package are being concluded by lawmakers, the EU is now forging its own industrial strategy alongside the IRA, with a new focus on incentivising clean growth to support its 2030 climate target and create security for green investors.
Some have described the US IRA's $369 billion (€343bn) clean tech package as an 'ice bucket' moment for European industrial strategy.
While the EU's attempts to design meaningful industrial strategies have often lacked urgency, the IRA shows that we have entered a new and welcome phase in the climate fight.
Robert Habeck, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, inspects a cavern storage facility in Bad Lauchstaedt in July 2022 Soeren Stache/dpa via AP
Building upon existing climate laws and policies, Brussels must identify the path to a socially-just economic and industrial paradigm that prioritises enterprise and innovation rather than solely underpinning the profitability of existing value chains.
From setting targets to boost EVs (electric vehicles) and phasing out the ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) to enacting sweeping recovery plans focused on renewables energy investment with clear green criteria and establishing a comprehensive carbon market: Europe has any number of good precedents to emulate.
EU's green transformation depends on the people
A global race to scale up clean manufacturing is commendable if it brings about lasting climate and socio-economic benefits. The four pillars of the Green Deal Industrial Plan, announced by President Von der Leyen, provide a solid basis to make this happen.
The IRA is, above all, a “call to action” that Europe’s clean technology leadership must embrace. However, the EU's competitiveness does not rely on public finance alone.
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In preserving European competitiveness, we must not merely direct public money to the old carbon-intensive industrial base and shore up the fossil-fueled status quo.
Europe must set clear performance conditions linked to subsidies, including state aid, and require commitments from companies to decarbonise their value chains and invest in European production while not neglecting third-country trading partners.
Deeper cooperation with the rest of the world will not only accelerate the international climate agenda, but also reinforce EU security.
Clean-tech expansion must go hand-in-glove with clean energy infrastructure rollout. Greater support through RePowerEU should target renewables deployment by streamlining the permitting process to overcome Europe’s energy cost gap with its competitors.
Manufacturing investment will place greater demands on European labour markets. The EU has an obligation to provide the right conditions for job creation and support skills and training of clean production workers, and those transitioning from the old carbon economy.
The EU green industry transformation depends on the people, and we must embark on this together and seize the co-benefits it can bring.
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It's not all about money
The EU’s Green Deal is the most advanced regulatory climate change framework in the world and is currently the best-in-class implementation plan of the Paris Agreement.
In its enactment, Europe has proven itself to be an exemplary and reliable global player.
Now, the EU’s companion to the IRA demands bold leadership to steer our economy in a prosperous new direction while protecting economic relations with its partners.
Deeper cooperation with the rest of the world will not only accelerate the international climate agenda but also reinforce EU security.
An electric vehicle charges at a shopping center, August 2022 AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vasquez
And where the IRA’s example shows that ambitious clean tech subsidies could not be achieved in Congress without significant concessions to fossil fuel interests, Europe can heed that lesson and enact a bolder version, which fully protects our green transition from “policy capture” by entrenched fossil fuel actors.
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Supporting developing and emerging economies through initiatives like Just Energy Transition Partnerships and the EU’s external investment plans can boost clean tech exports and the green economic development of partner countries.
Ultimately, European leaders must see the US IRA not as a threat but as proof that the Old Continent was a step ahead. It’s time to keep the lead.
Laurence Tubiana is CEO of the European Climate Foundation and one of the key architects of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.
At Euronews, we believe all views matter. Contact us at view@euronews.com to send pitches or submissions and be part of the conversation.