World

No, 97% of people on Spain’s minimum basic income are not migrants

Published

2 years ago

June 5, 2024

No, 97% of people on Spain’s minimum basic income are not migrants

Ahead of the EU and UK elections, commentators and social media users are making factually incorrect claims about immigration in Europe.

Migration is typically a hot topic in any election campaign and is often fuel for inflammatory debates and false claims.

Whether they’re about benefits or immigration rates, the allegations are usually provocative and simply wrong.

Take this example from Spain:

This post on Facebook says that almost 97% of people on Spain’s minimum basic income are immigrants.

The minimum basic income is a social security benefit that provides a basic wage to the economically vulnerable.

It can range from about €600 to €1,400 a month, depending on the beneficiary’s living conditions.

But the Facebook post is wrong for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, it says that it’s the Ministry of Labour that pays out the minimum basic income when it’s actually the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration.

But more importantly, it’s wrong because according to the inclusion ministry’s official data for April, 82.4% of beneficiaries held Spanish nationality, while only 17.6% were foreigners.

The post also incorrectly estimates the number of people receiving the minimum basic income: in reality, the benefit was paid to some 600,000 homes, in which almost 1.8 million people live.

Do migrants outnumber native population in European capitals?

Elsewhere on the continent, a clip by Dutch far-right activist Eva Vlaardingerbroek alleges that most of the populations of Amsterdam, Brussels and London are immigrants.

She also says that the completely baseless “great replacement theory” is a reality rather than a far-right conjecture meant to imply that Europe’s white population is being supplanted by immigrants from elsewhere.

All of this is incorrect.

Official numbers from the Dutch statistics office reveal that only 37% of Amsterdam’s population was born outside the Netherlands.

Figures from Belgium’s statistics agency put the number of Brussels residents born outside the country at 48%.

And in London, a 2021 census revealed that 41% of the capital’s population wasn’t born in the UK, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Furthermore, simply being born elsewhere is no indicator of background, and it can’t be used to demonstrate an otherwise unprovable hypothesis.

While it’s true that immigration is an important issue and it’s valid to have concerns about how it’s handled, it’s crucial to make sure any claims about it are based in fact.

Immigration remains key talking point in EU elections

With the European elections just days away, immigration policy is sure to be one of the main themes voters will have in mind as they head to the polls, particularly as forecasts predict a sway to the right.

Euronews’ exclusive poll revealed that half of Europeans disapproved of the EU’s stance on migration, demanding stronger border controls.

Various national governments and European Parliament hopefuls have also taken steps during the campaign to clamp down on immigration, perhaps in a last ditch attempt to hoover up votes.

Portugal has put an end to a regime allowing foreigners to enter the country and only then apply for a residence permit, while several Irish parties have voiced their opposition to the government’s “liberal” migration policy.

This follows after the EU signed off on its New Pact on Migration and Asylum, reforming the bloc’s migration rules to ensure all member states, regardless of location, take their fair share.

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World

Did the EU bypass Hungary’s veto on Ukraine’s €90 billion loan?

Published

60 minutes ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Did the EU bypass Hungary’s veto on Ukraine’s €90 billion loan?

A post on X by European Parliament President Roberta Metsola has triggered a wave of misinformation linked to the EU’s €90 billion support loan to Ukraine, which is designed to help Kyiv meet its general budget and defence needs amid Russia’s ongoing invasion.

Hungary said earlier this week that it would block both the loan — agreed by EU leaders in December — and a new EU sanctions package against Moscow amid a dispute over oil supplies.

Shortly afterwards, Metsola posted on X that she had signed the Ukraine support loan on behalf of the parliament.

She said the funds would be used to maintain essential public services, support Ukraine’s defence, protect shared European security, and anchor Ukraine’s future within Europe.

The announcement triggered a wave of reactions online, with some claiming Hungary’s veto had been ignored, but this is incorrect.

Metsola did sign the loan on behalf of the European Parliament, but that’s only one step in the EU’s legislative process. Her signature does not mean the loan has been definitively implemented.

How the process works

In December, after failing to reach an agreement on using frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine’s war effort, the European Council agreed in principle to provide €90 billion to help Kyiv meet its budgetary and military needs over the next two years.

On 14 January, the European Commission put forward a package of legislative proposals to ensure continued financial support for Ukraine in 2026 and 2027.

These included a proposal to establish a €90 billion Ukraine support loan, amendments to the Ukraine Facility — the EU instrument used to deliver budgetary assistance — and changes to the EU’s multiannual financial framework so the loan could be backed by any unused budgetary “headroom”.

Under EU law, these proposals must be adopted by both the European Parliament and the European Council. Because the loan requires amendments to EU budgetary rules, it ultimately needs unanimous approval from all member states.

Metsola’s signature therefore does not amount to a final decision, nor does it override Hungary’s veto.

The oil dispute behind Hungary’s opposition

Budapest says its objections are linked to a dispute over the Druzhba pipeline, a Soviet-era route that carries Russian oil via Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia.

According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), Hungary and Slovakia imported an estimated €137 million worth of Russian crude through the pipeline in January alone, under a temporary EU exemption.

Oil flows reportedly stopped in late January after a Russian air strike that Kyiv says damaged the pipeline’s southern branch in western Ukraine. Hungary disputes this, with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán accusing Ukraine of blocking it from being used.

Speaking in Kyiv alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the pipeline had been damaged by Russia, not Kyiv.

He added that repairs were dangerous and could not be carried out quickly without putting Ukrainian servicemen in danger.

Tensions escalated further after reports that Ukraine struck a Russian pumping station serving the pipeline. Orbán responded by ordering increased security at critical infrastructure sites, claiming Kyiv was attempting to disrupt Hungary’s energy system.

World

Video: Pakistan Launches Airstrikes on Afghanistan

Published

11 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Video: Pakistan Launches Airstrikes on Afghanistan

new video loaded: Pakistan Launches Airstrikes on Afghanistan

Tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan escalated on Friday as the two countries clashed.

By Monika Cvorak

February 27, 2026

Denmark’s Prime Minister Calls For a Snap Parliamentary Election