Today in Spain: A roundup of the latest news on Tuesday

Record three million foreign workers in Spain

New data from Spain’s Social Security system shows that it has exceeded 3 million foreign affiliates for the first time in history, reaching 3,070,831 in May, after an increase of 73,524 compared to April and 187,864 compared to a year earlier.

Foreign workers now account for 14.1 percent of total contributors to the system in Spain.

Spain lags behind EU in granting asylum despite being the second largest recipient

Figures have revealed that Spain sits bottom of EU rankings when it comes to approving asylum applications from migrants arriving at its borders.

However, Spain also receives the second most applications in the bloc, some 167,000 behind Germany, according to the annual report on refugees by the Spanish Commission for Refugee Aid (CEAR).

Spain's international protection recognition rate - that is, the number of applications accepted out of the total number received - has increased slightly, from 12.6 percent in 2023 to 18.5 percent last year, but even so, the difference is huge to the wider European rate, which stands at 46 percent.

Catalan government to cover down payment for young property buyers

Catalan president Salvador Illa on Monday announced that his government will approve €500 million for young people looking to access their first home.

These "Emancipation Loans" will cover 20 percent of the value of the property (corresponding to the down payment), they will have zero interest, and they will not have to be repaid until the end of the mortgage.

EU bank pledges 1.6 bn euros for France-Spain power link

The European Investment Bank on Monday announced €1.6 billion of funding for a major electricity interconnection between France and Spain, fulfilling demands by Madrid after the huge April blackout.

Experts believe the severity of one of Europe's largest power outages, which paralysed the entire Iberian Peninsula on April 28th, could have been mitigated with more interconnections between the neighbouring countries.

The EIB said it would provide loans to the Spanish and French grid operators, Red Eléctrica and RTE, for the Bay of Biscay project, which will almost double power exchange capacity from 2,800 to 5,000 megawatts.

The interconnection, already under construction and due to start in 2028, will stretch over 400 kilometres (249 miles), including 300 kilometres under the Atlantic, the EIB added in a statement.

The European Union has set an interconnection target for member states of at least 15 percent of installed electricity production capacity by 2030 to improve the bloc's energy security.

The blackout exposed Spain and Portugal's relative lack of interconnections, with support from France and Morocco playing an important role in restoring power.

With additional reporting by Alex Dunham and AFP.