A nonprofit organisation based in Murcia, Bomberos por Bomberos (Firefighters for Firefighters), has launched a critical humanitarian operation in Venezuela, delivering safe drinking water to populations severely impacted by the devastating recent earthquakes. As the organisation’s first international mission, the dedicated team has successfully completed complex technical installations to link a water well to a specialised purification unit located at the Caribe fire station in the Venezuelan city of La Guaira.

Local nonprofit’s first international mission delivers vital water supplies

This water treatment plant, a compact, high-capacity unit funded by the Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia (UCAM), can process up to 3,000 litres of clean drinking water every hour. The team constructed PVC pipelines to carry unpurified water from the well directly into the filtration system and out to an accessible distribution hub.

Bomberos por Bomberos is also coordinating tanker trucks equipped with large holding tanks to transport clean water directly into camps and remote settlements, where vulnerable local people are currently taking shelter.

Dedicated mobile distribution teams tackling a growing health crisis

Access to uncontaminated drinking water across the regions affected by the earthquakes has become critically scarce. Humanitarian workers warn that the deficit will worsen as other relief organisations phase out bottled water distributions in temporary camps. Without access to safe supplies, many desperate residents have turned to untreated well water, sparking widespread gastrointestinal illnesses and health complications.

Community awareness drives demand at local fire station

Local creators and Venezuelan social media channels have actively spread news about the new purification plant, driving a steady increase in daily demand at the Caribe fire station. With this effort, Bomberos por Bomberos continues to expand its logistics footprint to keep pace with the growing need for clean, fresh water.

Working tirelessly to provide water for displaced people, the Murcian firefighters are playing an essential role in stabilising public health and supporting vulnerable families through this devastating crisis. It is just one of the ways Murcian emergency responders and nonprofit organisations are working to spread humanitarian aid in light of the earthquake disaster in Venezuela.

More than six million people in Spain now bank with Revolut, yet not one of their euros is protected by the Spanish deposit fund. A licence granted in Paris on Monday August 10 could change which country stands behind that money.

The €100,000 guarantee that comes from Lithuania 

Revolut has served Spanish customers since 2023 through Revolut Bank UAB, Sucursal en España. Their branch registration brought Spanish IBANs, direct debits for utility bills and Social Security, and access to Bizum.  What it didn’t bring was a Spanish guarantee. Revolut’s own deposit insurance information for Spain states that money held with Revolut Bank UAB is insured by the Lithuanian public institution Deposit and Investment Insurance, up to €100,000 for a single depositor.

That is the same figure the Spanish deposit guarantee fund covers, although the difference is whose fund would pay out, and which country’s process a saver in Almería or Málaga would have to follow to get the money back. 

France goes first while Spain is kept waiting

Revolut Bank S.A. received its full licence on Monday August 10 after a joint assessment by the French prudential regulator (ACPR), and the European Central Bank, with the decision adopted by the ECB Governing Council. The company said the new entity will “progressively begin serving customers across Europe, starting with France, with other European markets including Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain to follow in subsequent phases”.

No timetable has been published for any market beyond France. The Lithuanian entity remains, in Revolut’s words, a cornerstone of operations, and both banks are supervised by the ECB in what the company calls a dual-hub model. 

For customers in France, eligible deposits will come under the Fonds de garantie des dépôts et de résolution (FGDR), the French scheme, as accounts transfer across. If Spain follows the same route, Spanish balances would shift from Lithuanian cover to French cover. 

Mortgages are the prize Revolut wants in Spain

Revolut closed 2025 with 6.3 million customers in Spain, its third-largest market, and has said it wants eight million by the end of this year. It began installing its own cash machines in Madrid and Barcelona last year and plans 200 across Spain during 2026.

The obvious gap is lending. Revolut has said it intends to launch mortgages in Spain, the product that generates much of the profit at Santander, BBVA and CaixaBank, using the fully digital model it already runs in Lithuania. 

A full licence in a large euro-area market gives the group firmer regulatory footing to widen lending and savings products across the region. In France that includes the Livret A and other tax-free regulated savings accounts. Spain has no direct equivalent, so the practical benefit there is more likely to arrive as credit.

The ECB curbed Revolut’s product launches only last year

Any Spanish rollout depends on supervisors. In July 2025 the ECB told Revolut’s European board that its Lithuanian bank could not launch new products across the European Economic Area until it addressed deficiencies in governance, risk, compliance and legal controls, according to details first reported by the Financial Times in June 2026.

The regulator ordered an independent review of the product approval framework and required the board to assess the capital and liquidity impact of new launches. Revolut said it had strengthened its internal controls and was in “continuous and constructive dialogue” with its regulators.

The Bank of Lithuania separately fined Revolut Bank €3.5 million in April 2025 over shortcomings in monitoring transactions and business relationships. It said it found no confirmed cases of money laundering.

What account holders in Spain should watch for

Nothing changes for a Spanish account today. Balances, IBANs and card details stay as they are, and Revolut has said existing customers will be told directly about any changes. The signal to watch is the deposit information inside the app and in the terms sent by email. When the entity holding the money changes from Revolut Bank UAB to Revolut Bank S.A., the guarantee moves with it, and so does the office a saver would need to contact if anything went wrong.

Spain has spent the past few weeks dealing with intense pressure on its borders, while just across the water, a very different border has been dramatically opened up.

Gibraltar’s land frontier with Spain disappeared on July 15 under the new UK-EU agreement, moving Schengen immigration controls to the Rock’s airport and port. For British expats living on the Costa del Sol, that should mean easier journeys into Gibraltar. Yet Spanish security officers are warning that quicker crossings must not come at the cost of proper border controls.

The timing is particularly interesting. Spain has recently faced a major migration crisis in Ceuta, where tens of thousands of people crossed from Morocco, putting enormous pressure on Spanish authorities, and the events in Ceuta have put border security firmly back in the spotlight. That makes one question increasingly relevant: could Gibraltar’s new system create opportunities for people trying to reach the Schengen area illegally?

Guardia Civil warns that security cannot be sacrificed

Olaya Salardon, communications secretary of the Asociación Unificada de la Guardia Civil, has warned that officers need much greater clarity about how the new Gibraltar arrangements will work. “Our concern is not the fence itself, but that security does not become a bargaining chip,” she said. Spanish officers want (and still don’t have) clear information about responsibilities, protocols and which authorities will take charge of particular border and security operations.

That matters because the old physical frontier has not simply disappeared without replacement. Schengen controls have moved to Gibraltar’s airport and port, where Spanish officials and Frontex are involved under the new arrangements.

Salardon has warned that any gaps in security could benefit organised criminal groups rather than ordinary citizens. For British expats who regularly travel between Spain and Gibraltar, that concern is not just theoretical. A border that is quicker to cross is only an improvement if travellers can also have confidence in the system protecting it.

Gibraltar says it must not become a back door into Schengen

Gibraltar’s Chief Minister Fabian Picardo has also addressed the issue directly. He has argued that the Rock should not be regarded simply as a convenient gateway into the Schengen area. “There has to be an economic relationship with Gibraltar, you have to contribute to Gibraltar loyally,” Picardo said, while also stressing that Gibraltar should not be seen “simply as a door to enter the Schengen area more easily”.

His comments take on added relevance after the recent events in Ceuta. Spanish authorities were faced with a huge influx of people arriving from Morocco, leading to a major security operation and agreements on returning migrants. The episode demonstrated just how quickly pressure can build around Spain’s external borders.

Gibraltar is a completely different situation, and there is no suggestion that the Ceuta events are linked to the Rock. However, both cases underline why control of Europe’s external borders remains such a sensitive issue.

What does this mean for British expats?

For British residents in Spain, the most visible change is likely to be much easier movement by road. Cars travelling between La Linea and Gibraltar no longer face the old routine land-border checks, removing one of the biggest frustrations for commuters, shoppers and visitors. Brexit rules have not, however, disappeared.

British citizens are still subject to the relevant Schengen entry requirements when entering the Schengen area unless they benefit from specific residence or other rights. The new Gibraltar arrangement does not turn a British passport into an EU passport or restore general freedom of movement. That distinction could become increasingly important as people get used to the new border.

Security is not the only issue British expats will notice. Gibraltar has introduced a new Transaction Tax as part of the customs arrangements linked to the treaty. The standard rate started at 15 per cent, with more changes due under the agreed timetable. Gibraltar’s government has also had to correct claims that the new tax automatically means shop prices will rise by 15 per cent.

Officials say the tax is based on the value of goods when imported or produced rather than simply being added to the final price paid by customers. Tobacco, alcohol and fuel are also covered by new arrangements intended to reduce tax differences with Spain and tackle smuggling. For expats who regularly cross the border to shop or fill the car, those changes could eventually be just as noticeable as the disappearance of the old frontier.

The fence has gone: Now the system faces its first real test

Gibraltar’s new border is supposed to make life easier for thousands of people who cross between the Rock and Spain every day. Yet the real test will be whether faster movement can be delivered while maintaining effective immigration, customs and criminal controls.

The Guardia Civil wants reassurance that security will not be sacrificed. Picardo insists Gibraltar should not become an easy gateway into Schengen. Spain’s recent experience in Ceuta shows why those questions matter.