As we are waiting for Sánchez to show up for his press conference at the (very grand) Spanish embassy at the Vatican, we have just heard from Pope Leo, who decried what he called a “sharp intensification” of the war in Ukraine, telling pilgrims at his weekly audience at the Vatican that he wanted to express closeness to civilians killed in recent attacks.

“I am following with concern the war in Ukraine,” Leo, the first US pope, said. “War does not solve problems, but aggravates them. It does not build security, but multiplies suffering and hatred.”

“Where missiles and drones fall, hopes also fall, homes and places of worship are destroyed, and innocent lives are shattered,” he said in comments reported by Reuters.

in Madrid

In Spain, where temperatures could reach 40C (104F) this week, an orange weather alert was issued for the Basque Country amid predictions that the northern region could see the mercury hit 37C on Wednesday. Temperatures of 36C to 38C were forecast for southern regions, with a high of 38C in the southwestern city of Badajoz.

Spain’s state meteorological office, Aemet, said temperatures more normally seen in July had already been recorded across the country, adding that the current heat was “more characteristic of the dog days, the hottest period of the year”. It also said that such hot spells were the result of the climate emergency.

“It should be pointed out that climate change is leading to episodes of high temperatures throughout the year that are more frequent and more intense than in previous decades,” said Rubén del Campo, an Aemet spokesperson.

“Both this episode and the atmospheric pattern that’s causing it are part and parcel of climate change and of what’s been observed in recent years.”

Separately, things are heating up in Spain quite literally, too.

For what it’s worth, Pedro Sánchez has now arrived at the Vatican, where he is expected to meet Pope Leo.

The meeting comes just over a week before Leo’s planned visit to Spain, set to begin on 6 June.

Leo will visit Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands and deliver twelve speeches, preside over four masses, and have around ten meetings with all sorts of leaders, according to the official schedule.

One of the key parts of the trip will include the inauguration and blessing of the Tower of Jesus Christ on the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia, which was completed earlier this year, bringing the church to its maximum final height 144 years after work began.

Sánchez is expected to brief the press once he’s out of his meeting.

in Madrid

The coming days and weeks are shaping up to be an anxious time for Pedro Sánchez, his family, his party and his administration.

Tomorrow, the PM’s younger brother, David Sánchez, will go on trial over allegations that he was handed a bespoke job by the socialist-led council of the south-western city of Badajoz in July 2017, when his brother was the national leader of the PSOE but was not yet prime minister.

Meanwhile, a judge investigating accusations that Sánchez’s wife, Begoña Gómez, used her influence as the spouse of the prime minister to secure sponsors for a university master’s degree course she ran and used state funds to pay her assistant for help with personal matters, has summoned her to appear on 9 June.

David Sánchez and Gómez have denied any wrongdoing. Both have found themselves under investigation following complaints brought by the pressure group Manos Limpias (Clean Hands), a self-styled trade union with far-right links that has a long history of using the courts to pursue political targets.

The prime minister – who has said his family have been the victims of a “harassment and bullying operation” waged by his political and media opponents – has insisted that neither has committed any offence. Sánchez has also openly questioned the independence of some members of the Spanish judiciary, claiming last year that, “there’s no doubt that there are judges doing politics and there are politicians trying to do justice”.

Things took another bleak turn for the socialists last week when the former PSOE prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was placed under investigation by a judge examining the state bailout of a Venezuela-linked airline during the Covid pandemic.

Zapatero, a totemic figure on the Spanish left who served as prime minister from 2004 to 2011, will appear before the judge on 18 and 19 June.

The latest investigation is part of an inquiry into the €53m (£46m) state rescue of the Spanish airline Plus Ultra in March 2021. Prosecutors are examining whether the company made “inadequate use” of the public funds the government approved for the bailout, while anti-corruption police are investigating whether the airline used the rescue money to launder funds from Venezuela through France, Switzerland and Spain.

According to the investigating judge, Zapatero is alleged to have overseen “a hierarchical structure of influence peddling”, whose purpose was “to obtain economic benefits through intermediation and the exercise of influence before public bodies in favour of third parties, mainly Plus Ultra”.

Zapatero released a video last week in which he insisted on his innocence and stated his willingness to cooperate with the investigation.

“I’d like to reaffirm that all my public and private activity has always been conducted with absolute respect for the law,” he said, adding he had never carried out “any action” relating to the airline’s bailout.

Spanish police entered the ruling Socialist Party’s headquarters in Madrid on a judicial order to gather information on a possible illegal financing scheme, several news Spanish news outlets reported.

A spokesperson for the Guardia Civil force told Reuters officers had entered the premises but did not disclose any further details since the proceedings are secret.

The search takes place amid intensifying focus on separate allegations of influence peddling and corruption linked to former prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and the immediate family of current PM Pedro Sánchez, creating a somewhat precarious situation for both the party and the embattled premier.

Sánchez, however, is in Rome today for a visit to the Vatican, where he is scheduled to meet with Pope Leo this morning. A press conference is expected following the meeting, where he will undoubtedly face a barrage of questions regarding the searches back in Madrid.

Elsewhere, I will keep an eye on day three of the heatwave engulfing large parts of western Europe, the latest news coming from Ukraine and the Baltics, and the UK-Polish defence and security treaty that will be signed in London.

Lots to cover.

It’s Wednesday, 27 May 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.

Good morning.