The Diplomat in Spain

Agustín Santos y Jorge Moragas.

Luis Ayllón. 13/07/2018

The current Spanish consul in Perpiñán (France), Agustín Santos, will be the substitute of Jorge Moragas at the head of the Permanent Representation of Spain to the UN, as The Diplomat learned from reliable sources.

Santos was the head of the Cabinet of Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos between 2008 and the end of 2010. In 2011 he was sent to Geneva (Switzerland) as Spain’s ambassador to the United Nations Office and International Organizations. Later, he was consul general of Spain in Cairo and in Perpignan he had been in charge of the Spanish Consulate since August of last year.

The appointment of Santos could take place in the Council of Ministers today or be delayed until next week, since it is not necessary to request the placet because it is an international organization. In this case, it would be Moragas who will accompany the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, who on Wednesday, the 18th, will be at the UN to present the voluntary examination of Spain on the 2030 Agenda, in the framework of a meeting of the Political Forum High Level United Nations.

Borrell said yesterday in Onda Cero that, between the Council of Ministers today and next Friday, 90 percent of the relays of ambassadors that he intends to carry out would be resolved after his arrival at the Palace of Santa Cruz, when he decided to paralyze the cast designed by Alfonso Dastis, as announced by The Diplomat.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the ambassador in the United States, Pedro Morenés, who had already made the charge at his disposal, and the permanent representative to the United Nations, Jorge Moragas, will cease to hold office.

In the first case, he recalled that Morenés is a «political ambassador» of the PP and that the former minister understands that the new socialist government wants to put another person in his position. In this sense, Borrell stressed that it has nothing to do with his performance before the president of the Generalitat, Joaquim Torra, which he valued himself posiivamente and defended in Parliament. As for the Embassy to the UN, he saw «logical» the change, in a clear reference to Moragas was the head of the Cabinet of Mariano Rajoy in La Moncloa.

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The undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, Beatriz Larrotcha, could be replaced today by Ángeles Moreno

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The minister will also have to find a new post for the undersecretary, Beatriz Larrotcha, who today could be replaced by Ángeles Moreno, as The Diplomat advanced on June 18. Finally, Borrell has decided to reactivate the pleas of pleasure for a good number of the people to whom an Embassy had been assigned.

Thus, in today’s Council of Ministers, a dozen appointments could be made in cases where the placet had already been granted. This is the case of Guillermo Ardizone to lead the Spanish legation in Tunisia; Fernando Alonso in Gabon; and Pedro Sanz in Haiti.