The Diplomat. Madrid
The end of year press conference offered by Mariano Rajoy offered nothing new in matters of foreign policy. It was centred on national issues, especially the economic situation, and the only international reference was an allusion to Spain taking up, on 1 January, a position on the UN’s Security council as a non-permanent member for the next two years, accompanied by a generic declaration that there Spain will defend freedom, Human Rights and International Cooperation.
Press questions didn’t show much interest in foreign affairs either, except for Spain’s role in the protection of persecuted Christians in a number of countries across the world. Rajoy’s answer was also a vague statement in defence of the rights of those minorities.
