Luis Ayllón
His Majesty the King took the opportunity yesterday of the presentation of titles to 35 new diplomats to stress, in the midst of the crisis with Morocco, that “Spain is Europe” and that “Europe is an inseparable part of our identity”.
Don Felipe went to the Diplomatic School for a traditional ceremony, but on this occasion it was special in that the new diplomats were unable to have their families present, due to the pandemic situation. In fact, as the monarch himself and the number one of the graduating class, Alejandro Robles, who spoke on behalf of his classmates, said, they are “the covid graduation class” and as such have had a peculiar training period.
The 20 men and 15 women who have entered the Diplomatic Career were accompanied by the top management of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, headed by its head, Arancha González Laya, and by the Director of the Diplomatic School, Alberto Antón, and his predecessor in the post, Fernando Fernández-Arias.
In opening the ceremony, Antón highlighted the percentage of men and women who are part of the graduating class, which, he said, more or less corresponds to the proportion of candidates.
Minister González Laya then spoke, highlighting the “enormous” effort made by the staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in these times of pandemic, and announced to the new diplomats that they must contribute to providing “a better public service to our citizens” on a daily basis.
For this reason, he called for “perseverance, work capacity, empathy and solidarity with colleagues, indicating that the diplomatic career “is more than a profession, it is a way of life”. He also assured them that he would be at their side in this effort.
Afterwards, the King presented the titles to the newly appointed Third Secretaries, and gave a speech in which he reminded them that they are assuming a permanent commitment to service and defence of Spain’s interests, “which is the same as saying,” he said, “the values of our Constitution, the same values that inspire our foreign policy: The defence of democracy, respect for human rights, international legality, tolerance and respect for diversity, the desire for solidarity that translates into cooperation for development, the promotion of our common language, culture and knowledge, and the defence of the environment…”.
In his speech, Don Felipe placed special emphasis on Spain’s European dimension, words that are of particular interest at a time when our country welcomes the support of the European Union in the face of the challenge posed by Morocco in allowing massive numbers of immigrants to enter Ceuta.
“Spain is Europe, and Europe is an inseparable part of our identity. It is this intrinsic relationship that means that European policy towards our country is not conceived as a foreign policy in the traditional sense. We are members of the same historical, cultural and geographical reality, and partners in the same integration project. This perspective should accompany you throughout your career”.
After insisting that Spain “is part of a European project, of progress and well-being, in a world defined by growing complexity”, he said: “As fully committed participants, we want to look at the world with a vision centred on the principles of international law and on the values of cooperation and solidarity, which are characteristic of Spanish foreign policy and of the character of our society as a whole”.
