The Diplomat
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, took advantage of his participation in the European Council yesterday to present a joint initiative with Luxembourg in favor of the rights of the LGTBi community, in the midst of the controversy generated by the recent law of the Hungarian Government that prohibits addressing the issue of homosexuality before minors.
Pedro Sánchez participated from Thursday until yesterday in Brussels in a European Council in which issues such as the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic were addressed, with special attention to mobility and the universalization of vaccines; the external dimension of migration, the EU’s external relations with Turkey and Russia, the economic recovery with the European Next Generation fund and the defense of the rights of the LGTBi community.
In this regard, the President of the Government and the Luxembourg Prime Minister, Xavier Bettel, presented a joint letter defending “fundamental rights and, in particular, the principle of non-discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation”. The text, signed by 17 heads of state and government, has been sent to the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen; to the president of the European Council, Charles Michel; and to the Portuguese prime minister, António Costa, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the Council, according to Moncloa.
“One of the greatest riches of the European Union is the diversity and tolerance of our societies, where we cannot allow even one step backwards,” Pedro Sánchez warned at the press conference following the Council. “There has been controversy over the laws passed in Hungary,” he continued. “Spain has been one of the countries driving a letter of rejection” because “we are a country committed to diversity and respect for the rights of minorities and the LGTBI collective,” added the chief executive, who announced that the Council of Ministers will address the new LGTBI law next June 29, just one day after the celebration of International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Day.
On the other hand, the 27 addressed the external dimension of migration and pledged to intensify “mutually beneficial” partnerships and cooperation with countries of origin and transit “to avoid loss of life and reduce pressure on European borders,” the Council reported. “We need a committed policy towards North Africa and the entire African continent, ensuring adequate funding for the instruments of our cooperation with them,” Sánchez stated.
Regarding COVID-19, EU leaders welcomed the decision taken by the 74th World Health Assembly to hold an extraordinary session in November 2021 to discuss a Framework Convention on Pandemic Preparedness and Response, and pledged to advance ongoing work to boost global production of COVID-19 vaccines and universal access to these medicines. In this regard, Pedro Sánchez defended the approval of an International Treaty on Pandemics and the creation, as soon as possible, of a European mechanism for sharing vaccines.
On foreign relations, the European leaders defended “the development of a cooperative relationship with Turkey” and called for “a firm and coordinated response by the EU and its Member States to any further malicious, illegal and disruptive activity by Russia” and invited the Commission and the EU High Representative, Josep Borrell, to “put forward possible additional restrictive measures, in particular economic sanctions”. The leaders also discussed the recent EU-US Summit, Libya, the Sahel and Ethiopia, with special attention to human rights violations in the Tigray region.
España 2050 and António Guterres
Sánchez’s day yesterday began with his participation in Prospectiva España 2050, an event promoted by the Spanish Office of Prospective and Strategy, with the participation of the Vice President of the European Commission, Maros Sefcovic. The project proposes 50 objectives that Spain should achieve in the coming years to consolidate itself as one of the most advanced countries in Europe. “We must make a shared vision of where we want to be in 30 years and then build together a roadmap to achieve that goal, and foresight is the perfect tool to achieve it,” said the President of the Government during the event.
Afterwards, Pedro Sánchez and the rest of the European leaders held a meeting with the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, who has just been re-elected to his post. Sánchez and Guterres will hold a bilateral meeting next week in Spain.
