The Diplomat
Pedro Sánchez received yesterday in Madrid the Belgian Prime Minister, the Flemish liberal Alexander de Croo, who praised the “courage” of the President of the Government for his decision to “commit to dialogue” to solve the political crisis in Catalonia.
“We have had differences in the past, but those differences have strengthened our relationship,” said De Croo, in a veiled allusion to the recent disagreements between the two countries following the reception of former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont in Belgium and the support dispensed to the independence cause by high political authorities in the country, among them the Flemish nationalists of the NDA.
“I would also like to bring up the issue of Catalonia,” De Croo continued during the joint statement – without questions – offered with Pedro Sanchez at the La Moncloa Complex, at the end of their bilateral meeting. “Belgium and Spain are countries that have to address territorial issues” because they are “diverse countries”, but, “as Belgian prime minister, I believe in the ability to manage those differences and I also believe in dialogue framed in a system that is governed by the rules, that makes it very clear what the difference is between a democratic system and an authoritarian system”, he declared.
“A democracy is not only about the majority; a democracy, when it works best, is also when it allows minorities to be defended,” he declared. “All democracies should see a strength in diversity, and democracies that see this are strong democracies, as Spain is,” he continued. Therefore, “the only right path” is the path of “political dialogue,” De Croo said. “Pedro, that is something I admire about you, your commitment and your courage to engage in dialogue in a very professional way, as you are doing; this is very clear leadership and you demonstrate it every day,” he concluded.
For his part, Pedro Sánchez expressed, during the joint declaration, Spain’s willingness to intensify the political and economic relationship with Belgium, “based on reciprocal trust, which we will further deepen on the defense of the common values of shared freedom and democracy.”
De Croo is the first Belgian Chief Executive to officially travel to Spain since 2011. Besides, the visit coincides with the centenary of the elevation of diplomatic relations to the rank of Embassy. During the bilateral meeting, according to Moncloa, Sánchez and De Croo discussed the preparation of the trio of EU Presidencies, which will start with Spain in the second half of 2023, followed by Belgium and Hungary in 2024, and reviewed the main issues included in the agenda of the European Council of the next 21 and 22 October, including the Spanish proposal to address with a European approach the current price situation in the energy market.
