The Diplomat
Moncloa will have a coordination unit for the NATO Summit to be held in Madrid next summer, according to a royal decree reforming the organisational structure of the Presidency of the Government, published yesterday in the Official State Gazette (BOE).
The NATO summit will take place in the Spanish capital on 29 and 30 June 2022, in what will be the most important international political event for Sánchez’s government, as the heads of state and government of the thirty member countries of the Atlantic Alliance, including the President of the United States, Joe Biden, will attend.
The new unit will report to the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Government, headed by Francisco Martín Aguirre. It will have the status of Deputy Directorate General and will be responsible for “coordinating the logistical and operational work required for the organisation and holding of the summit”.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will collaborate with this technical unit and will provide the “services and supplies that are necessary for the organisation and holding of the summit”.
On the other hand, an Executive Foreign Policy Council has also been created within the already existing Foreign Policy Council, “for the proper exercise of its competences”, according to the BOE. It will be chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, and the rest of the departments present on the Council will appoint a representative who must have at least the rank of undersecretary.
The heads of the State Secretariat for Budgets and Expenditure, the State Secretariat for Territorial Policy, the State Secretariat for Communication and the State Secretariat for Foreign and Global Affairs, as well as other authorities and senior officials from the different central, regional and local administrations, may participate in the Council meetings, only when the matters to be discussed affect their respective areas of competence.
