Luis Ayllón
People’s Party MPs Valentina Martínez Ferro and Pablo Hispán have submitted a parliamentary question to the Government asking the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, to explain the reasons why he did not support the candidacy of his former EU Secretary of State, Juan González-Barba, to be the UN Special Envloy for Cyprus.
The question from the Popular MPs echoes the information reported by The Diplomat in Spain, which indicated that González-Barba, who was removed from his post last Tuesday, had obtained the approval of the governments of Cyprus, Turkey and Greece so that the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, could appoint him as his special envoy to try to help resolve the problem of the island, which has been divided since 1974.
This information pointed out that, despite this agreement between the parties, the foreign minister did not back the Spaniard’s candidacy, with whom he had maintained serious differences for months.
The department headed by Albares denies that González-Barba had all the support of the parties and points out that it was for this reason that he did not go ahead with his candidacy. Various sources consulted by The Diplomat indicated that the European External Action Service (EEAS), headed by Josep Borrell, had been enthusiastic that Turkey had agreed that, for the first time, a European would be the UN’s special envoy for Cyprus, as the Turks have so far preferred a person from a non-EU country.
In view of this information, the PP deputies asked the government why this post had not been obtained and whether the Ministry of Foreign Affairs “has directly put its interests above the interests of Spain”.
In addition, Valentina Martínez and Pablo Hispán, after questioning whether the Government “is not interested in the Mediterranean”, ask whether “it is going to allow Spain to lose international weight because of personal quarrels of its members”.
On Tuesday, Albares dismissed González-Barba, the last high-ranking official to remain in his post after the departure of Arancha González Laya from the Ministry, with the argument of better preparing for the rotating Presidency of the EU in the second half of 2023, and appointed Pascual Navarro, a diplomat who is an expert in European affairs and who was currently Secretary General for the EU, as his replacement.
González-Barba, who was the only secretary of state appointed by his predecessor, Arancha González Laya, whom Albares had kept in his post, was relieved last Tuesday by Pascual Navarro, who was the secretary general of the EU. At a press conference with Luxembourg’s foreign minister, Jean Asselborn, on Tuesday, Albares did not want to comment on the alleged disagreements with his secretary of state, limiting himself to recalling that foreign policy, and also EU policy, is set by the president of the government.
According to The Objective yesterday, the differences between Albares and González-Barba date back to October, when the minister reportedly suggested replacing his Secretary of State at the General Affairs Council meeting in Brussels, which serves to prepare for the European summits.
Attendance at these meetings entails accompanying the president of the government, Pedro Sánchez, to the European Councils, something González-Barba did not agree with. Given the tension between the two, the Secretary of State suggested to the minister that he should leave his post and be appointed to a European embassy, but Albares ruled out this possibility.
At the same time, González-Barba sought support in Cyprus and Turkey, where he has been ambassador and maintains good relations, to clear the way for his possible appointment as UN special envoy for Cyprus.
At the same time, González-Barba gathered support in Cyprus, Greece and Turkey, where he has been ambassador and maintains good relations, to clear the way for his possible appointment as UN special envoy for the Cypriot island, hoping to have the support of the Spanish government to formalise his candidacy before Guterres.
