The Diplomat
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, announced yesterday that the General State Budget (PGE) of 2023 foresees an increase of 34% in the economic allocation for Casa Mediterráneo in order to “give it even more strength, more drive and greater viability”.
Albares made this announcement during his participation in the event Spain, The European Union and the Mediterranean, organized by Casa Mediterráneo and Diario Información in Alicante, headquarters of this institution of Spanish public diplomacy.
The minister began his speech with words of praise for the director of Casa Mediterráneo, Andrés Perelló, former MEP for the PSOE, former mayor of Buñol and former ambassador to UNESCO, whose appointment was criticized late last year by the Association of Spanish Diplomats (ADE) -as well as that of the director of Casa Árabe, Irene Lozano- for not belonging to the Diplomatic Career. “I already knew my good friend Andrés Perelló when I was ambassador to UNESCO and I had proof of his professionalism and dynamism, when he managed in a very short time that the whole area of Recoletos-Parque del Retiro became a UNESCO Heritage Site,” said the minister.
“I already knew that he was going to give a new life to this house that is fundamental for the Ministry that I lead,” he continued. “That is why, in the General State Budget, which is being processed at this very moment in Congress, there is an increase of 200,000 euros to give even more strength, more drive, greater viability to this Casa Mediterráneo,” he added. With this increase, the economic endowment to Casa Mediterráneo of Alicante goes from the current 600,000 to 800,000, 34% more.
Casa Mediterráneo is a public consortium made up of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the Generalitat Valenciana, the Alicante City Council, the Benidorm City Council and the Alicante Provincial Council. Casa Mediterráneo is part of the Casas Network of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, along with Casa América, Casa Asia, Casa África, Casa Árabe and the Sefarad-Israel Center.
Founded in 2009, Casa Mediterráneo is configured as an instrument of public diplomacy whose main objective is to promote mutual knowledge and rapprochement between Spain and the rest of the countries of the Mediterranean basin, in areas as diverse as culture, economy, climate change, gender equality or scientific and technological innovation.
In statements to the Efe agency, Perelló explained yesterday that, although Casa Mediterráneo has less staff than other houses, it carries out almost twice as much activity. Therefore, the director of the institution yesterday asked Albares, with whom he had a brief meeting before the event, that in 2024 “to increase again another so much” the economic endowment” to be “at the same level as the rest of the Houses”.
Alicante, the Mediterranean and Algeria
Albares also dedicated yesterday a fiery praise to Alicante, “a fundamental city for the Ministry that I direct because it is, without a doubt, one of the great capitals of the Mediterranean and the capital of the Mediterranean for Spain”. “That is why this House is here, that is why we make a commitment to the House, but also in Alicante, like very few places in Spain, you can live that double soul that we all Spaniards have, a soul that is European, and here is the European Intellectual Property Office, and that Mediterranean soul that unites us with many other European countries, but also with countries on the southern shore, whose welfare and future is inextricably linked to us,” he added.
In this regard, Albares reiterated that Spain is in favor of maintaining good relations with Algeria based on “friendship and the principles of mutual respect and non-interference in internal affairs” and, therefore, the Spanish Government has the “outstretched hand” to that country, in the midst of the serious diplomatic crisis that the two countries are experiencing because of the decision of the Government of Pedro Sanchez to endorse the Moroccan autonomy plan for the Sahara. In this regard, the minister assured that Spain is and will remain the first donor country to the Saharawi camps in Tindouf (Algeria) and reiterated the need to put an end to a conflict that has lasted 50 years.
