Eduardo González
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, took advantage yesterday of his trilateral meeting in Valencia with his counterparts from Romania, Bogdan Aurescu, and Poland, Zbigniew Rau, to announce that negotiations are being finalized for the granting of dual nationality to Romanian citizens residing in Spain.
During the press conference following the meeting, Albares assured that the agreement on dual nationality is being “finalized” for the Romanian community residing in Spain, which he praised for its integration and its contribution to the Spanish economy. For his part, Aurescu -who took advantage of his stay in Valencia to meet with representatives of the Romanian community in the Valencian Community- welcomed this announcement and expressed his confidence that the agreement can be closed soon.
During the bilateral summit between Spain and Romania, held last November in Castellón de la Plana, the two countries agreed on the creation of a working group on dual nationality. There are currently 1,100,000 Romanians living in Spain, representing the largest community of foreigners in our country. When the negotiations are concluded, Romania will become the second non-Ibero-American country (the first was France) and the third EU country (after France and Portugal) with which Spain has a dual nationality agreement.
On the other hand, Albares assured that Romania’s entry into the Schengen zone will be one of the priorities of the next Spanish Presidency of the EU Council and that, “if it were up to Spain, Romania would already be in Schengen”. The Minister also recalled that the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, will travel to Romania in June, a visit which, he assured, will contribute to “strengthening the fraternal ties” between the two countries.
Regarding bilateral issues with Poland, Zbigniew Rau assured at the press conference that the Basque journalist Pablo González, imprisoned for more than a year in his country, will be “put on trial relatively soon” for the “very serious” charges he faces, specifically for allegedly spying for Russia while covering the refugee crisis caused by the invasion of Ukraine. He also assured that Gonzalez has the “assistance of Polish and Spanish lawyers” and “enjoys all of Poland’s constitutional rights, which include that of defense.” For his part, Albares specified that the journalist has received eleven visits from the Spanish Consulate in the last 16 months and affirmed that “his fundamental rights, above all that of defense, are completely guaranteed” and that Gonzalez “knows the charges, which are serious”.
Declaration of the “Trio of Valencia”
At the end of the meeting, the three ministers of the so-called “Trio of Valencia” signed a Joint Declaration in which they reaffirmed their willingness “to work for a united and resilient European Union acting in a coordinated manner, based on the principles of solidarity, cohesion, democracy and commitment to fundamental rights”, and their “commitment to the EU, NATO and the transatlantic link, and to the strategic partnership between the EU and NATO”. They also reiterated their “joint commitment to further deepen transatlantic relations, which are inextricably linked to peace and stability on the European continent,” and highlighted their “longstanding work in critical geographical areas such as the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, the three cardinal points for European security.”
Albares, Ray and Aurescu also reaffirmed, “fifteen months after the full-scale war of aggression unleashed by Russia against Ukraine,” their “firm and lasting support for Ukraine and its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders,” and pledged to “continue all efforts to provide Ukraine with the necessary military assistance to defend its sovereignty against Russian aggression” and to provide “humanitarian aid and assistance to the Ukrainian people.” The three ministers also pledged to “support Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations and therefore work to enhance political and practical cooperation between NATO and Ukraine.”
In the Declaration, the three governments also pledged to “hold regular” trilateral political consultations under the ‘Trio of Valencia’ ministerial format” and to “strengthen cooperation between our three countries in all areas, to create a strong synergy of interests and capabilities between Poland, Romania and Spain.”
The three ministers also agreed to “explore the active support of Poland and Romania to the Spanish Presidency of the Council in priority areas such as EU resilience, common actions to strengthen the external borders of the Union, justice, competitiveness, ecological and digital transition” and to support, “without further delay”, Romania’s accession to the Schengen area. They also pledged to support “the Spanish Presidency of the Council in building a consensus at European level to support Ukraine, also in the context of the accession process”, as well as to defend the accession of Moldova and the countries of the Western Balkans. During the press conference, Rau denounced that in Belarus there is a “dictatorship” and asked that all EU countries continue to exert political pressure on this country, including through the imposition of economic sanctions “on companies and individuals”.
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