Luis Ayllón
The PP advocates in the election programme for 23J, unveiled yesterday at the Palacio de Linares by its candidate for La Moncloa, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, to recover the balance in relations with Morocco and Algeria, broken after the change of position of the Government of Pedro Sánchez on Western Sahara.
The programme, with a total of 365 measures, includes eight objectives related to Spain’s foreign policy and 53 proposals that affect different geographical areas and sectors that shape Spain’s international relations.
Thus, the PP places special emphasis on making foreign policy a state policy and says: “Contrary to what the coalition government has done over the years, we in the Partido Popular are convinced that foreign policy must be a state policy, in which both the leader of the opposition and the Parliament must participate. It is necessary to recover a serious, reliable, predictable foreign policy, in which the interests of our country are paramount and in which the Government acts in a coordinated manner and in the same direction”.
The Popular Party insists on Spain’s foreign vocation and that our country must exert its influence in the international community, both within the European Union and in the Atlantic Alliance, as well as in different world scenarios.
Specifically, they indicate that the party is prepared to assume, after the elections, the rotating Presidency of the EU Council, whose six-month term has just begun, and which they consider to be a matter of state. And, among other things, they assure that they will push for a European Pact on Migration and Asylum, as well as an energy policy that guarantees supply at affordable prices for families and businesses.
And in view of the complicated international situation we are living through, he assures that he will strengthen the Armed Forces as a guarantee of national prestige, deterrence and defence against any threat. “Spain needs a compact government that does not cast doubt on its loyalties in matters such as the war in Ukraine or the promotion of democracy, political pluralism and human rights wherever they are questioned,” he says.
As for the Maghreb, the PP’s electoral programme states that Spain “must recover a foreign policy that makes compatible a deep and solid neighbourly relationship with Morocco and Algeria”, recalling that this was something achieved by all governments until the current legislature, in reference, although without expressly mentioning it, to the change made by the Executive, when it described Morocco’s autonomy proposal for the Sahara as ‘the most serious, realistic and credible’ way of resolving the dispute.
After insisting that he wants a balanced relationship between Spain and the Maghreb countries in all areas (political, economic, commercial, cultural, energy, migration and security), he guarantees that the relationship “will be based on mutual respect and international law”. And, in addition to considering a reliable, stable and predictable policy necessary, it stresses that a PP government will support the efforts of the United Nations in Western Sahara “to reach a just, lasting and acceptable political solution for the parties”.
In the document, the PP also pledges to promote “greater state support for the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla”. It also says that it will pay attention to ‘their status as the European Union’s only land border in Africa’ and will design ‘a new financing model that takes into account their specificities and unique needs’.
On Latin America, the programme says that it should be a renewed priority and, after warning of the emergence of various forms of populism, states that “Spain should firmly support the defence of human rights and the transition to democracy in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua”.
It is also in favour of maintaining sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and supports Ukraine’s aspirations to join the EU and NATO.
The PP also advocates strengthening bilateral relations with the United States as an “essential ally” and pledges to work within the EU to improve global relations with China. Likewise, he assures that he will strengthen relations with India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
Núñez Feijóo’s programme believes that Spain should boost its commitment to the Middle East, working to resolve conflicts, especially the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, through a two-state solution.
On Sub-Saharan Africa, the PP insists that it will support the areas of peace and security, through institutional and democratic strengthening, and by combating terrorism and human trafficking, irregular migration and the rise of fundamentalism.
With regard to the Gibraltar dispute, the programme of the Popular Party indicates that its intention is to resume a responsible dialogue with the British government on “the process of decolonisation of that territory “and the recovery of sovereignty”, in accordance with the doctrine established by the United Nations. It adds: “We will address the situation that has arisen after Brexit, defending Spanish interests in fiscal, financial, environmental and security matters, and we will pay special attention to the movement of people”.
The PP also points out in its programme that the community of Spanish descendants will maintain the right of option to Spanish nationality, guaranteed by a reformed law on access to nationality for grandchildren. In order to meet this demand, it adds, it is also necessary to reinforce the consulates in charge of processing nationality applications.
He also pledges to immediately implement a consular reinforcement plan and announces that he will strengthen the consular emergency unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by creating a 24-hour call centre with a single number to channel consular emergency calls from anywhere in the world.
The last part of the programme is dedicated to pointing out the need for Spain to strengthen its foreign service in order to satisfactorily cover the needs of Spaniards outside our country; to take advantage of the potential of the Spanish language in the world; and to take into account the importance that sport has assumed in recent decades as a global identity for our country.
