The King defends a “positive agenda” in the face of “the new political era that is opening in Washington”

Eduardo González King Felipe VI closed the IX Conference of Ambassadors on Tuesday, in which he urged to face “the new political era that will soon open in Washington” with the aim of deepening the relationship with the United States “on the basis of a positive agenda in terms of prosperity and security”. For his part, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, who opened the second and last day of the Conference of Ambassadors, supported the reinforcement of the European “security and defence industry” and warned against any militaristic drift that “leads us to a new arms race”. “The international community faces great security challenges, with wars or open conflicts of great and very serious violence; and others, in addition, of no lesser importance, such as extreme poverty, hunger, the climate emergency, disinformation (often overwhelming and difficult to correct) or the questioning of democracy as a form of government, even where it seemed strongly rooted”, said the King before the 130 Spanish ambassadors gathered since Monday at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Plaza del Marqués de Salamanca, in Madrid. In these circumstances, he continued, “global challenges demand global responses” and, therefore, “multilateralism, so questioned in our days, is the best safeguard to avoid stumbling over the same stones of history, to defend a world defined by law, not by the law of the strongest”. Felipe VI also warned of the need to “defend the rule of law and raise our voices of condemnation and pressure against all violations of human rights, wherever they come from” - “Our status as members of the Human Rights Council as of January 1, offers us a new opportunity to demonstrate this, with firmness and coherence”, he recalled. Regarding the EU, the King stated that “the start of a new institutional cycle is a good time to think about what Europe we want”. “Along with the major objectives (competitiveness, defence of an ambitious financial framework, enlargement, our defence in the ever-evolving geopolitical or geo-economic space), we will continue to focus on a Union centred on its citizens: a space of peace, stability, growth and well-being, with a solid institutional framework, capable of projecting its principles and values and where all Europeans, as I said to the diplomatic corps last week, feel increasingly recognised in their identity,” he said. Felipe VI also recalled that “next 24 February marks three years since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine; three years of serious violations of International Law and International Humanitarian Law, but also of a strengthening ─around Ukraine─ of the values and reasons for being of the European Union and the Atlantic Alliance.” “If there is any light in the darkness of this war of aggression, it is to see that Ukraine is not alone; Ukraine has definitely entered the minds and hearts of the majority of Europeans, and it must continue to be so in the coming months, key to the future of Ukraine and our region. Spain, always supportive, will continue to rise to the occasion,” he added. The King also assured that Spain's commitment to peace “is evident, one more year, in the Middle East, a region that continues to be punished by violence and the unacceptable suffering of the population.” “With the recognition of the State of Palestine, Spain has taken a decisive step in its foreign policy, in its desire to contribute to stability and lay the foundations for a fair and lasting peace around the two-state solution. The same constructive spirit has led us to offer to host a Peace Conference in our country,” he said. On the other hand, the King admitted that “it is true that there is concern about what could happen in a transatlantic scenario,” with special mention of “the priorities of the new United States administration.” In this regard, he said, “we must continue to assert our status as a necessary ally, both bilaterally and within the framework of NATO.” “We must approach the new political stage that will soon open in Washington with the aim of deepening this relationship, based on a positive agenda in terms of prosperity and security, contributing our historical and cultural sensitivity and our vision of the American hemisphere,” he added. Pedro Sánchez For his part, Pedro Sánchez began his speech by reviewing the symptoms of the “wear and tear and erosion of the established international order”, such as the extension of armed conflicts and warlike rhetoric, the growing use of force and the rise of impunity while crimes are committed “before the eyes of an anaesthetized international community”. “This is the world we live in: a more insecure, closed and anarchic world, and with democracy besieged by hybrid attacks and disinformation; a world in which there are two possible positions: either to let ourselves be dragged along by inertia or to actively and courageously defend the values in which we believe,” he continued. “Spain does not close itself off, as more and more countries do. Spain opens itself up to the world, and it does so with determination, with conviction, with ambition, with vocation, with a firm will to lead,” he said. In this context, he said, Spain represents “a voice of coherence” because “we say the same thing everywhere in terms of human rights, climate justice or denouncing the non-compliance with international law.” According to Pedro Sánchez, Spanish foreign action is governed by “four priority axes”: the commitment to the European Union, the commitment to an open economy, the strengthening of bilateral relations with key regions and countries and support for multilateralism and its necessary reforms. Regarding the first point, the head of the Executive warned that Europe must strengthen its capacity to compete in an increasingly complex world, while at the same time increasing its strategic autonomy, boosting its internal market in key sectors and resolving the chronic lack of financing for companies. Strengthening Europe's capacity in the world, he continued, involves supporting the enlargement process and revitalising alliances with other regions. He also warned that Europe must face the challenge of its security in a world of growing threats, strengthening the security and defence industry. “Europe has to wake up once and for all. In a world like this, it is not enough to adapt to geopolitical reality. Europe must be able to strengthen itself to influence it and defend its interests and values,” added Sánchez. In any case, the head of the Executive assured that Spain believes in peace and diplomacy and, therefore, his Government will never share or encourage a militaristic drift that “leads us to a new arms race”. Regarding the second point, Pedro Sánchez defended “the need to open ourselves up even more to international trade, but demanding reciprocity and a level playing field that guarantees criteria of justice, equity and sustainability.” “We must take advantage of the protectionist shift of many large economies to build new bridges and increase our weight in global trade,” stressed the President of the Government. On the other hand, and with regard to the third point, Sánchez assured that Spain wants to continue deepening and strengthening the strategic relationship with the United States and the transatlantic link. He also referred to the decisive weight of the relationship that Spain and the European Union maintain with Latin America and assured that “the relationship with the Maghreb, the Sahel and the Mediterranean basin are essential pillars of our foreign action.” Sánchez also highlighted the Africa Strategy to strengthen the relationship with the countries of this continent and the growing economic and geopolitical weight of Asia. In this regard, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, had done the day before, he announced the publication of a specific Strategy for the Asian continent and highlighted Spain's interest in developing ties with powers such as China and India. Finally, Pedro Sánchez warned of the need to have strong and efficient multilateral institutions to face global challenges such as climate change or digital transformation and assured that, in the face of the increase in "distrust in the multilateral system", he affirmed that defending multilateralism requires "commitment to the reform of institutions that run the risk of becoming obsolete, and the duty to make them more inclusive, transparent and effective".

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