Sánchez will meet the parliamentary groups on Thursday, “except for Vox”, to discuss Ukraine

Ane Barcos/Eduardo González The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, assured this Thursday in Brussels that next Thursday he will meet with the leaders of the parliamentary groups, "except for Vox, because we already have a very clear idea of what Vox's vision is", to exchange information and reflections on Ukraine and the challenges facing the European Union in terms of common security and defence. Speaking to the press before the start of the extraordinary European Council on Ukraine and common security and defence, Sánchez warned that “there are countries both inside and outside Europe that want it divided and in the face of these challenges, the important thing is that today the Council gives certainty and Spain is going to give certainty.” “We have to convey a message of unity, strength and that we are going to move forward in strengthening a much more united Europe,” he said. “It is important that Europe does not underestimate itself because over the last seven years we have shown on many occasions, in very critical situations such as the health emergency, that, together, we have managed to overcome all these challenges by far,” he said. “And we will overcome this one too, I am convinced of this, with greater strength of the European Union in aspects where, probably, we have delegated these responsibilities, such as security and the common defence of the whole of the European Union,” he said. Regarding Ukraine, Sánchez highlighted the message that the Spanish Government conveyed during its recent trip to Kyiv, where a commitment of one billion euros from the Spanish public coffers was agreed with the Ukrainian Government for military aid so that Ukraine can continue to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity. He also insisted that both Ukraine and Europe must be part of the negotiations that may take place. “It seems absolutely premature to me that we speculate on these issues,” he said, referring to the role of the different actors in the possible peace negotiations. “I have announced my appearance in the Congress of Deputies at the end of March, but I believe that, at present, the information that we are beginning to have and the formation of criteria as to what things we can begin to do among all Europeans, merits that next week I can call all the leaders of the parliamentary groups to be able to exchange opinions, reflections, on the challenges that Europe has and, of course, also what the approach of the Government of Spain is,” he continued. “That is why I announce to you that next Thursday I will call all the leaders of the parliamentary groups, the leader of the opposition and the rest of the parliamentary groups, except for Vox, Vox will not be in the equation because we already have very clear what Vox's vision is, to share that information with all of them and some reflections and also positions that the Spanish Government has been maintaining for three years, from the beginning of the war until now,” he concluded. In response to these statements by Sánchez, the president of the People’s Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, urged the head of the Executive to appear in the Cortes Generales before the European Council on March 21. “When you have a government position, I would appreciate it if you shared it in the Congress of Deputies,” declared the leader of the PP, who described Sánchez's decision to leave Vox out of the meeting next Thursday as “apartheid.” For his part, the leader of Vox, Santiago Abascal, limited himself to declaring through the social network X that it is an “honor” that Sánchez is going to leave them out of this meeting with the parliamentary groups.

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