Feijóo, after meeting with Sánchez: “The government doesn’t have a plan or doesn’t want to share it”

Eduardo González The president of the People's Party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, asserted this Thursday that Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has not provided him with any details during their meeting at the Moncloa Palace to discuss Ukraine and the increase in defense spending. He also denounced the fact that the government "does not have a plan" to increase military investment and requested that any agreements adopted in this area be "endorsed by Congress." "He has not provided me with any details," Feijóo declared after his meeting with Pedro Sánchez, which lasted more than half an hour. This is the first face-to-face meeting between the two since December 2023. "I appreciate the coffee, but we could have resolved this with a conversation in a hallway," he added at the press conference held in Congress after the meeting in Moncloa. Pedro Sánchez and Feijóo began a round of talks with all parliamentary groups (except Vox) to share information on the situation in Ukraine and the "Rearm Europe" plan promoted by the European Commission to increase defense spending, approved on March 6 in Brussels during the extraordinary European Council summit. The meetings include meetings with representatives, in this order, of ERC, Junts, EH Bildu, PNV, Podemos, BNG, Coalición Canaria, and UPN. This Tuesday, Sánchez held his first meeting with the Second Vice President and leader of Sumar, Yolanda Díaz. "I asked him if he is willing to send troops and more weapons to Ukraine, and he replied that he could not answer me," he continued. “I asked him what percentage of GDP the defense increase should reach and how the current defense budget will be increased, over what timeframe, whether with more adjustments or pressure from citizens, and I haven't received any answer,” he added. “After 30 minutes of conversation and coffee, I have no more information,” he lamented. “There isn't time to talk much in 30 minutes, but I have shared some concerns with him: first, that Europe's security is threatened by an aggressive power that has attacked a country and expressed its expansionist intentions; second, that the American administration is announcing that it will reduce its defense investment in Europe and is taking measures that go against free trade,” he explained. “Spain has the obligation not to disengage from this situation under any pretext,” because “none of our nations will be free from threat, and Spain, due to its geographical position, is equally or more obligated to its defense objectives,” he continued. This is a challenge that “transcends the legislature and Pedro Sánchez,” he warned. However, he lamented, "this challenge demands more seriousness than I've seen this morning," warned the PP leader. "The government doesn't have a plan, or doesn't know how to do it, or doesn't want to share it," Feijóo insisted. "I don't believe that the fourth-largest economy in the eurozone doesn't have a guideline for how much it needs to increase spending," he added. "We've gone two years without a budget, and that's not compatible with the billions in investments we're being asked to make," he warned. "This is much more important than approving the budget; this affects many decades; we're talking about an unprecedented increase in spending," the PP leader continued. "It's jeopardizing large amounts of January funds that future governments will have to assume. It's the opposite of democracy," he denounced. Congress In any case, Feijóo asked that the agreements adopted be "endorsed by Congress," because "only Congress has the power to control and approve government spending" and because "there are European parliaments that are already voting yes or no on their prime ministers' proposals." "The first thing he should have done was appear before this House," he warned. "We're talking about billions and important issues like security and defense, and this is where the groups must speak out," he added. "Sánchez is prepared to govern without Congress and the Cortes (Spanish Parliament)" and only "communicates with those who secure power," he denounced. "The government is fractured, and the majority of the legislature doesn't exist. He lacks political autonomy, and his permanence in power is his only priority," Feijóo continued. "Sánchez has to choose: what his partners ask of him or what Europe demands, and both are not possible," declared the opposition leader. "Spain needs solid governments, consistent with a defense plan, and unfortunately, that's not the case in Spain," he lamented. Regarding his party's support for the government's plans, Feijóo asserted that "the PP will be at the service of this country" and that "on matters of state, the PP is willing to negotiate and dialogue as long as there is transparency and seriousness," but "what I saw in this meeting was neither in substance nor in form." "You can't support someone who doesn't have a plan and doesn't share information, or with someone who doesn't ask for help. This challenge requires more seriousness than I saw this morning." "He hasn't asked me for any support. I've spoken more about security and defense with other prime ministers than with my Prime Minister," he added. "This government is not prepared to open a productive dialogue on this challenge," he insisted. Other groups At the end of the meeting with Sánchez, Podemos leader, former minister Ione Belarra, warned that it would be “a catastrophic mistake to commit to increasing military spending” because “every euro we are going to allocate to increasing defense and weapons spending is a euro we are not going to allocate to our public healthcare and improving our public housing stock, which is what the people of this country need.” “I have conveyed our utmost opposition” to Pedro Sánchez, she added. For his part, ERC spokesperson Gabriel Rufián told the press that he believes it is a “mistake” not to explain how and why the defense budget will be increased and regretted that Sánchez has no intention of going to the Congress of Deputies to request an increase in defense spending. Similarly, Néstor Rego, of the Galician Nationalist Bloc, stated that he had asked Sánchez if he would take the issue to the Lower House and that the response was: “Probably not.” Miriam Nogueras, of Junts, stated that “78% of the defense material purchased by European Union countries is acquired abroad and 60% is acquired from the US” and, therefore, “if the idea is to strengthen the defense system of the EU and Catalonia, investments should not leave Europe.” For his part, Aitor Esteban, spokesperson for the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), warned that, “inevitably, if the EU wants to be relevant, and that means having an autonomous position that will allow it to maintain its economic and industrial level, it must reposition itself without the US.” Therefore, he added, “a new defensive system must be created, because NATO’s depends on the US umbrella,” and, in that sense, “we must invest in Europe, not in each country’s own opinion, but from a European perspective,” investing in “an industry that also has its civilian applications.”

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