<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced this Thursday in Brussels that Spain will join the NATO program to help Ukraine through the joint acquisition of weapons from the United States. He also announced his intention to present a series of proposals to the European Council this Thursday to guarantee the right to housing, including the establishment of "a specific fund for the construction of European-level subsidized housing."</strong></h4> "Spain is a country committed to the Atlantic Alliance and, without a doubt, also committed to defending and supporting Ukraine at all levels, not only humanitarian but also, for example, energy," Sánchez declared upon his arrival at the European Council meeting in Brussels. For this reason, he announced that Spain will join the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) program, a NATO mechanism to assist Ukraine through joint arms purchases from the United States. "I told President (of Ukraine, Volodymyr) Zelensky a few days ago that we are going to join this program that NATO launched, I think, two or three weeks ago," he added. On the other hand, Sánchez responded to US President Donald Trump's complaints about defense spending, asserting that Spain is "a trustworthy country, we are a country that fulfills our commitments, and that 'President Trump knows' that Spain is 'fulfilling its obligations and its capabilities,' unlike 'other administrations, in this case the People's Party.'" Donald Trump assured NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte this Thursday at the White House that "Spain is not a team player. So, except for Spain, everyone is at 100 percent." "I think the problem with Spain could be resolved very easily," he added. <h5><strong>Housing</strong></h5> On the other hand, Sánchez recalled that "it is the first time that the European Council will discuss the housing emergency that all of Europe is experiencing, not just Spain, but all of Europe, which was one of the proposals in the investiture agreement to make Ursula von der Leyen president of the European Commission by the European Social Democratic delegation." “Spain, evidently today in the Council, when this debate is substantiated, will propose the following things: first, that legal measures be put in place from Europe so we can curb the purchase of non-residential housing; second, that we be given the leverage at the European level to act on stressed areas in cities that are seeing housing prices rise exponentially as a result of pressure from tourism; and, finally, that a specific fund be established for the construction of subsidized housing at the European level,” he announced. According to the Prime Minister, “this is a central issue for the Spanish government, at the national level, and we also want it to be at the European level, because we are talking about a European problem.” “The problem of the inability to access housing for young people and adults alike is something shared by Spaniards, Italians, Frenchmen, Germans—in short, by any citizen in Europe. Therefore, when we talk about the social pillar, when we talk about a Europe that serves its citizens, we must also talk about housing,” he warned. In this sense, Sánchez described the meeting of the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, with representatives of major European cities, led by Jaume Collboni, Mayor of Barcelona, as “very relevant.” “All these mayors—the mayor of Rome, the mayor of Barcelona, the mayor of Paris, and many others—are asking the community institutions to provide them with the levers, the legal instruments, so they can act in the face of a social crisis as significant as the one Europe is experiencing, which is housing.” <h5><strong>Middle East </strong></h5> On another note, Sánchez stated that another of the Council's main topics will be the situation in Gaza and the West Bank and "what role the European Union will play in this new ceasefire scenario and, therefore, on the path to peace."
