<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 presented a series of proposals to guarantee the right to housing before the European Council this Thursday, including the establishment of “a specific fund for the construction of subsidized housing at the European level.”</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. In the press conference following the Council meeting, Pedro Sánchez clarified that the reason Spain is joining the PURL is because, "today, major air defense components are manufactured in the United States." "Hopefully, in the future, strategic autonomy" will allow them to be produced in Europe, 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 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. Regarding Mark Rutte's statements this Wednesday that Spain will not be able to meet its capability targets by allocating only 2 percent to defense, Sánchez insisted at the press conference that "2 percent is not a figure invented by the government or its president; it was the Armed Forces." "Once the capabilities are agreed upon with NATO, it doesn't amount to 2 percent," he asserted. In any case, Sánchez referred to the two Spanish fighter jets that had to intervene in Lithuania this Thursday to repel a Russian air incursion, stressing Spain's commitment to European security. "If this shows anything, it's that Spain is committed to the security of Europe's eastern flank and, therefore, to NATO, that we are a reliable country that fulfills its objectives," he stated. <h5><strong>Housing</strong></h5> Regarding housing, Sánchez presented four proposals to the other European leaders, as he announced before the Council meeting and confirmed at the press conference: “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 the other hand, Sánchez stated that another of the Council's main topics was 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 toward peace." In the press conference following the Brussels meeting, Sánchez called for redoubling efforts to consolidate the ceasefire in the face of the recent spike in violence, which highlights "the fragility of the agreements reached." Therefore, he announced that Spain had presented four proposals regarding the Middle East: maintaining pressure on the parties and not reducing sanctions against Israel until the agreement is fulfilled; ensuring the massive arrival of humanitarian aid to Gaza; establishing a community strategy for security in the Strip; and supporting the Palestinian Authority to enable governance and reconstruction. "The ultimate goal must be, in the medium term, the formation of two states, one of Israel and the other of Palestine, that can live in peace and secure coexistence," he added.
