The Association of Diplomats warns Sánchez of the “alarming situation” in the Foreign Service

Eduardo González The Association of Spanish Diplomats (ADE) has sent a letter to the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, to warn him of the “alarming situation” in which the Foreign Service finds itself in fulfilling the guidelines and achieving “the objectives assigned” by the Government's foreign policy. “Fully aware of the importance you attach to our foreign policy, we assume you are interested in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation (MAEUEC) and our Foreign Service implementing your guidelines and contributing to achieving the assigned objectives,” reads the letter, signed on February 10 by the Chairman of the ADE Board of Directors, Alberto Virella, and sent with a copy to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares. “You should know that, in this respect, the situation is alarming,” it warns. First, the letter asserts, “the periodic reports established by Law 2/2014, on State Action and Foreign Service, to determine the material and human resources available to the administrative units and institutions of the General State Administration abroad, and to ensure their alignment with the guidelines, aims, and objectives of Foreign Policy, have never been prepared.” “Therefore, we request that this report be prepared in the coming months,” the letter continues. “In any case, we can assure you, Mr. President, that these resources are neither sufficient nor adequate,” it states. “Proof of this is the state of the consular network, already under-resourced when there were one million Spaniards abroad at the beginning of the century, and now seriously insufficient, having to serve three million without any increase in resources,” it continues. The situation, according to the ADE (Association of Spanish Citizens Abroad), “becomes critical when some consulates, in particular, have to process more than 2,400,000 nationality applications stemming from the Democratic Memory Law.” This situation, it warns, “is generating discontent among Spaniards living abroad, which is undoubtedly familiar to you, Mr. President, as it has been conveyed to you by the President of the General Council of Spanish Citizenship Abroad, who has requested more human resources for the consular network.” According to the association, “the workload this network is experiencing will increase very soon, as the regularization process for immigrants will generate family reunification applications for their spouses and children, which the consular network also processes.” “The workload is increasing considerably and continuously, generating widespread dissatisfaction and misunderstanding among the groups using these services, who are demanding their rights,” the letter continues. “We cannot forget that many embassies also lack even their minimum staffing needs,” the ADE continues. Furthermore, “missions to multilateral organizations have significantly fewer advisors than those of other European countries, while the issues to be defended and negotiated are growing considerably, as you know,” it adds. Regarding real estate, the ADE asserts that numerous buildings are “in a deplorable state of disrepair, after years without the essential investments for their upkeep, which have been postponed due to budget constraints.” “In some cases, this even poses a risk to public employees and users who access them, as evidenced by the few labor inspections that have been carried out,” it states. Central services The ADE also states that “not only is the State Administration overwhelmed abroad, but the situation is extremely serious in the central services of the MAEUEC (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation).” “The world is in a complex geopolitical scenario, with profound transformations, so now, perhaps more than ever, it is necessary to strengthen our foreign policy to defend our values and interests,” the association points out. “Faced with this demand, the MAEUEC suffers from a critical lack of personnel, with directorates and deputy directorates general severely understaffed despite their relevance to the country's security,” it laments. “Two months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Strategy and Foresight Office disappeared, dispensing with a unit—existing in neighboring countries with better resources—whose function is to prepare complex analyses, study scenarios, and offer proposals for the adoption of strategic approaches,” the ADE denounces. “This is compounded by abysmal human resource management, characterized by a lack of transparency and arbitrariness,” it adds. For all the reasons stated above, the ADE continues, “it is difficult to understand the poor role played by the Foreign Policy Council, which rarely meets.” “The vast majority of Spanish diplomats are deeply concerned about the anomalous functioning of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, which is stagnant and dysfunctional, failing to respond to the needs of Spanish citizens or the demands of our time,” the letter warns. “Therefore, we are forwarding this statement to you so that the seriousness of the situation is known and the appropriate measures can be taken as soon as possible to correct it,” it concludes.

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