Eduardo González
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, assured yesterday in Brussels that all EU Member States have accepted the creation of a new European mission to defend maritime traffic in the Red Sea from attacks by the Houthi rebels of Yemen. but warned that “Spain will not participate in this operation.”
After Spain vetoed a few weeks ago the possibility of extending the current Atalanta mission against piracy in the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea, the 27 have debated two possibilities: creating a totally new operation (with the logistical problems that this implies) or take advantage of an existing mission (in this case, Agenor, which operates in the Strait of Hormuz).
Finally, this second option was chosen and, for now, the 27 have already reached a consensus for it, but the technical details regarding its capabilities, its scope, its calendar or its mandate have yet to be finalized. The final decision has been postponed to next February.
“No decision has been made, it will be taken in the month of February,” Albares declared at the press conference after the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC), held in Brussels. “There has been no opposition from any State to this EU operation going ahead,” he continued. In any case, he reiterated: “Spain’s participation is not foreseen.”
Spain has refused to send ships and troops to Operation ‘Guardian of Prosperity’, led by the US to protect shipping in the Red Sea against attacks by the Houthi rebels. The Government of Pedro Sánchez has requested the creation of a specific mission with “its own scope, means and objectives” and has rejected the European Union’s intention to link this operation to Atalanta, the mission led by Spain to combat piracy in the Indian ocean.
Last week, Sánchez stated that he is willing to “study” the US proposal for Spain to participate with liaison officers in the Red Sea mission and reiterated that his Government is not opposed to the creation of any operation in the area as long as when it is not part of Atalanta, which “does not have the characteristics nor is it of the nature of the operation required for the Red Sea.”
Ukraine and the Middle East
The two strong points of the Brussels FAC have been Ukraine and the Middle East. Regarding the first point, the meeting began with an informal exchange of views with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, by videoconference. During the meeting, Albares reiterated “Spain’s unconditional support for as long as necessary, until Ukraine definitively recovers what should never have been at stake, its sovereignty and territorial integrity.” Likewise, he explained, the foreign ministers have addressed “formulas to ensure that both the financial aid and the material and military aid that Ukraine may need to move forward is predictable and constant.”
On the other hand, during the debate on the Middle East, the heads of diplomacy of the 27 held informal exchanges with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Israel, Israel Katz; the Palestinian Authority, Riyad al-Maliki: Saudi Arabia, Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud; Jordan, Ayman Safadi; and Egypt, Sameh Shoukry, and with the secretary general of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit.
“In front of all the interlocutors who have been around the table, I have demanded an immediate ceasefire, unconditional access to the Gaza Strip for humanitarian aid, the unconditional and immediate release of all hostages, the delivery of the funds that are currently withheld from the Palestinian National Authority and, above all, the creation and recognition of a Palestinian State”, because “it is the only guarantee that peace will return, the only guarantee of the future for the Palestinians and the only guarantee of security for Israel and for the entire Middle East,” declared Albares.
“This is the time to move from talking about the two-state solution to talking about the implementation of the two-state solution, that is, the recognition of a realistic and viable Palestinian state,” he continued.
For this reason, he indicated, during the CAE there has been debate about the need to “move forward” towards holding the peace conference proposed by Spain to address the implementation of the two-state solution. “The consensus on the conference has existed since October, when the European Council adopted it in its conclusions, but today’s debate addressed “a first draft” distributed by the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, to “give profile and give content” to the proposal. “Although today has been a political debate, not a decision-making, we do advance that the fundamental content of that conference must be definitive peace and support for the implementation of the two-state solution,” he added.
Regarding the possible venue for the conference (Belgium has offered to host it, for now), Albares assured that Spain’s objective is “for it to take place and for this to lead to definitive peace and, therefore, to the materialization of the two-state solution.” “Where it takes place is not our main objective” but, “of course, Spain would be willing to host that conference if necessary,” he stated.
Regarding the recognition of the Palestinian State by Spain, promised by Pedro Sánchez during the investiture debate, Albares assured that the Spanish Government maintains “a dialogue with our EU partners because we like to try to do things in concert.” “Today I have spoken with several of my Arab colleagues and with the Palestinian Foreign Minister about this, and what we would like is for all this to take place within that peace conference and for what the Palestinians and Israelis agree to be what Spain supported and recognized,” he explained. “If that is not the case, we are currently in dialogue with our EU colleagues, but we hope it will be through the peace conference,” he added.
Borrell’s comprehensive peace plan
At the CAE meeting, Borrell advocated working towards “a preparatory peace conference to address the Palestinian-Israeli conflict comprehensively in the future.”
In this context, according to European sources, Borrell presented a twelve-point plan whose objective is to achieve “stability” in the region to achieve lasting peace between Israel and Palestine and which is based on the fact that “any governance and security mechanism that is established in Gaza or anywhere else will be perceived as a prolongation of the occupation and a denial of Palestinian rights, thereby creating further security risks.” According to various media outlets, the EU sees “no other solution” than a two-state system through a peace conference.
In the press conference after the CAE, Borrell warned that the international community has the “moral obligation” to seek a solution and stated that, if Israel refuses to accept the international proposals, there are “influences and conditions” to pressure the Government of Benjamin Netanyahu and force him to change his mind. According to Borrell, Israel has to understand that “there is no alternative” to this path.
The Foreign Affairs Council held separate exchanges on this issue with Israeli Foreign Ministers Israel Katz; the Palestinian Authority, Riyad al-Maliki: Saudi Arabia, Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud; Jordan, Ayman Safadi; and Egypt, Sameh Shoukry, and with the secretary general of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit.
During the first conversation with Minister Katz, the EU ministers agreed that “the catastrophic situation in Gaza (the increasing number of civilian deaths, widespread hunger, a serious lack of humanitarian delivery and access, and Israeli hostages held for more than 100 days) is the absolute and most imminent priority.”
Visit to Lebanon and Iraq
On the other hand, Albares, who today plans to make a trip to Lebanon and Iraq, held two bilateral meetings yesterday in Brussels with his counterparts from Jordan, Ayman Safadi, and Palestine, Riyad Al-Maliki, and the day before he did so with the Egyptian minister, Sameh Shoukry. “I have agreed with them that, after more than one hundred days of Israeli operation in Gaza, the conditions must be created so that the Palestinian Authority can recover its responsibilities in that territory,” the minister declared at the press conference.
Specifically, before Al Malik, the minister reiterated “Spain’s commitment to peace, to the Palestinian people and to the recognition of the Palestinian State” and called for an “immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of hostages and access to humanitarian aid,” as explained on the social network X. Albares conveyed the same messages to the Jordanian and Egyptian ministers.
