Albares assures the Government to work to improve its Budget in Alicante

In his speech at the premises of the public institution located in the former Murcia Station in Alicante, Albares traveled almost all over the world, presenting his vision of current events, such as the social and economic events that most directly affected Spain at these moments. economic consequences ukraine war or the country’s relationship with its neighbors to the south, with what’s going on in other hotspots on the planet, always difficult on a journey from China to Venezuela, Iran, the UK or Poland and Hungary. The far-right movement is trading higher.

The presentation included the introduction of Andrés Perelló, director of Casa Mediterráneo, and MEP Domènec Ruiz, while Toni Cabot, director of INFORMATION Club, was responsible for overseeing Albares’ response. Alicante Chamber, European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), Miguel Hernández Elche University and Generalitat Valenciana. The first thing Albares did when he spoke was the Government’s General budgets of the state From 2023, the economic donation Casa Mediterráneo received increased by 200.00 euros, representing an increase of 34%.

Albares was questioned about other current issues beyond matters connected to his ministry. purchasing power The population has doubts about the Sagunto gigafactory. In all these questions he referred to his colleagues in the Government, as he did in the Budget when he spoke of the crime against Alicante. Of course, he explained that, according to the government’s calculations, work was being done to “adapt them to the province as much as possible,” so he discussed their demands by holding a meeting with the business community after the forum.

When asked about the last position that Alicante occupied in terms of state investments, he underlined the province’s importance for the Government and “for the external projection of Spain”. He also acknowledged that he had met with the Community’s Executive delegate, Pilar Bernabé, who knew he was in contact with the Ministry of Finance for which he was “working on the Budget”. In this scenario, he also referred to the importance of EUIPO’s presence in Alicante and the port of contact and export with other countries for Spain. Mediterranean coast».

For the remainder of his speech, the focus of the Government representative’s speech was the war in Ukraine and Putin, whom Albares accused of launching a challenge to question European sovereignty and blackmailing the rest of the continent. gas source. “Since February 24, when Russia’s illegal and unjustified aggression against Ukraine took place, what is at stake is the confrontation of two models: democracy, diversity and peace, and Putin, who represents Putin, who appears nationalist and authoritarian. to the past, to Europe’s darkest moments,” he said.

war context

Given the current context of war and emerging energy dependence on the continent, Albares believes that “peace and prosperity cannot be left to third parties and open the door to blackmail”. When faced with this, a “strategic autonomy”which should be strengthened during the Spanish presidency of the EU next year. This phase, which will be experienced in the second half of 2023, was constantly emerging during the intervention of the Head of Foreign Affairs.

In the first part of Forum + Europe, other topics were also discussed, including those related to immigration policy or its relations with Spain. Latin America. “We must ensure that the Mediterranean does not become the graveyard of the thousands of people who are desperately trying to improve their lives every year,” he said in the first issue. Regarding relations with countries on the other side of the Atlantic, he said: “We will design a summit with Latin America with the heads of state and government of both regions so that Europe once again looks at a region that is the most compatible on the planet”.

After Albares’ first response, it was time for questions asked by more than two hundred participants who followed the action live, where more than twenty current issues were discussed. One of the first things to be put on the table was the President’s summit of European countries on the Mediterranean coast, which was postponed at the end of last September due to positive covid, to be held in Alicante on 9 December. Pedro Sanchez. Like this international appointment The new green energy corridor that will connect Spain to Portugal and France is expected to be signed.

nuclear attack

Regarding the war in Ukraine, Albares was questioned about the real risk of an attack with nuclear weapons. Part of Putin’s irrationality is another provocation, such as the fake vote that led to the illegal annexation of 15% of Ukrainian territory. Or justify aggression as a way to protect Russia from the Nazis. We don’t give him the slightest credibility. true Russian leaders they flirt with the idea of ​​nuclear weapons, but the Spaniards should not be upset. There is no indication that this is so. What we’re really facing is a resurgence of conventional warfare on a massive scale,” was the minister’s reflection on this.

attribution EU Spain Presidency Next year, he said, priorities for this period will be presented by January, but suggesting that “the real priority will be to deal with the unpredictable.” In this sense, he affirmed that the “international context is very volatile”, a situation highlighted by the current war and its consequences. However, he listed a number of goals: “The return of peace to Europe, the post-pandemic economic recovery, the transformation of the energy market, the advancement of the immigration and asylum agreement, and the return to Latin America.” on the other shore of the Mediterranean.

Also due to the Spanish presidency of the EU, one of the announcements Albares made at the time of its emergence was that Alicante would host one of the informal meetings, with an informal Trade Council (FAC) taking place in Valencia. Trade) from the EU. Alicante’s appointment as a stage does not have a specific date yet, as it is currently working with the municipality. Town hall. Regarding this meeting, he explained that he was responding to the need for “Europe to approach all the diversity and plurality of Spain and to bring Spaniards closer to the EU”.

Most of the questions from the participants revolved around the diplomatic relationship that Spain maintains with Algeria, given the intense trade relationship between the North African country and the province of Alicante. The Minister, Spain’s position in the conflict between Algeria and Morocco, Western sahra To be with the new personal envoy of UN Secretary-General Staffan de Mistura, because the aim is to unblock a situation that has been entrenched for half a century.