Weber accuses Sánchez of ‘dividing Europe’, council presidency failures

11 months ago 36

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, “applauded by Hamas terrorists”, have contributed to the “division” of Europe, EPP leader Manfred Weber told a session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday.

The German politician was referring to Sánchez’s controversial trip with his Belgian counterpart, Alexander de Croo (Open VLD), to the Gaza Strip and Egypt at the end of November, in which the Spanish prime minister expressed his readiness for Spain to recognise the Palestinian state unilaterally if the EU does not do so first.

Meanwhile, his EPP group colleague, European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen, highlighted the “enormous set of priorities” undertaken during the Spanish presidency, Euractiv’s partner EFE reported.

“In addition to the beauty of Spain, this presidency will be remembered for incredibly challenging circumstances”, such as the war in Gaza, Von der Leyen said in the debate, which took stock of Madrid’s performance at the helm of the EU.

But Weber, like Partido Popular (PP/EPP), the main opposition force in the Spanish parliament, saw things very differently.

“Politically, the (Spanish) EU presidency has not really been a success story”, he told Sánchez.

The conservative German politician accused the Spanish EU presidency of being absent from the negotiations on an agreement with Mercosur (although it is the European Commission that negotiates, not the EU Council) and said that if EU leaders fail to reach unanimity on opening negotiations on Ukraine’s accession in the coming days, “it will also be a failure on Sánchez’s part”.

Europe needs “responsible social democrats”

“A basic principle of democracy is to tell the people the truth before the elections,” Weber told Sánchez.

The EPP leader recalled that the Spanish prime minister had promised that if he returned to government, he would not approve this measure of clemency, which the Spanish right wing considers unconstitutional, but then the prime minister changed his mind “for political reasons” he explained.

JxCat’s seven seats in the Spanish parliament are crucial to the stability of Sánchez’s coalition government with Sumar, the left-wing platform led by Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz.

“It is obvious that this is about you, about your career, not about Spain or Europe,” Weber said, adding that Europe “needs responsible social democrats” like (former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe González/PSOE), Willy Brandt or Francois Mitterrand.

In one of the toughest moments of the debate, Sánchez reminded Weber that the PP governs in several municipalities and regions of Spain with the far-right Vox party, the third largest force in the Spanish parliament, a xenophobic and anti-EU party.

“Do you know that they (Vox) are censoring concerts, films and plays while at the same time restoring the names of famous people linked to Franco’s dictatorship to the streets of our cities? Is that also your plan for Germany, Mr Weber, to rename the streets and squares of Berlin after the leaders of the Third Reich?” Sanchez said, as reported by private radio station Cadena SER.

But von der Leyen, celebrated the fact that, during the Spanish presidency, the EU managed to “focus on a huge set of priorities, ranging from competitiveness to climate and energy, from economic governance to migration and artificial intelligence”.

Von der Leyen also praised the “patient and tireless” work of Spain to “build common ground” on migration and expressed her conviction that it is possible to reach an agreement on the European pact on migration and asylum “before the end of the year” “with the goodwill and flexibility of all”.

(Catalina Guerrero, Laura Zornoza, Marta Borrás (EFE), Fernando Heller | EuroEFE.Euractiv.es)